Understanding Chinese consumer engagement in social commerce

Abstract

Purpose-Building on the Chinese guanxi perspective, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that explains the indirect effects of social support from friends on social commerce intentions, as mediated through the relational aspects that potential buyers develop with sellers. Design/methodology/approach-Hypotheses are tested with partial least squares (PLS)-graph applied to data collected via a survey of social media users (n ¼ 511). SPSS and PLS-graph are the statistical analysis tools used in this study. Findings-Relationship exists in social commerce interactions and its quality can be captured by swift guanxi and trust. These swift relationships matter as they drive users' behavioral intentions on social commerce sites. The informational and social support people receive from friends helps in improving the relationship quality and can indirectly influence user behaviors on these sites. Research limitations/implications-This study has relied on a convenient sampling and this may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should employ broader and more random sampling techniques to re-validate and extend the findings. Originality/value-The interpersonal aspect of relationship quality has received little attention in the social commerce literature. This study develops a theoretical model that explains consumers' intention in social commerce. The findings reveal the mechanisms through which different types of social support indirectly influence social commerce intentions. They provide a unique glimpse into consumer behavior in Chinese settings, in which the guanxi aspect of relationship quality highly matters.

The driving factors of the social commerce intention of Saudi Arabia’s online communities

“…6,13,25 Further, emotional and informational support was significantly joined to social commerce intention. 2,6,26 In agreement with Liang et al, 1 the results show that the relationship between both emotional and informational support was mediated by trust. Finally, our results are similar to those found by authors in which SCCs positively predicted social support 8,29 and social commerce intention.…”

“…Trust plays an additional role in social commerce of enhancing the relationship between social support and social commerce intention. 6 Kim and Park 21 identified several factors that have an influence on social customer trust in social commerce, such as reputation, size, information quality, communication, safety of transactions, and referrals. Abed et al 13 found that small- and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia use social media to build online trustworthy relationships with their customers.…”

“…Concerning the relationship between social support and social commerce intention, together with the unrealized role of trust as a mediating variable in this relationship, Sheikh et al 2 found a positive relationship between social support and social commerce intention. In their study on customer engagement in social commerce, Lin et al 6 indicated that emotional and informational support, which can be enhanced through relationship quality, had a significant influence on the behaviors of social users. Virtual experiences of social customers, such as social support, social presence, and flow, are key drivers of social commerce intention.…”

An Empirical Study of Social Commerce Intention: An Example of China

“…Guanxi can be based on many factors, including locality and dialect, fictive kinship, family, workplace, social clubs, and friendship. The rise of SNSs is strengthening Guanxi and social commerce in China [26].…”

How Newcomers’ Work-Related Use of Enterprise Social Media Affects Their Thriving at Work—The Swift Guanxi Perspective

“…Many studies on social commerce have found that effective use of computer-mediated communication technologies promotes the formation of swift guanxi and trust between buyers and sellers, which further facilitates the completion of transactions [27,49]. For instance, a recent research by Lin, et al [50] shows that swift guanxi is easier to be formed and developed when users receive strong informational and emotional support from social websites.…”