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The impact of imitation on Chinese social commerce buyers’ purchase behavior: The moderating role of uncertainty

Author

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  • Chen, Xiayu
  • Li, Yanrui
  • Davison, Robert M.
  • Liu, Yezheng

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how buyers’ imitation of others’ online behavior is positively associated with purchase behavior. In addition, we consider the moderating role that product uncertainty, seller uncertainty and product fit uncertainty play in the relationship between imitation and purchase behavior. Users in China who have purchase experience on Xiaohongshu were chosen to test the hypotheses. Finally, longitudinal data from 282 respondents was collected. The findings show that imitation has a positive impact on purchase intention. Purchase intention positively affects actual purchase behavior. Product uncertainty and product fit uncertainty positively moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. But seller uncertainty doesn’t moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. Both theoretical and practical contributions are also considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Xiayu & Li, Yanrui & Davison, Robert M. & Liu, Yezheng, 2021. "The impact of imitation on Chinese social commerce buyers’ purchase behavior: The moderating role of uncertainty," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:56:y:2021:i:c:s0268401220314614
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102262
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sohaib, Muhammad & Han, Heesup, 2023. "Building value co-creation with social media marketing, brand trust, and brand loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Yogesh K Dwivedi & Elvira Ismagilova & Prianka Sarker & Anand Jeyaraj & Yassine Jadil & Laurie Hughes, 2023. "A Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Model for Understanding Social Commerce Adoption," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1421-1437, August.
    3. Wei Wu & Qianwen Yang & Xiang Gong, 2024. "Impulsive Social Shopping in Social Commerce Platforms: The Role of Perceived Proximity," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 1527-1541, August.
    4. Al-Omoush, Khaled Saleh & Ancillo, Antonio de Lucas & Gavrila, Sorin Gavrila, 2022. "The role of cultural values in social commerce adoption in the Arab world: An empirical study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Jingjing Wu & Yiwei Chen & Lin Hu & Anxin Xu, 2022. "Influence Factors on Consumers’ Instant Cross-buying under Supermarkets’ Cross-border Integration: From the Perspective of the Elaboration Likelihood Model," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    6. Chen, Xiayu & Shen, Junya & Wei, Shaobo, 2023. "What reduces product uncertainty in live streaming e-commerce? From a signal consistency perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Wang, Fei & Xu, Haifeng & Hou, Ronglin & Zhu, Zhen, 2023. "Designing marketing content for social commerce to drive consumer purchase behaviors: A perspective from speech act theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

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