Social Commerce Environment Research Articles

Exploring the Influence of Service Quality and Perceived Value on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in a Social Commerce Environment

Exploring the Influence of Service Quality and Perceived Value on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in a Social Commerce Environment

Compensatory consumption of specialty agricultural products from an ELM theory perspective: joint effect of product attributes and social affordances

PurposeCompensatory consumption focuses on the psychological value of products. Special agricultural products have symbolic and social functions that effectively meet psychological needs and stimulate compensatory consumption behavior. The social commerce context not only enriches consumer experience but also influences consumer purchase decisions. This study constructs a model based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory to explore the mechanism of compensatory consumption behavior of special agricultural products in a social commerce context.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a two-stage method of partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze 523 valid samples collected through random sampling. PLS-SEM was used to examine the relationships and effects between the variables; fsQCA was used to conduct a cohort analysis between the variables to further reveal the complexity and diversity of compensatory consumption behaviors.FindingsPLS-SEM indicates that product attributes and social affordances influence consumers’ triggering of compensatory consumption behavior for control and belongingness needs. fsQCA shows that there are three different modes, and the satisfaction of belongingness or control needs is a necessary condition for triggering compensatory consumption behavior.Originality/valueThere is limited research on compensatory consumption behavior specifically focused on special agricultural products. This study explores the influencing factors and mechanisms of compensatory consumption behavior related to special agricultural products. The occurrence of compensatory consumption behavior is not only influenced by product attributes but also by the social commerce environment. In marketing strategies, it is important to not only consider product characteristics but also pay attention to consumers’ social and psychological needs.

UNDERSTANDING ROLES OF INSTITUTION BASED TRUST AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN SOCIAL COMMERCE ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT User-generated content is a two-edged sword in that it can both build and destroy trust in social commerce Web sites. One of the most important ingredients in the social commerce environment is institutional trust. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among institution-based trust, social interactions (content, positive valence, and negative valence), purchase intentions, purchase, and post-purchase behavior of consumers in a social commerce environment. With the help of 227 responses, the proposed research model was validated using structural equation modeling and binary logistic regression analysis techniques. The study’s findings confirmed significant effects of social interactions (content, positive valence, and negative valence) on consumers’ purchase intentions, increasing the likelihood of actual purchasing and sharing shopping experiences with other customers in a social commerce environment. Furthermore, institutional trust was found to be important in influencing content, positive valence, and negative valence. The academic and managerial implications are extensively discussed.

Validation of Decision-Making Experimental Tasks in a Social Commerce Environment

This study aimed to validate two purchase decision experimental tasks in a social commerce environment. This refers to online interactions and their contributions to users on websites in order to assist in their acquisition of goods and services. For that purpose, a quasi-experiment was developed to simulate the decision invoved in making a hotel reservation and purchasing a TV, using the eye tracking technique to analyze the processing of information. Task validation comprised the operationalization of the eye tracker, validation with specialists, and a pilot test. The fixation metrics and heat maps identified the areas of interest that received the most visual attention from the participants. It should be noted that the products’ recommendations were the most considered criterion. This study contributes to understanding the search for information and purchase decisions in social commerce.

Fake Customer Review Detection System

Online purchasing is rising bit by bit since each service or product is easily accessible. Sellers are obtaining more reaction to one’s corporation factors. Several people generally frustrated kinds of persons misdirect others by sharing false comments to encourage or damage the image of any specific goods or services according to wish. Such people are known as perception spammers and the false reviews they give are considered as fake comments. Although customer reviews could be beneficial, naïve confidence in such comments is unsafe for either the buyers or sellers. Many consumers read research before making any online purchase. Moreover, the comments could be misleading for additional benefit or profit, so any buying decision relied on web comments should be taken carefully. Our work is mainly directed to SA at the document level, more specifically, on movie reviews dataset. Machine learning techniques and SA methods are expected to have a major positive effect, especially for the detection processes of fake reviews in restaurant reviews, e-commerce, social commerce environments, and other domains. In machine learning-based techniques, algorithms such as SVM, NB, and NLP are applied for the classification purposes SVM is a type of learning algorithm that represents supervised machine learning approaches, and it is an excellent successful prediction approach. The SVM is also a robust classification approach. The main goal of our study is to classify restaurant reviews as a real review or fake review using SA algorithms with supervised learning techniques. Keywords: — Supervised Machine Learning Techniques, Support Vector Machine, Natural Language Processing and Naıve Bayes.

The role of online interaction in user stickiness of social commerce: The shopping value perspective

Recent studies indicate that online interactions generate significant effects on consumer behavior, such as customer loyalty and satisfaction, through shopping values, while there are only very few studies devoted to user stickiness. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing literature by analyzing the effects of online interactions on user stickiness in a social commerce environment through the perspective of shopping values. This study measures online interactions through perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and social interactivity. Shopping values are evaluated by both utilitarian and hedonic values. Then a Stimulus (S)-Organism (O)-Response (R) model that relates online interaction, shopping values and user stickiness, is constructed to derive several research hypotheses. Based on 183 valid questionnaires the results reveal that perceived ease of use and social interactivity can positively affect utilitarian shopping values and user stickiness, while perceived usefulness and social interactivity positively affect hedonic shopping values and then influence user stickiness. Hence, online interactions play a crucial role in strengthening user stickiness in social commerce. Therefore, for social commerce platforms, managers need to continue improving their perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and social interactivity to attract and retain their users.

The dual effect of digital communication reinforcement drivers on purchase intention in the social commerce environment

The paper draws on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the dual effect of digital communication reinforcement drivers: positive (i.e., interactivity, argument quality, hedonic motivation, and perceived enjoyment online) and negative (i.e., intrusive concerns and privacy concerns) on purchase intention. This paper also examines the mediation effect of perceived usefulness and the moderation effect of habit. Using a time-lag approach, 490 responses were collected from Pakistan’s social media users and then analyzed using SmartPLS v.3.2.8. Findings showed that interactivity, argument quality, and privacy concerns significantly affected purchase intention. Furthermore, perceived usefulness was partially mediated, and habit was discovered to be a significant moderator in liking perceived usefulness with enjoyment online and purchase intention. This paper advances TPB understanding and develops an integrated model for businesses to better understand customer physiology on social commerce platforms through effective contributions in theory and practice.

Measuring the influence of social commerce dimensions on Iranian customer brand loyalty

The present study aims to measure the impact of the dimensions of social commerce on brand loyalty in customers. Social commerce is a form of e-commerce in the space of social media. The recent global market trend has turned purchasing and marketing experiences into a model of combining customers' social lives and shopping experiences through social commerce. As a result, customers purchasing behaviour using social media has undergone extensive changes. They have access to a type of knowledge and social experience that supports them in better understanding the goals of purchasing and deciding to purchase more accurately and consciously. The present study collected valid questionnaires from 385 customers of certain brands in the social commerce environment examined using partial least squares (PLS) method. The results revealed that information quality, interactivity, perceived trust, social norms, and CFSMIP positively affect Iranian customers' brand loyalty, respectively.

Consumers’ decision-making process in redeeming and sharing behaviors toward app-based mobile coupons in social commerce

Social commerce has been gradually integrated into mobile coupon promotions. Although the consumer behaviors of redeeming and sharing are crucial for the success of mobile coupon promotions, consumers’ decision making in the social commerce environment is largely unknown. Therefore, drawing upon the stimulus–organism–response framework, this study proposes a research model to explore how coupon and social commerce features influence consumers’ intentions to redeem and share app-based mobile coupons. The proposed model is validated using the partial least squares method. Results show that perceived coupon value (PCV) and situational product involvement (SPI) positively influence redeeming and sharing intentions. In addition, PCV is positively affected by economic benefit, perception of others, informativeness of ratings and reviews, and vividness of reviews, whereas SPI is positively affected by economic benefit, social presence of web, informativeness of ratings and reviews, and vividness of reviews. Finally, this study identifies the mediating roles of PCV and SPI in the relationships between feature factors and intention variables.

Trust and Consumers’ Purchase Intention in a Social Commerce Platform: A Meta-Analytic Approach

E-commerce and social media integration are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world, particularly with the emergence of Web 2.0 technology. In a social commerce (SC) environment, trust also plays a vital role in consumers’ purchase intentions. This research aims to achieve consistent findings regarding the concise effect of trust on consumers’ purchase intention and the moderating effect of SC constructs in social commerce platforms. A meta-analysis, including 20 effect sizes from 19 studies, investigated the association between trust and consumers’ purchase intention. The outcomes demonstrate that trust positively influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Meanwhile, moderation analysis points out that trust in sellers has a larger significant effect than other trust objects. Meanwhile, consumers in forums and communities can gain more trust, affecting their purchase intentions. In terms of website types, trust has a similar influence on purchase intention.

Exploring the Relationship Between Social Commerce Features and Consumers' Repurchase Intentions: The Mediating Role of Perceived Value.

The popularity of social media, such as WeChat and Weibo in China, has provided an opportunity to develop social commerce. Although shopping through social commerce platforms is widely favored by consumers, the factors affecting consumers’ decision-making behavior in the social commerce environment remain unclear. Therefore, from the perspective of the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) theory, we construct a consumer repurchase decision model in the social commerce environment and analyze the influencing mechanism of social commerce features (interactivity, recommendations, and feedback) on perceived value (utilitarian value and hedonic value) and consumers’ repurchase intention. The empirical results found that social commerce features are positively related to the generation of perceived value, which in turn drives consumers to form repurchase intentions. We also found some mediating effects of perceived value. The study’s conclusions clarify the intrinsic influence mechanism of social commerce features on consumers’ perceived value and repurchase intentions. In addition, it can provide some theoretical guidance for future research and business.

Shaping path of trust: the role of information credibility, social support, information sharing and perceived privacy risk in social commerce

PurposeCurrently, the Covid-19 pandemic is changing how consumers shop, encouraging deeper levels and increased reliance on e-commerce systems and social media such as online communities. The online interaction of consumers is more important and brings many uncertainties, which impact the original commerce environment. This study aim to investigate the ethical consideration of information credibility and perceived privacy risk from a psychology perspective in marketing, this study draws on social support theory from social psychology to develop a research model to investigate the role of information credibility and perceived privacy risk on social commerce websites.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated social commerce websites and communities. The research data of this study was collected through a questionnaire from consumers on three famous social commerce platforms. Using PLS-SEM to perform data analysis, this study research the importance of information credibility, perceived privacy risk and trust on social commerce websites.FindingsThe findings discuss individuals' reaction to privacy issues and to understand the motives to disclose or reveal personal information within a marketing or consumption context. The research also explores the theoretical implications by integrating theories from information systems and social psychology to investigate ethical issues in social commerce.Originality/valueCovid-19 makes peer-to-peer communication in online communities is developing collaborative consumption, and information produced in these communities can influence the decisions of consumers. Covid-19 has exacerbated such a change in social commerce environment. Therefore, information credibility plays an important role in developing online communities. It is important to look at the psychological antecedents that drive consumers' willingness to share their personal information when using online communities. The author has clarified which aspects of trust in social commerce should be strategized, including information trustworthiness, perceived privacy risks, social support and information sharing. These are the details that companies should pay more attention to when operating social commerce. Only by paying more attention to these details and giving consumers a positive feeling can consumers' trust be maintained or enhanced, ultimately leading to a successful trust economy.

Online purchase intention in Chinese social commerce platforms: Being emotional or rational?

Drawing on social learning theory, this study investigates the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and online purchase intention (OPI) under Chinese social commerce environment. Additionally, two moderators (eWOM & social values) and one mediator (customer engagement) were used in the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and OPI. A conceptual model including ten hypotheses was developed and tested based on 585 valid questionnaires. The result indicates that utilitarian and hedonic motivations positively affects OPI. In addition, the eWOM and social value significantly and positively moderates the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and OPI. Finally, two motivations (hedonic and utilitarian) and OPI significantly mediated by customer engagement. Implications for managers are discussed in the manuscript – how e-venders manage the online websites activates to improve the consumer purchase intention.

The Effects of Social Capital on Chinese Consumers’ Online Impulse Buying in Social Commerce Environment

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of social capital including social interaction, shared language and trust on Chinese consumer online impulse buying in social commerce platforms. To verify the hypothesis, we surveyed the Chinese customers who have buying experiences of using social commerce by snowball sampling technique. After analyzing 548 valid data, we confirmed that three dimensions of social capital, social interaction, shared language and trust, positively affects both peer intrinsic motivation and peer extrinsic motivation. In addition, peer motivation exerts a positively impact on consumer impulse purchases on social commerce. The findings not only provide a new theoretical perspective for studying consumers' impulse buying behavior in theory, but also have important implications for the online sellers in their follower’s groups to improve online marketing.

The effects of social commerce environmental characteristics on customers’ purchase intentions: The chain mediating effect of customer-to-customer interaction and customer-perceived value

• A research model is proposed to examine the factors that influence purchase intention in social commerce. • Purchase intention is influenced by interactivity, stickiness, sociability, and personalization of the social commerce. • Customer-to-customer interaction and customer-perceived value have a chain mediating effect between the social commerce technical environmental characteristics and purchase intentions. • The relationship between interactivity and interpersonal interaction follows an inverted U-shaped curve. • Social commerce managers should take actions to design suitable environmental characteristics for better business promotion. Through the combination of e-commerce and social media, social commerce has the potential to significantly influence customers’ purchase intentions. However, the mechanisms underlying this influence still need to be elucidated. Based on a stimulus-organism-response model, a chained mediation model is built in the present study to reveal the relationships between environmental factors and customer behavior. Empirical analyses show that four technical environmental characteristics increase customers’ purchase intentions through customer-to-customer interaction and perceived value. One of these characteristics, “interactivity,” has inverted U-shaped effects on interpersonal interaction, while stickiness, personalization, and sociability have linear influential effects. The results of the present study offer recommendations to managers on how to build an attractive social commerce environment to effectively increase customers’ purchase intentions.

TAM Model Evidence for Online Social Commerce Purchase Intention

The aim of this research is to use the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate the potential antecedents of online purchase intention in social commerce environments. Data were collected from 513 online survey participants in China. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques was used to test the study hypotheses. The findings reveal that website quality, trust, and electronic Word Of Mouth (eWOM) positively influence online purchase intentions. Furthermore, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness significantly and positively moderate the relationship between website quality and online purchase intention. These survey results help provide a more comprehensive understanding of online purchase intentions in social commerce in China. The findings and conclusion address notable implications for theory and managers.

Understanding trust in ms-commerce: The roles of reported experience, linguistic style, profile photo, emotional, and cognitive trust

This paper examines what influences trust in mobile social commerce environment. Drawing on trust-based acceptance model (i.e. cognitive and emotional trust) and online review features (i.e. profile photo, linguistic style, and reported experience), we examine how these factors affect trust in mobile social commerce. Hypotheses were tested using survey data. The results of our model showed that there are significant influences of profile photo, reported experience, cognitive, and emotional trust towards trust in ms-commerce. This work contributes to existing literature by examining the roles of previous trust in mobile payments and online reviews on trust in mobile social commerce.

Consumers’ purchase intention and decision-making process through social networking sites: a social commerce construct

ABSTRACT The growing popularity of social commerce may transform the purchase behaviour of consumers. It is the need of time to investigate the factors that impact the consumers’ purchase intention in the social commerce environment, especially in a developing country like Pakistan. The study is a drive to investigate the factors influencing the purchase intentions of consumers in social commerce. By employing social learning theory, this study proposed a theoretical model to explore the factors affecting consumers’ purchase intention and decision making. A structured questionnaire-based survey was conducted for data collection, and 232 valid responses were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the proposed research model. The results of the study concluded that social commerce constructs in the form of learning from forums and communities, learning from ratings and reviews, and learning from social advertisements were significant predictors of social support constructs. Furthermore, social support constructs such as emotional and informational support significantly contribute to predicting consumer’s purchase intentions in social networking sites. In addition, this study revealed that special focus was needed to build social commerce constructs and social support by the managers of social commerce sites to attain consumers’ purchase intention.

How to Drive Brand Engagement and eWOM Intention in Social Commerce: A Competitive Strategy for the Emerging Market

Brand engagement and eWOM intention have been found to be critical factors driving competitive advantage for companies, as the evolution of social networking sites has changed the perspective of how companies engage with customers. Based on social exchange theory, the current research proposes an empirical model that emphasizes (1) the unique role of social commerce characteristics, including personalization, socialization, and information availability, in enhancing consumer-brand engagement, (2) the connection between consumer-brand engagement and eWOM intention, and (3) the moderating influence of trust towards such connection. A survey of 248 Facebook users with online shopping experience was employed. By using PLS-graph 3.0, structural equation modelling, the findings demonstrate that personalization and socialization positively influence brand engagement, which in turn leads to eWOM intention. Furthermore, trust moderates the brand engagement-eWOM intention relationship. Unexpectedly, information availability has shown no significant effect on brand engagement. The study encompasses the knowledge of social exchange theory into the social commerce environment by investigating the linkage between the social commerce environment and brand engagement. It contributes value to marketing theories by describing the moderating role of trust from the viewpoint of Gen Y. In addition, the study’s findings may shed light on how firms in emerging markets can increase competitiveness by stimulating brand engagement and eWOM intention, as well as enhancing consumer trust in the comments regarding the products/services within the social commerce environment.

Imagery makes social media captivating! Aesthetic value in a consumer-as-value-maximizer framework

PurposeSocial media bring about the imagery of people, places and products. Showing particular success in attracting women and millennials, these media (e.g. Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest) are built around imagery consumption. This paper follows a qualitative theory building approach to extend the theory of consumption values and develop a framework based on the values social media deliver to consumers that explain their use outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe framework was analytically developed based on a review of the literature. In contrast to frameworks such as stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R), the framework proposes that people consume social media to maximize relevant values, namely, the aesthetic, social and learning value. Then, a study based on semi-structured interviews is performed to elaborate on the values and their undertakings.FindingsThe paper defines the consumption’s aesthetic value and underscores it as a focal driver of social media use and a key concept in social commerce. Data analysis suggests that aesthetic value engenders such responses as consumer’s inspiration, infinity sensation and habitual entertainment. Additional drivers of social media users are social and learning values. The social value engenders self-expression and social privacy, whereas the learning value engenders resourcefulness and parallel shopping.Originality/valueThis paper stipulates that people consume (i.e. use) social media to maximize relevant values, which, in turn, result in two groups of responses (inner and outer responses). The framework indicates that the relevant values mediate the relation between a stimulus (e.g. social media use) and response (e.g. entertainment, inspiration and behavioral intent). It highlights the centrality of aesthetic value in digital marketing and social commerce environments. The framework, thus, contrary to S-O-R, views the consumer as a maximizer of values rather than (a) processor of emotional and cognitive rejoinders.