Elucidating trust-building sources in social shopping: A consumer cognitive and emotional trust perspective

With the popularity and growth of social commerce, scholars and practitioners are particularly interested in how the integration of social media with e-commerce practice may resolve the challenge related to developing consumer-seller trust. Adopting a cognitive-emotional trust perspective, this study investigated the process by which consumers' trust in seller builds in a social commerce setting. Specifically, perceived familiarity, situational normality, cognitive and emotional trust in platform, and social interactivity were proposed as key antecedents of consumers' cognitive and emotional trust in seller. The model was examined with two complementary data sets collected from leading social commerce platforms in China: WeChat Store (N = 430) and Xiaohongshu (N = 397). This work advances the theoretical understanding of consumer's social shopping intention through extending the cognitive-emotional trust perspective and lends insights into the contextualized sources of trust building. In addition, these findings offer practical implications that help practitioners cost-effectively build consumer trust in the social commerce setting.     

Brand trust and engagement in social commerce

With the surge in social media (SM) users around the world, the scope of social commerce (SC) in brand engagement is a prominent area of discussion. The present study empirically investigates the effect of social commerce construct (SCC), multi-dimensional constructs of social presence theory (SPT) and consumer generated content (CGC) on brand trust and brand engagement in SC platforms. An online survey was conducted among 625 Indian consumers who had made more than one purchase using SC platforms in the previous 6 months. Structural equation modelling technique was employed for testing the hypotheses and conceptual model. The results suggest that each element of SCC, SPT and CGC positively contributes to brand trust and engagement. Further, the study provides insight into brand trust and brand engagement in SM, which prompts brand usage intention of the consumers. The insights can be used by managers to create long-term customer relationship management action plans that emphasize brand trust and engagement.     

Corporate social responsibilities,consumer trust and corporate reputation: South Korean consumers' perspectives

This study proposes and tests a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that specifies relationships among (1) four categories of CSR initiatives as independent variables, (2) three types of consumer trust as mediating variables, and (3) corporate reputation as the dependent variable. Results show that the firm's fulfillment of economic and legal CSR initiatives had a direct positive effect on corporate reputation, whereas neither ethical nor philanthropic CSR initiatives did. In the CSR-trust link, economic performances fostered consumer expertise trust, legal and ethical CSR activities affected integrity trust, and philanthropic CSR activities influenced social benevolence trust in the firm. This study confirms that all three types of trust partially or fully mediate the effect of the four CSR initiatives on corporate reputation. This outcome indicates that CSR activities create and nurture consumers' trust in the company, which will, in turn, bring about consumers' positive or improved perceptions of the firm.     

The role of involvement: Investigating the effect of brand's social media pages on consumer purchase intention

This study examined the influence of consumer's brand familiarity and the information quality of social media content on their involvement with a brand on the brand's social media pages. Also studied were the influence of involvement on consumer's attitude towards the brand's social media page and the effect of their attitude on future purchase intention from the brand. The results indicated that both brand familiarity and information quality had significant effects on a consumer's involvement with a brand on its social media page, yet the brand's social media content had a greater influence on a consumer's involvement with the social media page. Further, involvement with a brand's social media led to a positive attitude towards the brand's social media page, which in turn influences future purchase intention from the brand. However, the involvement did not directly influence future purchase intention from the brand. The results suggest the significant importance of quality of social media content.     

Privacy assurances and social sharing in social commerce: The mediating role of threat-coping appraisals

The social sharing of consumers (e.g., posting about a shopping experience) is the basis for the flourishing of social commerce; however, it conflicts with consumers’ psychological need for privacy. This study attempts to investigate the comprehensive effect of privacy assurances from different institutions on social sharing, involving privacy policy and privacy-protective technology provided by social media companies as well as government regulation and industry self-regulation. We conducted a large-scale empirical survey with 1,311 users of Xiaohongshu in China. The results show that all the four privacy assurances have a positive effect on social sharing that is almost equal. The results also reveal that threat appraisal and coping appraisal jointly mediate the relationship of privacy assurances and social sharing. Our results provide operable implications for stakeholders on how to facilitate social sharing and thus the flourishing of s-commerce through fostering privacy assurances.     

The roles of trust and experience in consumer confidence in conducting e‐commerce: a cross‐cultural comparison between France and Germany

Based on the Eurobarometer survey data, this study examined the roles of experience and cultural propensity to trust in consumer confidence in conducting e‐commerce. Compared with consumers in a low‐trust culture (France), consumers from a high‐trust society (West Germany) exhibit more confidence in conducting e‐commerce. This cultural difference is only evident among consumers with no prior e‐commerce experience but disappears among consumers with prior e‐commerce experience. There is no interaction effect of culture and experience. While consumer confidence in conducting e‐commerce declines with age within each culture, consumers of the same age groups tend to have higher confidence in conducting e‐commerce in West Germany than in France. Academic and practical implications were provided.     

Timeliness,transparency, and trust: A framework for managing online customer complaints

This article discusses several practical solutions for dealing with online customer complaints. Online complaints are inevitable; how a firm responds can make the difference. There are techniques that managers can use not only to minimize the detrimental impact of online complaints, but also to produce beneficial outcomes. Herein, we introduce our 3T framework, designed to help managers and support teams respond to online complaints in a thoughtful and measured way. We build on word-of-mouth research and several theories from marketing, service marketing, journalism, and business ethics. With so many reviews posted online every second, firms must employ best practices grounded in empirical research and solid conceptualization to deal with this important component of online customer service.     

The effect of social and ambient factors on impulse purchasing behavior in social commerce

Social commerce is an exciting new business model in the e-commerce world. Because it is a relatively new concept, the strategies that achieve the best market performance remain unclear. To better understand consumer purchasing behavior and develop corresponding strategies, special characteristics of social commerce need to be considered. This study uses the stimulus-organism-response framework to examine the effect of social presence and ambient factors from the impulse purchasing perspective in a social commerce context. Experimental data were collected from 300 social commerce users related to nine social commerce deals, and hypothesis testing was performed using a partial least squares model. First, the results of our study indicate that social presence in a social commerce site replicates the presence of consumers in the retail environment and makes consumers feel like shopping together, which leads to higher impulse purchasing behavior. Second, this study identifies music tempo as a potentially important ambient factor in the success of a social commerce site. Third, this study finds a very interesting phenomenon that the scarcity of a deal can have a negative effect as a moderator between music tempo and pleasure. The findings of this study suggest that a pleasant and entertaining experience is necessary and a social aspect needs to be incorporated for better performance in social commerce sites.     

Retailer corporate social responsibility and consumer citizenship behavior: The mediating roles of perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust

Retailers often face pressure from stakeholders to address social and environmental issues. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of retailer corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' perceptions and behavior. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of social identity theory and signaling theory, this study presents and validates a unique model which examines the mediating effects of perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust on the relationship between retailer CSR and consumer citizenship behavior. Using a sample of 407 consumers in China, results of structural equation modeling show that retailer CSR is positively associated with consumer citizenship behavior. Additionally, perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust positively mediate this association. Taken together, these findings provide support for retailers to develop CSR programs that remind and reinforce consumers’ perceptions about socially responsible behaviors.     

Social commerce website design,perceived value and loyalty behavior intentions: The moderating roles of gender,age and frequency of use

Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework, a model is tested that improves the understanding of customer loyalty toward social commerce websites. The results showed that: information and service quality are key antecedents of perceived value, whereas rewards and recognition, and customization are non-significant. Perceived value is an important driver of customer loyalty toward these websites. The model's relationships are affected by gender and frequency of use. Overall, the findings of this study extend the understanding in the social commerce context of: (i) the antecedents of customer perceived value and behavioral intentions; and (ii) the moderating effects of age, gender and frequency of social commerce use on the model relationships.     

Psychological antecedents of consumer trust in CRM campaigns and donation intentions: The moderating role of creativity

Cause-related marketing (CRM) refers to charitable donation contingent on consumer purchase of a product by supporting a specific cause that is linked to a non-profit organization (NPO). The present research examines the influence of consumer psychographic traits on trust in CRM campaign and its resulting impact on intention to donate money to NPO. The results indicate that collectivism and hedonism have positive effect on trust in CRM campaign, but individualism and utilitarianism have negative effect on trust in CRM campaign. Moreover, the result shows that trust in the CRM campaign had significant positive effect on donation intentions. We further have investigated the role of cognitive process and demonstrated the moderating effect of creativity on the impact of trust in CRM campaign and donation intentions, such that the higher level of creativity led to higher level of donation intentions, if consumers have trust in CRM campaign. This research offers marketers and advertising professionals’ practical insights to design effective CRM campaigns. Additionally, it assists NPO managers to understand the crucial role of trust and creativity in CRM campaigns and its positive impact on donation intentions. Academic and managerial implications of this research study along with future directions are discussed.     

Social media and sustainable purchasing attitude: Role of trust in social media and environmental effectiveness

The role of social media in promoting sustainable attitudes is currently understudied. Underpinned by social learning theory, this study unveils the effect of social media usage and browsing on sustainable purchasing attitude, the underlying mechanism, and the boundary condition. Drawing on a sample of 693 experienced respondents analyzed using structural equation modeling, this study reveals that social media usage and browsing have a significant positive association. Both constructs significantly impact sustainable purchasing attitudes with complementary partial mediation of the drive for environmental responsibility. Further, trust in social media and perceived environmental effectiveness significantly moderate the relationships belongs to the browsing and drive for environmental responsibility. Contrary to the theorization, moderating constructs cannot substantially impact the proposed associations of social media usage. In this manner, the present research is innovative and provides valued knowledge to comprehend social media's role in encouraging sustainable attitudes.     

Cosmic profit: Countercultural commerce and the problem of trust in American marketing

This article offers an historical thesis on the demise of impersonal mass marketing and its replacement by personal niche or lifestyle marketing. Two parallel discussions are examined on the moral possibilities of marketing: one within the mainstream marketing establishment and the other among a countercultural network of small businesses. On a macro‐theoretical level, theories of moral identity (derived from Anthony Giddens) are used to describe the anxieties provoked by a popular failure of trust in mass marketing generally, and the significance of lifestyles in refurbishing this trust. On a cultural–historical level, the dialogue between mainstream and countercultural businesses reveals how these anxieties were addressed through lifestyles meant to affirm trust and intimacy between marketers and consumers. An analysis of the intellectual synergy between countercultures and mainstream marketers suggests an alternative to the standard understanding of cooptation.     

Images,reviews, and purchase intention on social commerce: The role of mental imagery vividness,cognitive and affective social presence

Images and textual reviews are central to social commerce sites. But little is known about the mechanism by which image quality and type of textual review (with personal experiences versus facts) impact consumer purchase intention on a social commerce page. We address this knowledge gap and use the stimulus-organism-response (S–O-R) framework to develop our conceptual framework. We hypothesize that image quality and type of textual review impact purchase intention through imagery vividness that functions as a stimulus. Further, imagery vividness impacts purchase intention positively in the social commerce context through social presence. Specifically, the effect of imagery vividness on purchase intention is likely to be serially mediated by cognitive social presence and affective social presence. We collect data by conducting two experiments using a social media post regarding fashion apparel for middle-aged women on Instagram and find support for our thesis.     

30年广告镜像:社会价值观念的嬗变(1979-2008)

本研究从中观层面入手,把中观层面的广告经营观变革分为五个阶段：产品力阶段（1979-1983）、文化力阶段（1984-1993）、媒介力阶段（1994-1997）、营销力阶段（1998-2003）和品牌力阶段（2004-2008）。在对广告界多位资深人士进行问卷调查和深度访问基础上,从中遴选出最具代表性的15个经典案例或事件。考察各阶段广告传播的微观波动——消费观,并从宏观角度寻找其与中观、微观律动的深层原因——时代观,以此管窥中国社会价值观念的变迁机制。     

Effect of the use of social media in trust,loyalty and purchase intention in physical stores

This research evaluates the effect of the use of social media on consumer trust, loyalty and purchase intention in physical stores. We used six constructs in a structural model: a consumer’s use of social media, company-generated communication in social media, user-generated communication on social media, trust, loyalty and purchase intention. We considered 406 valid respondents in the analysis. The results suggest that the use of social media, company and user-generated communication positively affects trust of the physical store. Trust, in turn, has a direct positive effect on consumer loyalty to the store, and both trust and loyalty have positive impacts on a consumer’s purchase intention. We note the impact of the use of social media on purchase intention in physical stores, through the building of trust and loyalty with the store, as a fundamental element in the definition and implementation of a successful marketing strategy by high street retailers.     

Exploring the antecedents of social liabilities in CVC triads—A dynamic social network perspective

This study addresses the emergence of social liabilities by taking a social network perspective on intra- and interorganizational network configurations using the hitherto unexplored example of the corporate venture capital (CVC) triad (CVC unit, corporate business unit, and portfolio company). We investigate social capital and social liability resulting from network formation and transformation and assess their impact on interorganizational knowledge transfer and creation. Examining 12 CVC triads in Germany, we identify new antecedents of social liability, show that social capital can initially facilitate knowledge transfer and creation, and that structural and personal lock-ins may eventually turn that capital into a liability. We make key theoretical contributions to the social network and CVC literature.     

Brand experience and consumers' social interactive engagement with brand page: An integrated-marketing perspective

As consumers increasingly go online to communicate about brands, brand marketers have been utilizing a popular platform to interact with them and create brand communities, namely a brand page. Prior studies have examined factors that promote the success of a brand page by narrowing focusing on only two influencing factors of engagement with the brand page: individual consumer characteristics and brand page features. Taking an integrated marketing perspective, this study extends that research by examining a broad range of influencing factors affecting engagement with brand page, such as sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioural brand experiences. Building upon the fundamental motive framework, we demonstrate that brand experience enhances consumers' motivation to participate, socialize, and perceive benefits from others involved within the brand page regardless of individual propensity to socialize online. Furthermore, as consumers are engaged in social interaction within a brand page, they are more likely to be involved in positive WOM about the brand. The theoretical and practical contributions of our study are further discussed, along with suggestions for future research in this important and growing field.     

The role of trust and privacy concerns in using social media for e-retail services: The moderating role of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the customers habits of purchasing as well as shopping behaviours. This study seeks to develop an integrated model of the critical role of trust and privacy concerns in influencing consumers purchase behaviour through social media. It also explored the moderating role of COVID-19 on these relationships. Quantitative data were collected using survey strategy through questionnaires to address different levels of the study. Our proposed model was tested with 1,200 consumers, 600 prior to COVID-19 and 600 during COVID-19. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was conducted to assess the hypotheses. The findings revealed that purchase intention depends on trust and privacy concerns. Information quality, security concerns, ease of use, privacy/security assurance seal, and disposition to third party certification are the main drivers of trust and privacy concerns. Furthermore, our proposed model during COVID-19 period has higher explanator power (R2 = 0.741) than before COVID-19 period (R2 = 0.603 and consumers buying behaviour has been increased during COVID-19. The results offer important implications for retailers and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of purchase behaviour through social media.     

Understanding the omnichannel customer journey: The effect of online and offline channel interactivity on consumer value co-creation behavior

Building on the service dominant logic, this study explores the effect of online and offline channel interactivity on consumers’ value co-creation behavior (VCB), the mediating effect of brand involvement, and the moderating effect of cross-channel consistency (CCC). We surveyed 387 customers who engage in omnichannel shopping. The relationship between online and offline channel interactivity and VCB was positive and partially mediated by brand involvement. The interaction effect of online channel interactivity (ONI) and offline channel interactivity (OFI) had a negative effect on brand involvement when CCC was low but a non-significant positive effect when CCC was high. These findings enrich the theoretical understanding of value co-creation and provide insights into omnichannel management.