Electronic word-of-mouth and consumer purchase intentions in social e-commerce

• Published in: Electronic commerce research and applications Vol. 41; p. 100980
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yang, Wang, Lin, Tang, Huijie, Zhang, Yaming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Electronic word-of-mouth; Information quality; Purchase intention; Social psychological distance; Trust; Social psychological distance; Information quality; Trust; Purchase intention; Electronic word-of-mouth
• ISSN: 1567-4223; 1873-7846
• DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2020.100980

•We explore the mechanism of online purchase intention through empirical analysis.•eWOM communication plays an important role in online shopping.•The information quality is positively associated with consumer’s trust.•And social psychological distance mediates the relationship between them.•Consumer’s trust has a positive effect on purchase intention.•The research results develop the theory of online shopping behavior. With the rise of social commerce, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become an important reference for users to make purchase decisions. However, the quality of information communicated by eWOM on all major platforms is uneven, which seriously affects user trust in eWOM, and in the reputation of the platform. Therefore, from the perspective of information quality, this study adds the social psychological distance of consumers to research the effects of WOM on trust, and its further influence on purchase intentions. This research adopts a questionnaire survey method to collect data from users of Xiaohongshu. Through path analysis, the following conclusions are obtained: (1) information quality is positively associated with social psychological distance and trust; (2) social psychological distance is positively associated with trust; (3) social psychological distance mediates the relationship between information quality and trust; and (4) trust is positively associated with purchase intention. Finally, based on the research conclusions, we put forward suggestions for social e-commerce platforms. The limitations of the study and direction of future research are analyzed.