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Community group buying (CGB) has shown exponential development recently because of the widespread use of social commerce and e-commerce. As a result of its popularity, the field has received increasing attention from academia, leading to a plethora of empirical studies to comprehend CGB and the elements that influence it. Therefore, reviewing the existing literature to identify potential gaps and future research opportunities becomes vital. Our study conducts a systematic literature review of CGB. We followed the PRISMA protocol, which generated 288 articles. Application of inclusion and exclusion criteria selected 41 studies for the detailed analysis. We analyzed the features of CGB from three perspectives: group leader, logistics, and localization, summarized five categories of antecedents (self-related, online-related, quality-related, operations-related, and risk-related), and identified two types of consequences (attitudinal, behavioral) of customers' participation. Several research gaps are identified, and corresponding research directions in the future are uncovered. Finally, we discuss the theoretical contribution and limitations of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the drivers of e-commerce continuance intentions among older consumers in Latin America. It employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to develop and test a conceptual model of e-commerce adoption for older adults in Chile. Data were collected through an online survey involving 202 participants aged 65 and over. The findings reveal that attitude toward e-commerce and three UTAUT2 predictors—performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence—are significantly related to e-commerce continuance intentions. Consumer innovativeness also has an indirect relationship through its impact on attitudes toward e-commerce. Additionally, facilitating conditions and habit are indirectly and significantly related to e-commerce continuance intentions through their influence on effort expectancy. However, hedonic motivation, perceived privacy risk, and health condition do not serve as significant predictors of e-commerce continuance intentions. This study enhances the understanding of older consumers' intentions to continue adopting e-commerce in a Latin American country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should online retailers be concerned about being perceived as ethical? Previously, researchers found that being perceived as ethical can help online retailers develop trust and satisfaction among consumers and convert them into loyal customers. Most studies have focused on the role of online retailers' ethics in enabling trust, satisfaction, and loyalty; almost none of the previous studies have focused on its impact on consumer–brand relationships, such as brand love. We investigated how becoming ethical can help online retailers garner brand love. The dataset (n = 407) was sourced from an online survey using a structured questionnaire. We tested the influence of the multidimensional construct of ethics of online retailing on brand love and the influence of brand love on trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. This research finds that being perceived as ethical can help online retailers enhance brand love and gain consumers' trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital credit services are rapidly evolving in the Internet commerce environment. As such, this study aims to identify and prioritize the key factors influencing the views of digital credit users (DCU) and digital credit providers (DCP) on privacy practices. The study begins with a comprehensive literature review to identify an extensive set of factors and inputs from an expert panel. Next, the study applies the well-established "multi-criteria decision-making method," which allows assigning weights to each of the four criteria and 13 sub-criterions to reveal DCU and DCP preferences for digital credit protection. Results indicated that the "Concerns about Personal Information" criteria are prioritized highly by DCU and DCP. This study marks the first attempt to reveal the preferences of DCU and DCP digital data privacy policies in a growing economy (India) and help policymakers and regulators align their digital privacy policies, enhancing the overall user experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines consumer perceptions of revenue distribution among authors, publishers, and retailers for physical and digital book formats, along with perceived price fairness and purchase intentions. Study1 reveals that consumers attribute higher revenue to authors and less to publishers for digital books (compared to physical ones). Higher attribution is associated with perceived outcome price fairness for digital books. However, physical books still command a higher willingness to pay and willingness to buy. Study 2 demonstrates that explicit cues about high author compensation significantly increase purchase likelihood and WTP for digital books but do not significantly affect perceived price fairness. Consumers with higher authorial remuneration concerns and those who perceive higher value in digital books are more influenced by these cues. These findings suggest that transparent communication about author compensation could effectively enhance purchase intentions for digital books, especially among digital reading enthusiasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing use of social media and the proliferation of digital applications, dark patterns have become a significant concern due to their potential impact on user behavior. These patterns aim to influence user engagement and impulse buying in ways that are often subtle and undesired. Despite the importance of this issue, there is a lack of research examining the effects of dark patterns on engagement and impulse buying behavior, particularly in the Middle East. This study investigates key factors associated with dark patterns on social media that impact user engagement and influence impulse buying behavior. A Google Forms survey was conducted with 492 participants from PSUT in Jordan, and SEM was employed for hypothesis testing. The study found that time, effort, pleasure, and social acceptance significantly positively influence user engagement, while non-routine behavior exerts a negative influence. Furthermore, engagement demonstrated a significant positive effect on impulse buying behavior. Marketers should prioritize genuine connections and ethical practices to maintain trust and respect user autonomy. Dark patterns can erode trust and harm long-term relationships, emphasizing the need for transparency, social proof, and ethical data handling. This research addresses a significant gap in understanding the influence of dark patterns on consumer behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a pivotal technological force, revolutionizing business operations with innovative solutions. While the existing body of knowledge has extensively delved into various facets of AI, a noticeable gap exists in systematically consolidating current research. To fulfill this gap, this study employs a bibliometric analysis, providing a comprehensive overview of AI in marketing literature. The article shed light on key journals, authors, publications, and research themes in the AI field. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers, pinpointing areas needing attention and suggesting directions for future research. Beyond academia, the study extends practical recommendations for effective AI strategy implementation, emphasizing adaptability and ethical considerations in marketing. This research not only contributes to consolidating AI knowledge but also furnishes strategic guidance for both academic and professional stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online grocery industry's swift expansion and intense competition underscore the urgency to tackle sustainable business and cost issues while adapting to consumer trends requires higher prices for continued profit. Utilizing complexity theory, the present study aims to explore the impact of proactive and collaborative strategies on customer-brand engagement and experience, ultimately fostering an increased willingness to pay a premium. Accordingly, the results (n = 406) show that proactive customer orientation and value co-creation significantly increase the customer experience and foster higher levels of customer-brand engagement, ultimately increasing willingness to pay more. Notably, the mediation analysis reveals that customer-brand engagement serves as a mediating factor in the relationship between customer experience and the willingness to pay more. This study contributes to the online grocery shopping literature by integrating proactive and collaborative strategies and investigates customer experience and engagement through the lens of complexity theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the factors that influence the post-adoption behavior of users of mobile banking applications, i.e., continuance intention. A research framework was proposed by extending the IS success model in the context of post-adoption behavior of mobile banking app users. A sample of 345 current users of mobile banking applications was selected using convenience sampling. Service quality, information quality, system quality, perceived risk, and perceived trust substantially affect customer satisfaction. Satisfaction has mediated the relationship between these indicators and the desire to continue using mobile banking services in India. Moreover, the key drivers of mobile banking continuation intention were service quality, perceived risk, trust, and satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand communities are of great interest to marketers, and motivating participation in these communities has been explored from many different perspectives. The current study examined how men and women differ in the motives (i.e., entertainment, receiving and sharing information, social integration, self-discovery, and status enhancement) behind their behavior rather than the more often discussed difference between men and women regarding actual behavior and attitudes. A survey sample (N = 195) was collected to explore this, and the data were analyzed with PLS-SEM. The model of participation motives for women was compared to the model for men, and differences (and similarities) were analyzed. The findings indicate that the genders have different motivations to participate in these brand communities. Specifically, the self-discovery and sharing information motives were significantly more important for males, while the social integration motive was significantly more important for females. However, the genders had no differences regarding entertainment, receiving information, and status enhancement motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of trust/reputation and parasocial influence in influencing purchase intention among consumers of baby products who frequent Polish parenting blogs. Empirical data was collected by survey (n-1050) of blog readers to construct a model to assess the impact of trust/reputation and parasocial influence. Factor analysis was used to create scores which were then tested using a multiple binary logistic regression model. The research found that while both trust/reputation and parasocial influence were important determinants of consumer purchase intention, trust was significantly more important to baby product consumers than parasocial influence. Additionally, parasocial influence was a more important indicator of purchase intention among younger respondents (under 23 years of age) than those 23 years and older. Additionally, readers who have read blogs for longer are more likely to trust these sources, perceiving them to be reputable. Hence, bloggers should aim to foster long-term relationships with consumers when endorsing products that demand higher trust, such as baby products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging consumers to adopt a new shopping model is always challenging for a retailer. With the fierce competition in the retail industry, retailers aim to actively reach more consumers, especially on the internet. The Try-Before-You-Buy (TBYB) e-commerce shopping model has been emerging and rapidly developing recently. This study examines the antecedents of consumers' acceptance of the TBYB model. We find that tailoring to consumers' preferences—namely, implementing a customization strategy—is beneficial to enhance consumers' perceived quality of the TBYB model, however, it also increases their perceived risk of the model. Additionally, offering a flexible forward transaction process is more important than the backward transaction flexibility because while both increase consumers' perceived quality, only the forward transaction flexibility reduces consumers' perceived risk of the TBYB model. Further, we find while the perceived quality is a facilitator for consumers to have the intention to accept the TBYB model, higher perceived risk is not a preventer. This reveals the asymmetric role of consumers' perceived quality and perceived risk in generating their TBYB model acceptance intention. Our study helps retailers to implement the corresponding improvement policies and designs to better optimize the operations of the TBYB model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand experience in general and online brand experience in particular, have received a lot of attention from researchers and marketers. Many authors have studied the outcomes and antecedents of online brand experience in different contexts. However, unlike most other studies, which have utilized a more generalized construct of online brand experience, this research investigatesa more specific website-based construct of online brand experience. We propose and testan integrated model of key antecedents and outcomes of website-based online brand experience. Specifically, we examine the role of flow and theory of consumption valuesin influencing the online brand experience, and the influence of the theory ofconsumption values and online brand experience on satisfaction and online purchase intention. The study utilizes the data collected from 308 young consumers. Hypotheses are tested by conducting Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study results indicate that the theory of consumption values and flow are the critical drivers of online brand experience, and online brand experience positively influences satisfaction and purchase intention. Implications are discussed in the concluding section of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Internet Commerce (JIC) has been a leading peer-reviewed journal focusing on the influence of the internet in all aspects of commerce since 2002. This study analyses the bibliometric data of articles and reviews published in JIC between 2002 and 2021 using indicators that include annual citation structure, most cited documents of JIC, and the topmost productive author, institutions and countries. Additionally, the VOS viewer software has been used to visualize bibliometric data in the form of co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrences of the authors, institutions, countries, and keywords published in JIC. The results also suggest the area where the JIC should focus in the future based on the bibliographic data and considering the changing online landscape. It is also noted that the relative performance of JIC is good compared to other leading journals in the domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to empirically examine the interrelationships between online impulse buying tendencies (IBT), hedonic motives, online promotions, impulse purchase decision (IPD), and customer satisfaction. A structured survey instrument was used to collect data from 625 consumers from southern India. After checking the psychometric properties of the survey instrument with structural equation modeling, the moderated-mediation model was analyzed using Hayes PROCESS. The results showed that (i) impulse purchase decision (IPD) mediated the relationship between impulsive buying tendency (IBT) and customer satisfaction (CS), (ii) hedonic motives moderated the relationship between IBT and IPD, and (iii) hedonic motives and online promotions moderate the relationship between IPD and CS. This study contributes to the literature because it provides valuable insight into two-way and three-way interactions among the significant variables in consumer behavior. The COVID-19 global pandemic brought a paradigm change in consumer behavior, and thus understanding the e-shopper's IB behavior is critical for e-retailers to change their strategies to capture a broader market. The implications for marketing research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study sought to fill a gap in the literature by examining how advertising's affective and cognitive values influence compulsive purchasing on Instagram. To do so, we considered the roles of hedonic and utilitarian browsing and customer anxiety. To achieve the stated purpose of this study, an applied research method was utilized, and the data were collected through an online survey. To analyze the data, the structural equation modeling using partial least squares was applied. The results showed that advertising's affective and cognitive values have an effect on hedonic and utilitarian browsing and, consequently, the urge to buy impulsively and compulsively. The findings also revealed that the customer anxiety was an influential variable for compulsive buying and an impressible variable for the urge to buy impulsively. This study may benefit entrepreneurs in the realm of transitional economies to attract customers by controlling environmental stimuli that influence customers' Instagram searches and, ultimately, their buying behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas much research has looked at how recommendation systems influence online purchase intentions, this article illustrates the dual process model by which they occur. Using two studies, we fill the research void in interactive marketing by demonstrating how the dual processes of social proof and risk avoidance mediate the impact of recommendation labels on consumer decision-making contingent upon their level of involvement. Study 1 (n = 73), used a mixed-subjects design with a college student sample to demonstrate that both types of recommendation labels will lead to higher purchase intentions in an online setting. Most importantly, it provides evidence for the main effect of our theoretical model across different product categories. Study 2 (n = 160) provides support for our remaining four hypotheses by demonstrating the underlying process through which recommendation labels have a two-fold effect on purchase intentions. Specifically, the recommendation label increased the risk avoidance effect for high-involvement consumers and enhanced the social proof effect for low-involvement consumers. In both cases, the recommendation labels increased purchase intentions. Implications of our findings for theoretical and practical contributions and future directions are also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaining and responding to consumer interest in offered products is critical in e-commerce communication. When exposed to product-attribute information, e-commerce consumers may be interested in the meaning or importance of the presented attributes. Two online experiments with Polish young adults demonstrate that consumer interest in those types of information is related to product self-relevance (i.e., whether consumers consider buying a product for themselves vs. they are merely evaluating the product). Namely, in the high (vs. low) self-relevance condition, consumers are less interested in importance-type information (i.e., they seek it less from consultants and retrieve it less from their knowledge while sharing their opinions online). Moreover, in the high (vs. low) self-relevance condition, consumers retrieve more meaning-type information while sharing opinions online. Additionally, consumers sharing online opinions retrieve more importance-type information when processing more analytically. The above findings extend the existing literature by linking product self-relevance and information processing with e-commerce consumer interest in product information. The results may be helpful for e-commerce marketers and managers who aim to gain and respond to consumer interest in specific types of product information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is motivated by the lack of comprehension on how lurking and posting engagement are driven by hedonic vs. utilitarian brands in social media-based brand communities (SMBBC). Survey responses of 229 social media customers comprising group 1 for hedonic brands (n = 126) and group 2 for utilitarian brands (n = 103) were included in a multigroup analysis (MGA). PLS-SEM modeling results indicate that economic and entertainment needs of customers are significantly related to lurking engagement for hedonic brands. In contrast, identification and information needs of customers are significantly related to posting engagement for utilitarian brands. Importantly, lurking engagement appears more significantly related to brand loyalty compared to posting engagement. The study extends several insights on lurking and posting engagement to design brand type-oriented social media marketing strategies. Findings of the study also enrich the Uses and Gratification Theory in the context of lurking and posting engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the effects of online convenience and shopping experience on consumer satisfaction and future purchase decisions by applying a different view to explain the customers' increasing experience with online shopping in the Chinese growing market. Data from 226 Chinese consumers used to buy online are used to analyze the proposed research model through Partial Least Squares Structural Path Modeling. The findings show that the intention to purchase is enhanced by customer satisfaction and shopping experiences and that satisfaction plays a mediating role in these relationships. Additionally, the results show that search and post-possession dimensions have the most influence on online shopping convenience. In contrast, access (ACC), transaction (TRA), and possession (POS) convenience have an indirect negative impact on future purchase intention. The findings offer actionable guidance to online retailers wanting to enhance customer satisfaction and promote future purchase intentions by helping retailers who are doing business or planning to do business online in China. Offering additional suggestions on how to foster online satisfaction, the study's conclusions help improve the effectiveness of e-commerce strategy. The current study also extends previous work on service convenience by validating the impact of online shopping convenience (SCV) on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of Marketing 5.0, crafting a favorable brand attitude and engaging consumers with a banking brand has become the most critical and challenging task for bank marketers to enhance overall brand equity. Previous research did not suggest how effectively social media marketing efforts enhance overall brand equity in the financial service sector. In response to this gap, this study aims to examine how social media marketing efforts (SMME) influence overall brand equity (OBE) through consumer brand engagement (CBE) and brand attitude (BAtt) in the banking sector in Bangladesh. Furthermore, brand trust (BT) is tested as a moderator of SMME and CBE. The data were obtained by a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 263 banking consumers in Bangladesh using a systematic sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate hypothesized relationships. The results indicated that SMM efforts directly influence CBE and BAtt. CBE and BAtt partially mediate the relationship between SMME and OBE. Moreover, the results confirmed the moderating role of brand trust on the link between SMME and CBE. The findings of this research offer significant implications for building overall brand equity in the social media marketing perspective, particularly for the banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite marketers increasing interest in influencer marketing, selecting the right influencer(s) for such campaigns remain a challenge. The success of any marketing strategy can simply be attributed to its ability to achieve desired objectives. Hence, to advise brands, the present study examines the role of influencer credibility and influencer-brand congruence in impacting the brand's two main goals of conducting influencer marketing campaigns on Instagram, i.e., brand attitude and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention. This research intends to recommend which factors brands should consider while selecting influencer(s) for their marketing campaigns on Instagram. A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was performed on 383 Instagram users. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The findings indicate that expertise, similarity, and congruence have a positive relationship with brand attitude. While expertise, trustworthiness, and similarity have a positive relationship with users' intention to engage in eWOM. The current study also offers theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of celebrity influencers on consumers' responses in social media ads is under-explored yet critical for marketers to practice better communication strategies to young Instagram users. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how young Instagram users (e.g., generation Z and millennials) establish consumer-brand relationships (i.e., parasocial interaction, related closeness) through perceived values toward an Instagram ad (i.e., similarity/likability, perceived interactivity, exposure/openness), especially between familiar versus unfamiliar models. Through the lens of Parasocial Interaction Theory, relationship strength is differentiated depending on types of content, thus this study scrutinizes the effects of the relationship between consumers and familiarity of models on positive relationship building and the variables associated with and influence that relationship. An online survey of 274 Instagram users was conducted via Amazon Mturk. Data analyses were conducted, using SPSS 25.0 and a multigroup structural equation modeling was utilized, using AMOS 22.0, to test the suggested relationships. The study findings provide insights to marketers on how to practice better social media marketing strategies by collaborating with influencers/celebrities and exhibit effective and relevant marketing campaigns to targeted audiences. Our study results confirmed likeability as one of the strongest predictors for parasocial interaction which is in line with the findings from previous studies regarding Parasocial Interaction Theory. Though openness was addressed and confirmed as one of critical factors that lead consumers' PSI, our finding demonstrates that importance of openness matters for only familiar models. Future research is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasingly ubiquitous phenomenon on social media is that consumers create user-generated content (UGC) to display their purchases. This type of UGC is purchase-centered. The viewers of the UGC can include both close friends (strong ties) and acquaintances (weak ties). This paper conducted a series of five studies to fill research gaps about the relations between tie strength, purchase intention, and benign envy. The results of the first three studies consistently show that tie strength between the buyer and the viewers positively influences the viewers' feeling of benign envy, which in turn affects viewers' purchase intention toward the displayed purchase. Furthermore, two additional experiments identify purchase type as a moderator of the mediation effect. Specifically, benign envy mediates the effect when the purchase is a material one but not an experiential one. These findings not only reveal how the viewers of purchase-centered UGC are influenced by tie strength and benign envy, but also demonstrate the role of purchase type in the effect of purchase-centered UGC. This research extends multiple research streams including tie strength, social comparison, and purchase type. Additionally, this research provides important implications for the practices of advertising, UGC marketing, and influencer marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-uncertainty is of high relevance for a wide range of thinking and behavior, associated with compulsive buying patterns, since a high level of self-uncertainty is an interfering factor for a stable and consistent self. In turn, online compulsive buying is caused by a wide range of negative personality traits or states. Consequently, self-uncertainty can be viewed as a new important potential predictor for online compulsive buying. With the development of e-commerce, online compulsive buying has been identified as an increasing pathological buying pattern with severe consequences, such as debts, psychological distress and conflicts in partnerships, in particular for female and young consumers. Until now self-uncertainty has not been considered as a factor of influence on either compulsive buying or online compulsive buying. Present research aims to close this gap and investigate whether self-uncertainty affects online compulsive buying and if this effect is moderated by gender. Our sample consisted of Chinese University students (n = 404) who completed the Self-Uncertainty questionnaire , and a modified version of the Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale. We observed that self-uncertainty affects online compulsive buying and that self-uncertainty increases online compulsive buying for females, but not for males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality is an emerging and promising technology to expand consumer shopping experiences in the retail sector. How augmented reality apps can impact consumer perceptions is still in debate. This study investigates the influence of augmented reality mobile apps on consumers' behavioral intention to use this technology, using the technology acceptance model. Data were collected from 363 undergraduate and graduate university students in Pakistan. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to check the path relationships. Study participants' experience and perception were measured through the direct and indirect effects of the augmented reality-based mobile app. The study findings indicated that augmented reality app directly influences perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and indirect influence on attitude toward use and behavioral intention to use. Thus, there is no sequential mediation effect of perceived ease of use and attitude toward use between augmented reality app and behavior intention to use. This study is the first to contribute theory toward understanding retail customer perceptions about augmented reality app and their behavioral intention to use it in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer's trust in vendors' reputation is a key factor that facilitates economic transactions in e-commerce platforms. Although the trust-sales relationship is assumed robust and consistent, its empirical evidence remains neglected for Latin American countries. This work aims to provide a data-driven comprehensive framework for extracting valuable knowledge from public data available in the leading Latin American e-commerce platform with commercial operations in 18 countries. Only Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela showed the highest trust indexes among all nations analyzed. The trust-sales relationship was statistically inconsistent across nations but worked as the most important predictor of sales, followed by purchase intention and price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, it will increasingly empower the successful use of intelligent agent (IA) technologies in marketing practices. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the state-of-the-art literature and present a holistic view of different types of antecedents of IA technology use in marketing from the consumer's perspective. This paper uses the systematic literature review method and covers 107 articles published in scientific journals between 2000 and 2020. The identified antecedents are categorized into IA characteristics, consumer perceptions, external conditions, as well as individual characteristics and analyzed at the individual level of use. Future research should focus on investigating the relative importance of the effects of IA characteristics, consumer perceptions, external, and individual factors on consumers' intentions to use IAs. This paper argues that while extant technology acceptance models contribute to the understanding of IA use, IAs, due to their unique characteristics (e.g., anthropomorphism) and dimensions (e.g., IA as an interface, as a proxy for the system and an autonomous aggregator and agent), require a new lens to explain the drivers of IA use in data-rich and process-rich environments. The traditional technology acceptance theories provide a valuable, yet incomplete understanding of how consumers use IAs. Drawing from representation theory, this paper proposes a theoretical framework of IA use and argues that IAs act as representations to facilitate the primary goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary economy, e-commerce is experiencing dynamic growth. One of the factors that determines its development is that of online trust in terms of the relations between the online seller and the consumer. The adoption of the assumption that online trust has an impact on the purchasing behavior of e-consumers had an influence on the formulation of the aim of the research, which was to identify the relations between cultural factors and consumer online trust, as well as the impact of consumer online trust on the purchasing intentions of young consumers. The empirical results illustrate that the trust attributes significantly affect the purchasing intentions of young consumers. In particular, trust in websites and positive experiences in relations with an online shop in the past have a direct positive influence on the intentions to conduct transactions on the internet. The research findings indicate their potential use in marketing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the evaluation of social media performance from a user's perspective using the expectation confirmation theory as the theoretical framework. The interplay between initial expectations and subsequent evaluations of social media performance, in particular, forms the basis of the evaluation. The research focuses on the influence that the performance of brand-related user-generated content is able to exert on a user's brand attitude, self-image, and the development of their personal brand. This conceptual paper develops three propositions suggesting that the social media performance of brand-related user-generated content is able to influence one's brand attitude, self-image, and personal brand respectively. A typology of four different social media user types is developed through an evaluation of the disconfirmation experienced as a result of the interplay between initial expectations and the actual evaluation of the performance of brand-related, user-generated content. The concept of social media performance is proposed, which considers the subjective evaluation of the performance of a brand-related post shared on social media platforms. In addition, the research expands the expectation confirmation theory to a new context in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of an existing yet under researched phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online consumer reviews serve an important marketing function, as they provide useful consumer-generated product information that could help online shoppers evaluate a product for making a purchase decision. To capitalize on this consumer-driven marketing opportunity, a common practice among marketers, for example, is to display these reviews from "highest" to "lowest" ratings to strategically "guide" online shoppers to access and process these reviews. The current study examined how the serial position placement of online consumer reviews might influence the systematic and heuristic information processing style leading to product evaluation and purchase decision-making. Results showed that consumer reviews published in an ascending order of ratings led to more systematic information processing, which in turn was positively related to perceived review helpfulness. The opposite was true for the placement effects of consumer reviews on heuristic processing, and the relationship between heuristic processing and perceived review helpfulness. Consumers' prior brand attitude had a positive association with systematic processing and perceived review helpfulness, in addition to a negative relationship with heuristic processing. While perceived review helpfulness and perceived e-commerce website credibility were positively associated with each other, the latter was similarly linked to consumer intentions to shop on the e-commerce website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) for understanding consumer adoption of e-shopping within a developing country. Online surveys with Pakistani college students were conducted. Multiple linear regression revealed that perceived ease of use, trust, perceived usefulness, and shopping experience influence consumers' attitudes toward e-shopping, emphasizing the applicability of TAM. This study further expands the TAM by incorporating trust in terms of country image, showing that trust has the most significant impact on the intention to purchase from a particular country. Moreover, the levels of trust vary most significantly between these countries, whereby Pakistani consumers are most likely to trust websites originating in developed countries, compared to those from developing countries, and trust websites belonging to their own country the least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the growing importance of marketing activities in social media (SM) has attracted a lot of attention in researches and industries around the world. Many companies consider flow theory important to strengthen their customer relationships in the online environment. Flow Theory experience can predict satisfactory outcomes for online interactions between consumers and companies. This study examines the moderating role of flow theory on the relationship between marketing activities and customer responses. A total of 384 customers who experienced online shopping from "DigiKala," one of the most pioneer online retailers in Iran, answered the survey. Data collection was done through the questionnaires, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data of this study. The results showed that marketing activities in social media have a significant positive effect on brand equity and customer response. Also, flow theory moderates the impact of marketing activities on social media, brand equity, and customer response, significantly. Finally, brand equity affects customer responses in the present research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking website usage has been rapidly expanding ever since their introduction in the early 2000s. This strategy of social commerce is paying off with increased revenues for many businesses. Despite the growth of social commerce websites, some consumers are still reluctant to use social commerce websites. This research intends to examine the antecedents of social commerce adoption in Vietnam. Four hundred and forty-seven (447) Vietnamese social networking website users participated in this study. The findings uncover the antecedents which are significant in influencing Vietnamese consumers' intention to engage in social commerce. The results have both practical and research implications on understanding social commerce adoption in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates and compares online banking (OB) acceptance in the cultures of Pakistan and Turkey by employing the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) integrated with perceived credibility to predict customers' behavioral intentions (BI) and their usage of online banking. This study further investigates the moderation influence of five cultural dimensions on customers' usage behavior (UB). Using an online survey, data were collected through a questionnaire from 322 bank customers in Pakistan and 405 in Turkey. Structural equation modeling through Smart-PLS was used to analyze relationships among the constructs. Our analysis shows that performance expectancy (PE), hedonic motivation, habit (HT), and perceived credibility (PC) are determinants of OB acceptance in Pakistan, whereas PE, social influence, price value, HT, and PC are the factors affecting Turkish bank customer intentions. Results of the cultural moderators show that collectivism and long-term/short-term orientation affect customers' UB in Pakistan while uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity/femininity moderate the UB of Turkish customers. Our findings provide new insights for developing online banking in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commentary introduces two research articles accepted for the special issue on "social media influencer marketing". The first article elucidates the role of social media influencers' attributes in affecting brand attitudes and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), whereas the second article illustrates how influencers decode and transmit organizations' commercial messages to their followers. The commentary ends with a short discussion of emerging influencers such as virtual influencers, pet influencers, and metaverse influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The auction process can be divided into the auctioning, bidding, winning, and paying stages. Nonpaying bid behavior is a critical issue underlying the customer-to-customer (C2C) business model. This paper proposes and examines a research model that describes nonpaying bid behavior by concisely considering technological (platform quality), psychological (perceived risk), and individual (impulse buying inclination) aspects. The moderation effect of interaction–risk (combined interaction quality and perceived risk) on nonpaying attitude is investigated along with the influence of gender on such moderation effect. The proposed research model is examined by performing an empirical quantitative survey among users of a C2C auction platform. Based on data collected from 303 valid samples, results show that impulsive bidding inclination (individual aspect) and interaction quality (psychological aspect) are significantly associated with nonpaying bid behavior. Meanwhile, platform quality (technological aspect) and perceived risk (psychological aspect) are unlikely to determine nonpaying bid behaviors at the bid-paying stage. The moderation effect is significant, whereas the gender effect is insignificant. The managerial implications of these findings are also discussed along with some suggestions. This research highlights the value of modeling nonpaying bid behavior for C2C auction platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the various risk factors that alter online shopping behavior in Kuwait, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online questionnaires were distributed through various social media platforms. Overall, 385 responses were collected via online questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using AMOS 21 for the purpose of structural equation modeling. The findings show that risk susceptibility, risk severity, and risk of formal penalties positively affect consumers' online buying attitude in Kuwait, whereas product risk, financial risk, and non-delivery risk show no significant effect. Convenience risk is the only factor that negatively affects attitudes. Further, we find a new path wherein formal penalties imposed on those who break the lockdown rules can directly and positively affect consumer behavior toward online shopping during the pandemic. We show that factors that affect the attitude and behavior of users toward online shopping in normal non-emergency times, vary from those during emergency times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the influence of trust on purchase intention is well studied in e-commerce, the emergence and rapid growth of the sharing economy has renewed the relevance of this relationship. Though the sharing economy lacks the institutional assurance mechanisms inherent in traditional industries, consumers must rely on trust to inform their selection decisions more so than before. In this study, the influence on trust of four consumer characteristics and accommodation type (whether an accommodation is a hotel or an AirBnB) are evaluated. Findings reveal that disposition to trust, education, uncertainty avoidance, and the accommodation type variables influence trust. Findings also support relationships between trust and both purchase intention and recommendation intention. These findings carry implications for sharing platform developers as well as e-commerce researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of electronic banking service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and customer loyalty (CL). It also sought to compare differences between SQ delivery of domestic and foreign origin banks operating in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to investigate the relationships between the dimensions of electronic banking SQ, CS and CL. In addition, the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was also conducted to establish the differences in electronic banking SQ between local banks and foreign banks. The results show that, all four dimensions of SQ, namely convenience, ease of use, accessibility, and affordability were found to be significant positive drivers of CS. The study also found that CS fully mediates the relationship between all four electronic banking SQ dimensions and CL. Additionally, the study reports that on average foreign origin banks deliver better electronic banking SQ to their customers than domestic banks. Domestic banks should invest more in improving electronic banking SQ to drive CS, CL and ultimately firm performance. The findings of this study reinforce literature on the positive influence of SQ on CS and CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing communications are witnessing a historic change in current times with online digital video advertising becoming a trend. Marketers are spending a significant pie of advertising budget on such video advertising on YouTube as it is a prevalent digital video channel among Generation Y. Purchasing decisions of this generation are influenced by YouTube advertising. Thus, understanding the perceived value of YouTube advertising becomes imperative for global marketers, especially in India which consists of 440 million millennials to target them. In this backdrop, the current study supplements to the extant literature by adding new linkages in the field of advertising by investigating attitude toward advertising as a mediator, mediating the relationship of perceived advertising value with purchase intentions. The study applies moderated mediation to examine the role of customer engagement. The mediation and moderated mediation were tested using PROCESS macro v3.5 by Andrew F. Hayes after collecting responses from 374 millennials. Implications for marketers are discussed in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commentary introduces six research articles collected for the special issue on "progressing understanding of online customer engagement: recent trends and challenges". These six research articles discuss the current use and future applications of online customer engagement and also propose fruitful future research avenues for scholars to further strengthen the footings of this pivotal concept in the marketing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have investigated the impact of various factors on customers' online shopping behaviors. What is not yet clear is the influence of customers' pandemic concerns on their purchase intentions and purchasing behaviors. This study, based on a survey of 520 online customers in Turkey, aimed to investigate pandemic-related concerns on customers' purchase intentions. We analyzed its role on customer segmentation. We extended the theory of planned behavior by introducing the impact customers' pandemic concerns. Testing the hypotheses with partial least squares, the results indicated that customers' pandemic concerns had an impact on their purchase intentions. We also discovered three customer segments by using psychographic variables obtained from hypotheses testing. Pandemic-related concerns were revealed a determinant in customer segmentation. We provided an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge of customer segmentation and customers' online shopping manners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the paramount importance of work on customer engagement and brand experience, there is a vital research gap regarding inspecting the relational dynamics between these constructs across the contexts, principally in the setting of banking industry. This study, therefore, aims to foster the understanding of engagement and experience in bettering banks' ties with their customers so that a sustained loyal customer base is developed and managed over time. Toward the end, this study also investigates gender's moderating role on the proposed relationships. This research work has emphasized various important customer engagement and brand experience issues and their inferences, which may be very supportive in formulating the strategies essential for the growth of the retail banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to technological breakthroughs, drivers are enjoying traffic-associated social media to share and update information in place of the traditional ways using TV or radio. In this research, we integrate the IS success model and the privacy calculus model to elaborate on the factors of sustaining user's continuance intention in information-sharing platforms. We collected data via online surveys from a community-based application that supports real-time traffic information sharing. The findings shed light on how perceived value and privacy concerns impact users' continuance intention. While a higher level of perceived value enhances users' continuance intention, privacy concerns do not influence users' decision in continuing using the traffic app. This research provides initial efforts to investigate the effect of privacy paradox on users' continuance intention in the new context of a specific traffic-related social media platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdfunding websites have emerged as a novel financing channel to promote new ideas and facilitate innovative product development. The crowd can examine the project online and provide their support in the form of a donation or in exchange for reward. The study argues that the success of crowdfunding refers not only to financial resources but also to the connection among individuals on the crowdsourcing website. Considering the characteristics of online funders and product development, this study proposes an integrative model to examine the relationships among individuals' traits, affordance of website design, individual cognition, and funding intention. A survey was conducted to collect and analyze empirical data from the largest Taiwanese crowdfunding website. The research results demonstrate that individuals' altruism and innovativeness significantly affect their trusting belief in the crowdfunding proposer; design affordance is also an important antecedent of trust and risk perception. Moreover, trust and risk perception significantly affect individuals' attitude and further intention to donate the crowdfunding project. This study suggests both practical and theoretical views for elucidating and enhancing the effectiveness of crowdfunding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

V-commerce is emerging as a promising technology for a new type of e-commerce application, which can address the critical need for integrating both social and technical aspects of online shopping. This research provides a theoretical framework to understand the antecedents and consequences of consumer attitudes toward v-commerce. Our framework extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) by incorporating immersion, enjoyment, trust and VR self-efficacy as potential antecedents; and consumers' intention to purchase, intention to visit the company's online and/or physical store and intention to recommend v-commerce to others as potential consequences. Furthermore, this research proposes that processing fluency, need for touch, propensity to trust and gender have a moderating effect on consumer attitudes toward v-commerce. Overall, the propositions derived from this study can help marketers identify and analyze the factors leading to the acceptance of v-commerce (and other future e-commerce technologies) among consumers. The study concludes with a discussion of theoretical and managerial implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore the characteristics of omnichannel shoppers in the context of webrooming and showrooming behavior. A total of two hundred and forty research papers were accessed from various sources through searches based on keywords. One hundred and thirteen papers were found to be relevant for further analysis. Most of the studies were from the USA and UK and had predominantly used structural equation modeling for analysis and establishing relationships between the variables of interest. Based on analysis of these studies and a thorough review of extant literature on omnichannel retail environment in general and webrooming and showrooming behavior in particular, the present study attempts to (i) provide deeper insights into the omnichannel phenomena; (ii) identify the determinants of the consumer purchase journey in an omnichannel environment; (iii) categorize the extant studies in five broad areas; and (iv) identify the critical areas for future research focusing on new forms of buying behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impulsive online buying is receiving more attention. This study finds that certain characteristics of online reviews lead consumers to buy impulsively online. Three constructs are used to investigate the inducements to engage in impulsive online buying, namely perceived enjoyableness of online reviews, reviewer reputation, and vividness of product presentation. We also examine the moderating effect of perceived price dispersion (PPD) on impulsive online buying using stratified sampling, with 419 respondents participating. Reputable reviewers in diversified online review websites increase consumer attraction to similar products through vivid product reviews that comprehensively inform consumers about products. Moreover, the effectiveness of PPD to trigger impulsive purchases depends on consumer trust in product reviews (for products of the same value). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the impact of anthropomorphism and augmented reality (AR) on consumers' attitudes and intention to adopt m-commerce. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted amongst 541 Executive MBA students who had never previously used AR-mediated m-commerce to purchase merchandise from a retail brand. SPSS and AMOS 21 were used to construct a structural equation model to test our conceptual model. The results indicate that anthropomorphization of AR-mediated m-commerce positively affects consumer confidence, perception of innovativeness, and subjective norms attributed to AR-mediated m-commerce, which in-turn positively affect the attitude toward AR-mediated m-commerce. Simultaneously, anthropomorphization of AR-mediated m-commerce negatively affects cynicism and product usage obstructions, whereas cynicism negatively affects attitudes toward AR-mediated m-commerce. Consequently, the study establishes that anthropomorphizing AR-mediated m-commerce positively affects attitude, and it promotes the adoption of m-commerce. This information is crucial for retail industries in emerging markets, and it fills a notable knowledge gap in the AR and m-commerce literature by demonstrating that anthropomorphism helps to stimulate consumer confidence and dispel consumer doubts about AR-mediated m-commerce. It also validates the replacement of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with confidence and cynicism when applying the technology acceptance model in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]