Social commerce isn’t the cherry on the cake, its the new cake! How consumers’ attitudes and eWOM influence online purchase intention in China

Abstract

Purpose In the recent decade, social media popularity and growth have boosted the development of social commerce (SC). This study aims to explore the significant impact of guanxi (关系) elements (ganqing 感情, renqing 人情 and xinren 信任) on online purchase intentions. Furthermore, this study investigated the moderating role of social support between electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and online purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted on 309 consumers who had online purchasing experience through WeChat, a famous social media application in China. Structural equational modeling was used to test all hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that guanxi elements are positively related to eWOM, affective attitude and online purchase intentions in SC. Additionally, social support has a significant moderating role between eWOM intention and online purchase intention. Practical implications Considering the effects of guanxi elements on eWOM affective attitude and online purchase intention in Chinese SC, online retailers are advised to carefully develop their marketing strategies to retain and attract new consumers. Furthermore, online retailers can use the findings from this study to understand the consequences when online purchase intention is strongly influenced by guanxi elements. Originality/value This research extends the current literature by applying the notion of guanxi components to the sense of SC and relating the notion of guanxi components and consumer decisions. The results show an understanding of the reality by which guanxi elements may affect the intention of eWOM sharing and boost online purchase intention.