Abstract
The study sought to examine the differential effect of social commerce drivers on social commerce acceptance in the hotel industry. The study was driven by the need to elevate the usage of social networks from mere communication tools to business platforms that can be used for trade and commerce. In developing social commerce drivers, the study examined and unified nine previous theories of technology adoption. A positivist, quantitative methodology was adopted in this study. Data was analysed using a structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure. The study confirmed that all the five drivers namely, utility, simplicity, intrinsic, social and infrastructural, were statistically significant in driving social commerce acceptance. The most driving force was the infrastructural driver which entails availability of hardware, software and support systems. The study therefore concluded that the all-inclusive approach to social commerce drivers adopted in this study explains 58% of variance in social commerce acceptance. Thus, the study recommends the enhancement of social commerce acceptance through effective manipulation of the social commerce acceptance drivers.
Highlights
The advent of the internet and digital technologies such as smart phones and tablets enabled marketers to target their customers on a one on-onebasis
The recent emergency of Web 2.0 applications transferred the focus of marketers from one-on-one marketing to community based marketing as consumer buying decision is influenced by others on the social platform (Bhat & Singh, 2018; Hajli, Sims, Zadeh & Richard, 2017; Liang & Turban, 2011) the social interactions of consumers on the internet led to the emergency of a new business model called social commerce (Cizreliogulla, Uwah, Bayigot, 2020; MendozaTello, Mora, Pujol-López & Lytras, 2018; Wang & Zhang, 2012)
Banoobhai-Anwar and Keating (2019) confirmed a notable increase in the usage of social commerce in the hotel business and found out that hotel operators have notably been busy on Facebook to provide latest information on new offers, promotions and best deals
Summary
The advent of the internet and digital technologies such as smart phones and tablets enabled marketers to target their customers on a one on-onebasis. The recent emergency of Web 2.0 applications transferred the focus of marketers from one-on-one marketing to community based marketing as consumer buying decision is influenced by others on the social platform (Bhat & Singh, 2018; Hajli, Sims, Zadeh & Richard, 2017; Liang & Turban, 2011) the social interactions of consumers on the internet led to the emergency of a new business model called social commerce (Cizreliogulla, Uwah, Bayigot, 2020; MendozaTello, Mora, Pujol-López & Lytras, 2018; Wang & Zhang, 2012). Millions of hotel users the world over interact on social commerce platforms such as Facebook, TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube (Saravanakumar & Lakshmi, 2016; Pew Research Institute, 2019). Travelers frequent these sites for information reviews, rating and information search. Banoobhai-Anwar and Keating (2019) confirmed a notable increase in the usage of social commerce in the hotel business and found out that hotel operators have notably been busy on Facebook to provide latest information on new offers, promotions and best deals
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