Consumer Satisfaction In Social Commerce: An Exploration Of Its Antecedents And Consequences

This study highlights the importance of consumer satisfaction in the context of social commerce. This study aims to explore the relationships that affect the phenomenon of consumer satisfaction in relation to social commerce. A survey method has been employed to measure the relationships between variables related to consumer satisfaction to study its role in social commerce. A total of 372 Saudi students studying in Australia and at the UBT University in Saudi Arabia have been surveyed for this purpose. The study used partial least squares (PLS) to test the structural and measurement model and study the interlinkages between variables. The results of this study show that all the dimensions of Trust and Social Influence have a significant association with Consumer Satisfaction. It was also found that Word of Mouth was the variable which impacted both Trust as well as Social Influence most strongly and in context of social commerce, Trust was found to be the dimension which impacted consumer satisfaction most strongly. This research acknowledges that in the field of social commerce, various factors impact consumer satisfaction differently when compared to factors impacting consumer satisfaction in regular, face-to-face buying/selling transactions. It acknowledges that even though social commerce is a facet of e-commerce, the factors which impact consumer satisfaction in social commerce settings, might not be the same as the ones which impact consumer satisfaction in either e-commerce or traditional commerce. Additionally, research is expected to aid businesses in charting their strategies to better match consumer requirements leading to more positive consumer satisfactions, ultimately leading to the growth of social commerce businesses. It is also expected that the findings of this study will add to the existing literature on social commerce and act as an opportunity for researchers to delve more deeply into the various factors which are associated with consumer satisfaction in social commerce. This would result in providing empirical evidence and help both organisations and individuals with a better understanding of the factors that affect consumer satisfaction in social commerce. In addition, this will help to contribute to the social commerce literature through a theoretical framework that explains the consumer satisfaction using SC.