Customer Relationships, Privacy, and Security in Social Commerce

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social commerce is a new development in e-commerce and social networks. Consumers belonging to various social communities of interest often rely on information generated by these communities to make online purchase decisions. This empirical research study explores the relational and security aspects of social commerce. It looks at technology-enabled customer relationship quality, privacy, and security protection as determinants of social commerce decisions. The results show that the web experience and online convenience delivered through the social commerce provider website positively influence the perceived customer relationship quality as a driver of social commerce purchase and sharing behavior. Additionally, the study finds that while perceived security protection is still a significant influencer of social commerce decisions, perceived privacy protection is no longer a primary customer concern.