Abstract
A major challenge confronting online retailers is that of stimulating consumer online purchase intention. Many studies have explored the factors that affect consumer purchase behavior; however, few have described the underlying mechanism that links the online shopping experience to social ties and the effect of their strength on purchase intentions. This study adapted the stimuli–organism–response (S–O–R) model to analyze the effects of the online shopping experience on customer involvement and online purchase intention under conditions of weak and strong social ties. Two quasi-experiments were conducted to test the research model and hypotheses. The results showed that online shopping experience had a positive effect on customer involvement, and this involvement in turn had a positive effect on online purchase intention in the strong-tie group and the weak-tie group. Cognitive and affective involvement played partial mediating roles between the online shopping experience and online purchase intention in the weak-ties group and full mediating roles in the strong-ties group. The effects of online shopping experience on customer involvement and online purchase intention differed between the two tie strength groups. The implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Highlights
The development of the internet has led to a global boom in online shopping, especially inChina
In the strong- and weak-tie groups, online shopping experience had a positive effect on customer involvement, and customer involvement had a positive effect on online purchase intention
While many prior studies on online shopping have examined the effects of involvement and tie strength [8,9,23,41,42], this study goes beyond these studies by considering the mediating role of involvement and the moderating role of tie strength in affecting consumers’ online purchase intention
Summary
According to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of June 2019, there were 639 million online shopping users in China [1]. To meet this demand, the number of online retailers expanded dramatically. To prompt other consumers to make more online purchases, many retailers encourage those with whom they have a relationship to write online reviews and help others find good products and services. This measure is somewhat effective, it has some serious problems. It is urgent to investigate how relationship strength influences online purchase intention
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