Abstract
Social commerce (SC) is a rapidly emerging branch of e-commerce. Effective information spread is the critical element in increasing the sales volume in this industry. However, few studies have explored the underlying mechanism and corresponding winning strategies from the perspective of information spread. This research fills the gap by using a simulation method. Combined with the Engel–Kollat–Blackwell (EKB) theory, we improved the Susceptible–Infected–Recovered (SIR) epidemic dissemination dynamic model to simulate the competitive information spread process on social commerce networks. Datasets collected from two of the biggest SC websites in China, Sina Weibo and Taobao, verified the accuracy of the proposed model. Parameter sensitivity analysis results indicated that releasing the product message earlier is more effective than increasing the spread duration for improving the performance of information diffusion so as to boost the sales volume. It was also shown that high discard probability destroys the sales volume caused by high purchase probability. Low discard probability can lead to a good sales volume eventually, even when the purchase probability is low. The results provide evidence for the First-Mover Advantage theory from the information spreading point of view. We come up with practical strategies for SC marketers based on the simulation results.
Highlights
Social commerce (SC) is an emerging form of e-commerce in which shopping and purchase transactions are facilitated via the social media environment [1]
We develop a model that reflects these features of information spread and consumer behaviors in SC by combining the Engel–Kollat–Blackwell (EKB) model, which is a classic theory in consumer behavior research, with the well-known epidemiological Susceptible–Infected–Recovered (SIR) model of disease diffusion
Since we focused on SC from the perspective of information spread in social networks, Sina Weibo, as the most
Summary
Social commerce (SC) is an emerging form of e-commerce in which shopping and purchase transactions are facilitated via the social media environment [1]. It is critical that marketers understand the information spread process in SC networks [4]. The rate of information diffusion attenuates over time. The availability of new information in the network decreases the rate of diffusion of previously released information. The finiteness of consumers’ attention limits their concentration on more than one piece of information at the same time [4], which implies competition for consumers’ attention amongst product information sources [5]. Most firms have limited funds for marketing [7], especially in the SC area, where most sellers are individuals [6]. Li and Huang (2014) showed that social media can help small and medium businesses, as well as start-ups with limited marketing budgets, to improve profits [8]
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