Can Positive Online Social Cues Always Reduce User Avoidance of Sponsored Search Results?

Abstract

Online social cues that utilize user-generated data, such as user reviews and product ratings, have become one of the key factors influencing online user behavior and decisions. Online users who shared their reviews and ratings about a product (or a seller) become an abstract reference group to a focal user interested in the same product. This study focuses on sponsored search results (SSRs), a type of unsolicited information that matches users’ search queries and receives high evaluations from prior consumers. We investigate the effects of positive social cues on alleviating users’ avoidance responses toward an encountered SSR when searching for a product in a C2C e-commerce context. We synthesize the avoidance literature and identify three forms of SSR avoidance, namely, cognitive, behavioral, and affective avoidance. We apply users’ implicit concerns on SSRs to explain users’ avoidance of an encountered SSR. In addition, we extend social influence theory to online settings where abstract reference groups are posited to trigger social influence. We examine how and under what conditions the three forms of SSR avoidance can be reduced by various positive online social cues (i.e., product- and seller-related). We conduct three laboratory experiments. Results attest to users’ implicit concerns on SSRs and their avoidance of SSRs and reveal different effects of various social cues on reducing the three forms of SSR avoidance. This study uncovers the theoretical mechanisms of social influence on reducing SSR avoidance in online settings. It also offers practical implications for online search service providers to help online users’ decision making in their search process.

Assessing antecedents of Google shopping ads intention to purchase: a multigroup analysis of generation Y and Z

“…The current study investigated three Ducoffe's advertising value model factors: trust, perceived value and annoyance or irritation. Many academics concur that product purchase intent and/or purchases are influenced by credibility, trust and annoyance or irritation (Adam et al, 2022;Cabeza-Ramı ´rez et al, 2022;Deng et al, 2022;Hameed et al, 2022;Hewei and Youngsook, 2022;Kharisma et al, 2022;Ma'ady and Wardhani, 2022;Ngo et al, 2022;O ¨zdemir and Nacar, 2022;Purwatiningsih et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2022;Tunuguntla et al, 2023). However, these studies did not analyze the antecedents in the context of GSA and mandated further research across different digital platforms.…”

“…Florenthal et al (2020) suggested that irritation has an adverse effect on behavior intentions for nonprofit organizations on social networking websites among Millennials. Deng et al (2022) examined the influence of positive social signals on users' avoidance responses to sponsored search results in an e-commerce context. To reduce behavioral and affective avoidance, a social indicator must enhance users' perceptions of sponsored search results by addressing their active implicit concern regarding sponsored search results.…”

“…A majority of the online and/or SEA research studies, which explored the above-mentioned antecedents, examined Generation Y and/or Y consumers in terms of trust (Kobylanski, 2012;Balioglu, 2020;Cabeza-Ramı ´rez et al, 2022;Hameed et al, 2022;Ma'ady and Wardhani, 2022;Ngo et al, 2022, perceived value (Kim et al, 2012;Hsiao, 2021;Adam et al, 2022;Hewei and Youngsook, 2022;Hameed et al, 2022), irritation (Saadeghvaziri et al, 2013;Martins et al, 2019;Florenthal et al, 2020;Deng et al, 2022;Hameed et al, 2022;Kharisma et al, 2022;Purwatiningsih et al, 2022), product risk (Ariffin et al, 2018;Qalati et al, 2021;Adam et al, 2022;Cabeza-Ramı ´rez et al, 2022;Lee and Lee, 2022;Ou et al, 2022) and time risk (Ariffin et al, 2018;Qalati et al, 2021;Lee and Lee, 2022;Rahmi et al, 2022;Alrawad et al, 2023aAlrawad et al, , 2023b but did not expressly examine GSA or perform cross-tabulation between these cohorts. Wang et al (2022) stipulate that further research should assess other demographic moderators regarding the trust and purchase intention associations in e-commerce and social commerce platforms.…”

Virtual ideality vs. virtual authenticity: exploring the role of social signals in interactive marketing

“…user ratings and sales rankings). Those social signals have become one of the key factors influencing online consumers' decisions (Deng et al , 2022; Wei, 2023). Some of the previous studies have found that the presence of social signals can alleviate consumers' concerns about the product uncertainty and lead to positive behavioral outcomes (Deng et al , 2022; Fang et al , 2023).…”

“…Those social signals have become one of the key factors influencing online consumers' decisions (Deng et al , 2022; Wei, 2023). Some of the previous studies have found that the presence of social signals can alleviate consumers' concerns about the product uncertainty and lead to positive behavioral outcomes (Deng et al , 2022; Fang et al , 2023). However, other studies have indicated that the effect of social signals may not always be positive because social signals convey the implicit meaning that a product is mass and non-personalized, which may lead consumers to avoid choosing the product (Das et al , 2022).…”