Social Influence Perspective Research Articles

To Gift or Not: Understanding Gifting Behavior on Live Streaming Platforms from the Perspective of Social Influence and Herding

Live streaming has been increasingly popular worldwide, with gift-giving emerging as a pivotal revenue stream for many streamers. While prior research has delved into the influence of streamers’ emotions and viewer-streamer interaction on viewers’ gift-giving behaviors, we suggest that peer viewers also play an essential role. In line with the principles of social influence and herding theory, the behaviors of peer viewers and the size of the viewing group are integral factors shaping individual behaviors. Hence, in the context of lives streaming, we focus on examining the impact of peer viewers’ gift-giving behaviors and the audience size on the gift-giving behaviors of individual viewers, respectively. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of viewers’ identities. We collected data from a popular live streaming platform in China and employed a panel regression model based on a sample of 651,678 viewers. This study contributes to the gift-giving literature by revealing the influence of peer viewers on focal viewers’ likelihood of gifting, gifting frequency and gifting value, and the moderating effect of viewers’ identities. Overall, these results have significant implications for both the theoretical understanding of social influence and herding in online setting, as well as the practical implications for future live streaming management. Future research could delve deeper into understanding the impact of various types of live streaming content and cultural differences on individual’s gift-giving behavior.

Investment in employee developmental climate and employees' continued online learning behaviors: A social influence perspective

AbstractIn the contemporary digital age, continued online learning behaviors have become indispensable for fostering employee development. However, the learning and development literature predominantly focuses on traditional instructor‐led approaches. It remains unclear how organizations can shape employees' learning behaviors, particularly in the context of online learning. The current study clarifies this underexplored research area by investigating how organizational investment in employee developmental climate (IEDC) can promote employees' continued online learning behaviors. Drawing on social influence theory and employing a multilevel research design, we find empirical support for our research model, which specifies that IEDC positively affects employees' continued online learning behaviors through the effect of normative pressure. The findings also reveal the moderating role of online learning facilitating conditions. Specifically, in firms characterized by higher levels of online learning facilitating conditions, the positive relationship between IEDC and normative pressure becomes more pronounced when compared to organizations with lower levels of such facilitating conditions.

Exploring the Influencing Factors of Consumers’ Willingness to Buy Agricultural Products Based on Social Influence Theory

The agricultural economy plays a key role in developing and constructing the world economy. Countries accelerate the agricultural layout, optimize the trade of agricultural products, positively face the globalization economic transformation, and upgrade the consumer market of agricultural products. However, the number of studies exploring the influence of consumers’ willingness to buy from an external social perspective is small. This study starts from the micro perspective of spontaneous social influence, invokes the social influence model, and combines the trust process mechanisms to study the level of consumer willingness to buy agricultural products. The findings demonstrate that spontaneous social impact favorably encourages the development of consumer trust and purchase intention; among these, consumer trust mediates the relationship between spontaneous social influence and purchase intention to some extent. Therefore, the government needs to accelerate the policy sinking strength and improve the policy credibility, enterprises need to pay attention to the influence of good product evaluation, and the consumer market needs to create a good marketing atmosphere. For agricultural trade, agricultural economic development to enrich the relevant theoretical research. Further, clarify the status of agricultural trade, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of agricultural trade and economy, and provide help for the reality of the contradiction between consumers and the market.

When and why nostalgic ads work (and do not work): A social influence perspective

Previous research has documented the power of nostalgic ads, yet little is known about whether and how their effectiveness will be affected by social influence, which is often unavoidable in the service context. To fill this gap, the current research investigates the relative effectiveness of nostalgic (vs. non-nostalgic) ads in a restaurant setting by examining two underexplored but practically relevant boundary conditions: consumption context and crowding. Two experimental studies show that nostalgic (vs. non-nostalgic) ads lead to higher levels of visit intention. Importantly, such an advantage arises (disappears) when consumers anticipate group (solo) consumption and when the environment has low (high) crowding. Moreover, we find that consumers’ sense of social connectedness is the psychological mechanism explaining the superiority of nostalgic (vs. non-nostalgic) ads. Implications for optimizing nostalgic advertising are discussed.

Investigating physician churn in online health communities from a social influence perspective

PurposeThe success of online health communities (OHCs) depends on maintaining long-term relationships with physicians and preventing churn. Even so, the reasons for physician churn are poorly understood. In this study, an empirical model was proposed from a social influence perspective to explore the effects of online social influence and offline social influence on physician churn, as well as the moderating effect of their online returns.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical data of 4,145 physicians from a Chinese OHC, and probit regression models were employed to verify the proposed theoretical model.FindingsThe results suggest that physicians' churn intention is influenced by online and offline social influences, and the offline social influence is more powerful. Physicians' reputational and economic returns could weaken the effect of online social influence on churn intention. However, physicians' economic returns could strengthen the effect of offline social influence on churn intention.Originality/valueThis research study is the first attempt to explore physician churn and divides the social influence into online and offline social influences according to the source of social relationship. The findings contribute to the literature on e-Health, user churn and social influence and provide management implications for OHC managers.

The effects of trust and platform innovation characteristics on consumer behaviors in social commerce: A social influence perspective

Social commerce is a relatively new e-commerce model that has the potential to drive consumption growth and promote flexible social employment. However, despite its potential benefits, studies have shown that customers still tend to more heavily rely on traditional e-commerce platforms than on social commerce. To fully understand why this is the case, it is essential to explore the diffusion mechanism that affects consumer behavior toward social commerce from a variety of different perspectives. Based on the diffusion of innovation (DoI) model and trust theory, our research model was built to reveal the influence of key characteristics (trust and platform innovation characteristics) and social influence on customers’ purchase intentions toward social commerce from different adoption stages. The data include 250 late majority users (using social commerce for less than one year), 340 early majority users (using social commerce for two years), and 417 early adopters (using social commerce for three years or more). The paper utilizes the PLS-SEM method. The results show that subjective norms and critical mass significantly affect social commerce behavior intention in all stages. The platform innovation characteristics (compatibility and relative advantage) positively affect social commerce adoption intention, while complexity has a negative effect in earlier stages. Furthermore, user features (trust) consistently and positively affect behavior intention in all stages. Finally, social influence partially mediates the effect of user characteristics (trust) on use intention at all stages. In conclusion, this paper expands the application of social influence in social commerce, developing the influence of the key characteristics (trust and platform innovation characteristics) of social commerce on behavior through empirical research.

Exploring the determinants of continuous intention in TikTok from the perspective of social influence: a mixed approach of SEM and fsQCA

PurposeThis study embraces the call for exploring the determinants of continuous intention in TikTok. Taking the perspective of social influence, this study not only tries to explore the contextual sources of two types of social influence but also aims to unveil the influence mechanism of how social influence affects TikTok viewers’ continuous intention.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyzes how TikToker attractiveness, co-viewer participation, platform reputation and content appeal affect informative and normative social influence and then lead to the continuous intention of TikTok. Based on 547 valid survey data, this study adopts a mixed analytical approach for data analysis by integrating structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsSEM results unveil that content appeal is the most critical antecedent of informational social influence, while the TikToker attractiveness and platform reputation have no effect on it. Differently, all four external sources positively lead to normative social influence. Among them, content appeal and co-viewer participation influence the most. The influences of both two types of social influence on continuous intention are demonstrated. FsQCA results reveal seven alternative configurations that are sufficient for influencing continuance intention and further complement and reinforce the SEM findings.Originality/valueAddressing the critical contextual elements of TikTok, this study explores and confirms the sources which may engender social influence. The authors also demonstrate the critical role of social influence in affecting TikTok viewers’ continuous intentions by the hybrid analytical approach, which contributes to existing academic literature and practitioners.

Research on Constructing of Cross-level Theory Between Individual Behavior Cognition and Social Influence

Social ecological and health behavior theories consider the interplay between individual behavior cognition, norms of reference, collectives, and institutions, and social environment in understanding people's behavior. The theoretical model established on this basis can be divided into individual behavior theory and population behavior theory. So far, the two have been used independently by academics to understand behavioral problems. Theoretically speaking, the combination of the two theories will increase the explanatory extent of the real world and be more effective to problem intervention than a single level theory. This study attempts to combine the two theoretical models to form a new comprehensive theory, cross-level theory between individual behavioral cognition and social influence perspectives, which aims to explain the combined effect of cognition and social influences on behavior. The theory is based on theory and literature, and has certain rationality basis for theory constructing. The results of empirical research show that the theoretical model constructed was accepted, and social influence and have significant effects on behavior in a single level analysis and cross level model. Cross-level theory between individual behavioral cognition and social influence breaks through people of long-term inherent practice on behavioral theory research, opening up new perspective for research and application in this field. The integration of theories offers the potential for improved understanding of behaviors and a promising direction for future research efforts.

Tourism Development Based on Religious Moderation in the Lake Toba Region Perspective of Communication Persuasion and Social Influence

Domestic tourist objects which are considered to have attractive potential are visited by many Muslim tourists both from within and outside the country, but in reality these tourist objects pay little attention to the comfort of Muslim tourists. Visiting Lake Toba tourist destinations for Muslim tourists is not only about natural beauty, but also about halal food and comfortable places of worship. Halal tourism continues to be an interesting issue to discuss because it is a vital issue for the life of Muslims. It is very risky for Muslims when a tourist destination does not provide comfort regarding the issue of halal food and the availability of places of worship. This paper reviews the concept of religious moderation tourism which can be interpreted as the availability and fulfillment of the needs of Muslims and tourist destinations such as halal food that is not mixed with unclean food, proper places of worship, and various other facilities that are the needs of Muslims. The approach used in this study is a qualitative approach. Data were obtained by conducting interviews with tourism managers, community leaders, the Head of the Culture and Tourism Office, tourism observers and the community. The concept of moderating religious tourism in the Lake Toba area is already underway, such as hotels serving halal food cooked by Muslim workers, providing prayer rooms. However, what has not been seen is the certainty of food halalness with the existence of a halal certificate issued by the competent authority. The facts obtained in the Lake Toba area did not play much of a role in changing the attitudes and behavior of local residents to become more moderate towards foreign Muslim tourists.

Conservation of resources theory perspective of social media ostracism influence on lurking intentions

ABSTRACT This study develops and tests a model based on the conservation of resources theory and presents an underlying mechanism linking social media ostracism with the lurking intentions of social media users. The proposed model suggests that emotional exhaustion is a mediating mechanism linking social media ostracism to lurking intentions. In addition, we examine whether or not the psychological resilience of social media users serves as a boundary condition that weakens the effects of social media ostracism on emotional exhaustion. Results of a moderated mediation analysis based on a sample of 363 employees in China support the conceptual model. Empirical findings likewise reveal that social media ostracism positively predicts emotional exhaustion among social media users. In addition, results indicate that emotional exhaustion is a mediating mechanism that links social media ostracism with lurking intentions. Furthermore, we find that psychological resilience plays a moderating role and weakens the positive effect of social media ostracism on emotional exhaustion. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study are also presented.

The impacts of geographic and social influences on review helpfulness perceptions: A social contagion perspective

Identifying and presenting helpful reviews to customers can significantly affect their purchase decisions. Although review helpfulness has been extensively explored in tourism research, extant studies have not sufficiently emphasized the unique characteristics of tourism products and investigated review helpfulness perceptions from both geographic and social influence perspectives. In this study, drawing on social contagion theory, we developed a theoretical framework to examine the impact of social contagion, specifically geographic and social proximities, on perceived review helpfulness. Our empirical analyses of Yelp restaurant reviews indicated that geographic and social influences have varying impacts on review helpfulness perceptions. Additionally, social contagions significantly moderated the impacts of various review- and reviewer-related factors, and product characteristics further moderated the contagion effect on perceived review helpfulness. This study provides valuable theoretical and methodological contributions to research on review helpfulness, especially in tourism contexts, and lays out the practical implications for various stakeholders.

Medical Crowdfunding Campaign Sharing Behaviour on Mobile Social Media

This study explores factors influencing the sharing behaviour of medical crowdfunding campaigns on mobile social media regarding retweeter and retweeted text features from the social influence perspective and verifies the moderating effect of potential supporter donations. Two scenario-based surveys of medical crowdfunding users are conducted in China. The first (524 samples) and second (510 samples) surveys emphasize scenarios without and with retweeted text, respectively. These surveys are tested by PLS-SEM and suggest that the credibility of retweeters and the strength of their relationship with supporters can positively promote potential supporters' sharing behaviour, regardless of whether retweeters provide retweeted text. Three features of retweeted text significantly influence medical crowdfunding sharing behaviour. Retweeted text can promote sharing behaviour among individuals. With retweeted text available, if potential supporters donate before sharing the campaign, then the influences of retweeter and retweeted text features can be increased.

The instrumental role of employee voice in achieving promotability: social influence perspective

PurposeDrawing upon social influence theory, this study examines employee voice as one potential form of social influence that enables employees to receive positive performance evaluations from their supervisors, further increasing their chances of being promoted to a higher positional level. Importantly, organizational politics as experienced by employees is an important boundary condition that may affect the success of voice in achieving promotability.Design/methodology/approachThis study obtained data from 218 independent matched subordinate-supervisor dyads from a manufacturing company in Japan. This study utilized the PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2013) to test moderated mediation hypotheses.FindingsEmployee voice positively predicts employee promotability through supervisors' evaluations of employee task performance, and organizational politics operates as a boundary condition at both the first and second stages of moderation.Practical implicationsBy speaking up at work, employees may instill an impression as a highly performing and competent individual in the eyes of their supervisors, thereby increasing their chances of being promoted within their organization. However, it is important to carefully consider the degree of workplace politics before expressing one's voice. For organizations, it is important to ensure that the policies and procedures used to demine promotion decisions are objective.Originality/valueThis study departs from the traditional perspective that voice is primarily used for prosocial reasons by suggesting that voice can also be used for the purpose of promoting personal career objectives.

Antecedents and consequences of sending and receiving information in mobile gaming apps

Mobile gaming applications (apps) are increasingly engineered to encourage the sending and receiving information between players in hopes of generating word-of-mouth and stimulating purchases. This research utilizes a social influence perspective to examine the trait antecedents (identification as a member of the gaming community, susceptibility to informational influence) and behavioral consequences (paying for downloads of mobile app games, making in-app purchases, sharing of gaming experiences) of the desires to send and receive market information in mobile gaming apps.A structural equation model was constructed and tested from a survey of 265 US adults who identified themselves as playing mobile gaming apps. Results show dramatically different antecedents and consequences between trait desires to send and receive market information in mobile gaming apps. The desire to send market information significantly and positively affected all three gaming behaviors, while the desire to receive market information had a negative effect on in-app purchases. The desire to send market information also fully mediated the impact of susceptibility to informational influence on all three behaviors. These findings help expand knowledge of informational exchange in mobile games to help developers increase engagement and monetization.

Advertising content and online engagement on social media during the covid-19 epidemic in Taiwan

ABSTRACT During the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, people are more likely to acquire and exchange information from social media. This study adopted the perspective of social influence to examine its effectiveness in social media advertising. This study employed content analysis to examine the content and product types of Facebook advertising. This study developed a program and collected brand-related advertising on Facebook over 3 months after the start of the COVID-19 epidemic. The results showed that content value exerted a significant effect on online engagement with utilitarian and hedonic products. These findings encourage advertisers to plan advertising strategies that stimulate the user’s activity and enhance the brand performance on Facebook. Moreover, the results motivate advertisers to develop user engagement strategies and then increase the interactivity and brand loyalty of users.

Construction over operation? A study of the usage of digital humanities databases in China

PurposeDigital humanities database is one of the essential tools in digital humanities research area. Therefore, examining the usage of digital humanities database in academic papers is conducive to assessing the value of digital humanities database for scientific research activities and improving the construction of digital humanities infrastructure.Design/methodology/approachThis paper constructs an evaluation system of digital humanities database from the perspective of academic influence and social influence, with mention frequency, usage motivation, platform access data, usage region and usage discipline as indicators and takes China Biographical Database Project as the empirical object to explore the usage of digital humanities database in China.FindingsThe data analysis result demonstrates that digital humanities databases are widely used and recognized in China. However, the problem of low actual usage remains.Originality/valueThis paper constructs the digital humanistic database's evaluation system and discusses applying the digital humanistic database in China, which provides a new perspective and method for the influence evaluation study of the digital humanistic database.

Social Influence of Celebrity CEOs: Evidence from Chinese Forbes Ranking List

In this study, we focused on the celebrity CEO and proposed the main effect that celebrity CEO has a positive impact on their peer companies’ behavior and subsequent R&D investment. Further, we proposed the moderating effects of similarities between celebrity and peer CEOs’ characteristics, similarities between celebrity CEO’s company and peer company’s firm characteristics, and the peer company CEO’s power on the relationship between celebrity CEO and the peer firms’ CEO and R&D investment. We built our arguments on the social influence perspective and proposed the hypotheses regarding celebrity CEOs’ role model effect on the peer companies’ R&D investment. We mainly focus on the antecedent condition of social influence—social identity and the reaction after being influenced—social learning. The hypotheses are tested in the Chinese context with the matched data from “The Best CEOs of The Year” published by Forbes China from 2012 to 2017. We attempt to contribute to the literature about celebrity CEO and social influence perspective.

How Social Norms Affect Consumer Intention to Purchase Certified Functional Foods: The Mediating Role of Perceived Effectiveness and Attitude.

Certified functional foods (CFFs) are approved by relevant authorities because of demonstrable efficacy. However, social norms affect consumer perceptions regarding CFFs, and their attitudes toward CFFs remain unclear. Drawing on social influence theory, this study explored how social norms (i.e., descriptive and injunctive) affect consumer perceptions and willingness to purchase CFFs. Consumers of CFFs in Taiwan were invited to participate in this study, and 398 valid questionnaires were received. Collected data were assessed through structural equation modeling. The results revealed that descriptive and injunctive norms exerted a positive effect on perceptions of the effectiveness of CFFs. However, although injunctive norms exerted a positive effect on consumer attitude, the effect of descriptive norms on attitude was not significant. Furthermore, consumer perceptions on the effectiveness of CFFs affected their attitude toward CFFs, consequently increasing their intention to purchase CFFs. This study contributes to the literature by providing insights into the relationship between social norms, perceived effectiveness, and attitudes regarding CFFs. The results of this study provide directions to CFF marketers for developing marketing strategies and establishing marketing communication strategies from the perspective of social influence.

The Development and Significance of NLP From the Perspective of Linguistic Development and Social Influence

The Development and Significance of NLP From the Perspective of Linguistic Development and Social Influence

Examining online health community users’ sharing behaviour: A social influence perspective

Online health communities (OHC) provide a platform for users to exchange health-related information and seek emotional support. However, users often lack the intention to share their knowledge, which may lead to the failure of OHC. Drawing on the social influence theory, this research examined OHC users’ sharing behaviour. The results indicated that users’ sharing intention is influenced by three social influence factors, which include subjective norm, social identity and group norm. In addition, social support and privacy concern have effects on these three social influence factors. The results imply that OHC need to leverage social influence in order to facilitate users’ sharing behaviour.