Abstract
While much of the current literature tends to focus on the direct effect of social influence on consumer online shopping behavior, our study drew heavily on social influence theory and argued for an alternative theory focusing on the moderating role of social influence. In particular, we explored how positive messages in online discussion forums may affect consumers' decisions to shop online. We used a laboratory experiment in which the treatment group was required to read positive messages about online shopping experience in an online discussion forum. Positive social influence was found to reinforce the relationship between beliefs about and attitude toward online shopping, as well as the relationship between attitude and intention to shop. We believe our alternative theory provides new insight into the complex processes through which social influence is brought to bear on consumers' online shopping decisions. Implications of our work are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 185-191 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Information and Management |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2011 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Management Information Systems
- Information Systems
- Information Systems and Management
User-Defined Keywords
- Attitude
- Behavioral intention
- Belief
- Electronic commerce
- Electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
- Informational social influence
- Online discussion forum
- Online shopping
- Web 2.0