The role of senses on purchase intention in social commerce

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine how situational factors with social support affecting purchase intention in social commerce (SC). In Taiwan’s SC, the relationship between trust belief and purchase intention has always been a key issue.Design/methodology/approach This study presents a research model that comprises five hypothesis with five constructs, including situational factors, social support, senses, trust belief and purchase intention. The model is tested on data collected from 532 valid samples in Taiwan, using structural equation modeling. The results show that, in order of importance, control senses and raise mediation trust belief reach the better purchase intention.Findings The findings of the study provide practical insights in understanding how seller should notice consumer’s trust belief, in order to enhance purchase intention for the SC as a whole.Originality/value Much existing consumer behavior research is focused on decision making rather than the trust belief themselves. Accordingly, analyzing how senses influence trust belief and purchase intention is an important issue in SC.