Understanding Customer Motivation to Share Information in Social Commerce

Yen-Hao Hsieh,Ya-Ting Lo

doi:10.4018/joeuc.20211101.oa19

Abstract

The gradual emergence of social commerce is enhancing the development of businesses. The opinions exchanged and information shared by each consumer in the community affects consumers’ purchasing decisions and participation behaviors. This study established a consumer information sharing model in social commerce based on the theories of social exchange and communication ecology. Data were collected from 204 respondents and PLS technique was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that reciprocity and community participation exhibited a significantly positive effect on information sharing. Reciprocity and community participation also had partial mediation effects on the consumer–community and consumer–platform relationships.

Highlights

The gradual emergence of social commerce is enhancing the development of business platforms that combine community communication and product transactions
This study established a consumer information sharing model in social commerce based on the theories of social exchange and communication ecology
The results indicated that reciprocity and community participation exhibited a significantly positive effect on information sharing

Summary

Introduction

The gradual emergence of social commerce is enhancing the development of business platforms that combine community communication and product transactions. Group buying websites (e.g., Groupon Reserve, LivingSocial Gourmet, GOMAJI, and Gilt City) are one such type of platform and product review platforms (e.g., Yelp and TripAdvisor) are another. These social media platforms bring together consumers that have the same purchasing needs and product purchasing experiences. Consumers can discuss the characteristics, use experience, and shopping experience concerning a certain product or brand through the platforms (Cheng & Fang, 2015) These platforms attract consumers and encourage them to share their personal opinions and experiences; other consumers can browse the content, which helps them resolve their doubts about a product.

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