The Impact of Social Influence and Third Party Endorsement on Online Shopping in Saudi Arabia

Haya Alshehri,School Of Computing, Science And Engineering ,University Of Salford, Uk ,Farid Meziane

doi:10.5171/2015.146746

Haya Alshehri, School Of Computing, Science And Engineering ,University Of Salford, Uk + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5171/2015.146746

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Abstract

It is well documented that social influence and third party endorsements play a significant role in developing trust in E-Commerce. Previous studies have shown that it is relatively true in many countries and across cultures. However, very few studies were conducted in the Middle East and to our knowledge this was the first time to consider family members and friends Recommendation with the context of social influence conducted within Saudi Arabia. The research reported in this paper attempts to investigate whether the findings from previous studies will be similar in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, this study will evaluate the impact of social influence and endorsements on online shopping and whether this plays an important role in increasing online shopping in Saudi Arabia. The results of this study are based on quantitative data collected from a sample of 606 Saudi citizens living in Saudi Arabia. Four factors connected to the impact of social influence and third party endorsements in online shopping are examined. The initial findings of this research confirm that there are similarities with the results of previous studies conducted in other countries. Similarly, the impact of social influence and third party endorsements seems to encourage and support the development of online shopping in Saudi Arabia.

Highlights

E-Commerce developed as a consequence of the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution and had a huge influence in the economic area and contributed to its growth
It is well documented that social influence and third party endorsements play a significant role in developing trust in E-Commerce
Very few studies were conducted in the Middle East and to our knowledge this was the first time to consider family members and friends Recommendation with the context of social influence conducted within Saudi Arabia

Summary

Introduction

E-Commerce developed as a consequence of the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution and had a huge influence in the economic area and contributed to its growth. Many of these companies are faced with environmental and societal factors that they need first to address and overcome. Some of these factors have been identified in many studies to include the reluctance of local populations to engage in E-Commerce transactions due mainly to the lack of trust in these new technologies. E-Commerce provides services that allow consumers to buy, sell and pay through the WWW and it has been fully set up and implemented in developed countries. Several studies have confirmed that E-Commerce in developing countries will be challenged with

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