Does Traditional Guanxi Still Matter in Social Commerce: An Empirical Study in Taiwan

Wen-Kuei Wu

doi:10.3390/jtaer16030024

Abstract

This study aims to explore if traditional guanxi facets (i.e., ganqing, renqing and mianzi) between buyer and seller affect buyer’s trust in seller, recommendation and purchase intention in social commerce. It also investigates the mediating effects of recommendation intention and trust in seller on the relationship between guanxi facets and purchase intention. This study used an online survey in Taiwan and the partial least squares (PLS) model to test the hypotheses. Drawing on a sample of 323 respondents in Taiwan, the results show that (a) ganqing, renqing and trust in seller have positive effects on recommendation intention, (b) all guanxi facets exert positive effects on trust in seller, (c) ganqing and mianzi contribute to recommendation intention via trust in seller, (d) renqing benefits directly purchase intention but also via recommendation intention, and (e) trust in seller facilitates purchase intention via recommendation intention. This study might be the first to investigate the vital roles of traditional guanxi facets, rather than swift guanxi, in social commerce. This study also clarifies the mediating effects of buyer’s recommendation intention and trust in seller on transferring traditional guanxi facets into purchase intention.

Highlights

Due to the proliferation of 4G communication technologies and online social communities, it is easy to start up a conversation or discussion, as well as transfer information on social media
partial least squares (PLS) is a useful tool in complex path models in an explorative manner [59], for this research that involves developing a new measurement of guanxi facets and structural paths
This study adopts the concept of traditional guanxi to portray the online buyer–seller guanxi, and further investigates the roles of buyer’s perception of buyer–seller guanxi facets in social commerce

Summary

Introduction

Due to the proliferation of 4G communication technologies and online social communities, it is easy to start up a conversation or discussion, as well as transfer information on social media. For those who have just begun their personal selling business and have not yet many connections or are not involved in many social networks, social commerce, which allows online communicating and selling items within social networks, can be the first choice. The effects of the buyer–seller relationship and sharing shopping information with friends on online purchasing through social commerce have emerged as critical research topics [1,2]. Given the emergence of social commerce, which is a combination of

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