Received: 11 May 2017 Revised: 23 March 2018 Accepted: 4 April 2018

DOI: 10.1002/cb.1722

ACADEMIC PAPER

Forces affecting perception of product comments on social‐

WOM: An interactive, relational communication perspective
Angelina Nhat Hanh Le1 | Ben Roy Do2 | Nurul Azizah2 | Ryan Huu Phuc Dang2 |
2
Julian Ming Sung Cheng

1
University of Economics HCM City, 59C
Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3, Ho‐Chi‐Minh Abstract
City, Vietnam An attempt is made to explore the predicting factors of the perception of product
2
Business Administration Department,
comments on word‐of‐mouth through social media (social‐WOM). The concept of
National Central University, No. 300, Chung‐
Ta Rd., Chung Li District, Taoyuan City 32001, the Social Information Processing theory is borrowed to develop a 4‐stage frame-
Taiwan
work in which 4 determinants drive the 2 perceptions of sWOM product com-
Correspondence
Angelina Nhat Hanh Le, University of
ments through 2 sequential intervening mediators. The field study is conducted
Economics HCM City, 59C Nguyen Dinh in Taiwan. Survey data are collected from a sample of 408 participants. The find-
Chieu, District 3, Ho‐Chi‐Minh City, Vietnam.
Email: lenhathanh@gmail.com;
ings show that, in a social media community, intimacy, dominance, and informality
lenhathanh@yahoo.com alleviate the perception of environmental uncertainty, which in turn stimulates the
involvement of sWOM product comments; eventually, both the outcome variables
Funding information
of trustability and quality of these comments arise. Additionally, task orientation
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City
and intimacy and dominance are able to drive community members to perceive
the 2 outcome perceptions through the direct pathway of involvement. Further-
more, environmental uncertainty is capable of straightforwardly evoking the quality
of comments.

1 | I N T RO D U CT I O N The widespread use of sWOM has changed the focus of con-

The unprecedented reach of social media has made it an indispens-
able marketing platform (Kumar, Bezawada, Rishika, Janakiraman, &
Kannan, 2016), as more than 95% of marketers are reported to have
participated in social media marketing (Stelzner, 2015). In the social
media era, consumers can post self‐generated product content on
their personalized webpages and collect and exchange product infor-
mation from other consumers' webpages (Duffett, 2017). More than
70% of consumers who have good service experiences on social
media are likely to disseminate their brand experiences to friends,
and the majority of product discussions among consumers are
through social media instead of firms' websites (Hainla, 2018). These
features imply that consumers might share and seek product infor-
mation from word‐of‐mouth rooted in social media (social‐WOM,
sWOM hereinafter) rather than from firms' websites (cf. Lee & Youn,
2009). Therefore, sWOM is considered a useful instrument to
develop and strengthen consumer relationships (Shi & Chow, 2015)
and is even regarded as the future of social media marketing com-
munications (Duffett, 2017).
sumers in dealing with the comments on sWOM from posting com-
ments to evaluating comments and then utilizing the comments on
social media, (Liu, Hong, & Liu, 2014). Product comments on social
media (one type of sWOM) are deemed to be the most effective
and helpful social media marketing tool (cf. Cheung & Thadani,
2010), mainly because of the two possible perceptions of sWOM
product comments (i.e., trustability; Levy & Gvili, 2015; Racherla,
Mandviwalla, & Connolly, 2012; and quality; Liu et al., 2014;
Mudambi & Schuff, 2010). These two perceptions play a significant
role in arousing consumers' purchase intentions and leading to their
final consumption decision (Park & Lee, 2008). Insight into the driv-
ing forces of the perceived trustability and quality of sWOM product
comments is thus essential in social media marketing applications. A
literature review reveals that scholarly devotion has been made to
their driving forces from the perspective of either the content (e.g.,
Levy & Gvili, 2015; Mudambi & Schuff, 2010) or the source of the
comments (e.g., Chu & Kim, 2011; Liu et al., 2014). However, being
that it is a contemporary computer‐mediated communication (CMC)
online environment, the nature of the inherent communicative

J Consumer Behav. 2018;17:393–406. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cb Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 393
394 LE ET AL.

interactions on social media that eases the development of close and 2 | L I T E R A T U R E RE V I E W , R E S E A R C H

mutual relationships (Okazaki & Taylor, 2013) may impact the
perceived trustability and quality of sWOM product comments,
although research in this regard is deficient. In‐depth research is
therefore required.
The Social Information Processing (SIP) theory (Walther &
Burgoon, 1992) is an interactive, interpersonal, and relational com-
munication theory applied in the CMC environment. Its applicability
has been evidenced in various settings, such as customer‐focused
voices in hospitals (Lam & Mayer, 2014) and online dating (Farrer
& Gavin, 2009), through various combinations of the SIP theoretical
concept. Therefore, this research mainly borrows the SIP concept
as the theoretical grounds to develop a four‐sequential‐stage
framework in which the determinants drive the perception of
sWOM product comments through an intervening mechanism, thus
achieving and enhancing the effectiveness of social
marketing.
By doing so, this research contributes to the validation of the
applicability of the SIP theory in sWOM. A four‐sequential‐stage
framework driven by SIP and derived from the interactive, relational
communication perspective in dealing with the effectiveness of
sWOM product comments is developed and tested. New insights are
gained, and a set of immediate guidance with empirical verification
for social media marketers is provided.
FRAMEWORK, AND HYPOTHESIS
In this section, the SIP theory is depicted, and the research framework
and hypotheses are proposed. In the framework, four message themes
of relational communication topoi (intimacy, task‐orientation, domi-
nance, and informality) act as the antecedents; environmental uncer-
tainty and sWOM product comment involvement play the sequential
mediating roles; and trustability and quality of sWOM product com-
ments are the final outcomes. Please see the research framework
and the complete hypotheses statements in Figure 1.
2.1 | Social Information Processing theory
The SIP theory (Walther & Burgoon, 1992) is an interpersonal commu-
media nication theory used in the CMC environment. The theory describes
how people meet and develop online relationships (Utz, 2000).
According to the theory, in online communications, despite the
unavailability of nonverbal vocal and physical cues, the relationships
between communicators are expected to approach face‐to‐face levels
over time (Walther & Burgoon, 1992). With time, it is also evidenced
that online communicators are able to generate, transmit, and manage
interpersonal impressions to signal effective information (Lam &
Mayer, 2014). The theory suggests that even in the online

In the social media community,

the perceived intimacy of interaction reduces perceived environmental uncertainty.
the perceived intimacy of interaction increases sWOM product comment involvement.
perceived task-oriented interaction reduces perceived environmental uncertainty
perceived task-oriented interaction incr eases sWOM product comment involvement.
the perceived dominance of participants redu ces perceived environmental uncertainty.
the perceived dominance of participants incr eases sWOM product comment involvement.
: perceived informality reduces perceived environmental uncertainty.
: perceived informality increases sWOM product comment involvement.
: perceived environmental uncertainty decr eases sWOM product comment involvement.
: perceived environmental uncertainty decrease s the trustability of sWOM product comments.
: perceived environmental uncertainty decreases the quality of sWOM product comments.
: sWOM product comment involvement increases perceived trustability
: sWOM product comment involvement increa ses the perceived quality of the comments.

Environmental uncertainty and sWOM product comment involvement

: sequentially mediate the effect of intimacy on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of task-orientation on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of dominance on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of informality on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effect of intimacy on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of task-orientation on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of dominance on the trustability of product comments.
: sequentially mediate the effects of informality on the trustability of product comments.

FIGURE 1 Research framework and hypotheses

LE ET AL.
environment, communication progresses from nonintimate to intimate
areas. The SIP theory postulates that when motivated to develop rela-
tionships, even though online communicators are unable to provide
verbal cues at their disposal, they adapt to the restrictions of the
medium by looking for cues and by adapting their social expressions.
Thus, relationship development occurs through the language context
(Walther & Burgoon, 1992). The underlying assumption in SIP is that
once information is gained about each other, communicators deploy
the information to form impressions and eventually develop interper-
sonal knowledge and stable relationships (Walther, 2012). These inter-
personal, relational topoi include 12 message themes (Burgoon & Hale,
1987). Among others, intimacy, task–social orientation, dominance–
submission, formality–informality, and composure are the five com-
monly studied themes (see Ramirez Jr, Zhang, McGrew, & Lin, 2007).
The first four are examined in this research as the study precursors,
whereas the findings of composure are controversial (see, e.g.,
Burgoon & Le Poire, 1999; Ramirez, Sumner, Fleuriet, & Cole, 2015;
Walther & Burgoon, 1992) and thus excluded.
2.2 | Intimacy effects on environmental uncertainty
and product comment involvement
In the social media communication context, intimacy can be defined as
the degree to which personal cognitions, emotions, affections, and so
on are disclosed and shared in an immediate fashion (Guerrero, Ander-
sen, & Afifi, 2013), and thus, how much feelings of inclusion, equality,
like, and further openness and closeness in a social media community
are perceived (Harvey & Omarzu, 1997). Environmental uncertainty
refers to the extent of the perception that the participating behavior
is immune from manipulation by social media community members
(Ramirez Jr, Walther, Burgoon, & Sunnafrank, 2002). Product com-
ment involvement (a subjective psychological state) reflects the feel-
ings of the importance and personal relevance, such as value and
need for product comments on sWOM, which help achieve personal
purposes (e.g., purchase; Zaichkowsky, 1994).
The interactive social media environment allows participants to
self‐disclose their personal information, such as their feelings, cogni-
tion, and mental states, and to exchange interpersonal opinions
(Tidwell & Walther, 2002). Through the nonverbal text mode, the
interactive environment also allows relational communications in a
timely way (Walther, 2012), and intimacy among social media partici-
pants is thus perceived (Jiang, Bazarova, & Hancock, 2011). Once inti-
mate relationships are sensed, the immunity from the manipulation of
the participating behavior increases (Walther & Parks, 2002), and the
participation behavior turns out to be easily inferred (Walther, 2008).
That is, social media community behaviors seem to become predict-
able and interpretable (Clatterbuck, 1979). Eventually, the perceived
environmental uncertainty on social media is reduced (cf. Labrecque,
2014). Additionally, according to Bennett (2003), the status of the
cause is an explanatory factor for personal involvement. If a cause is
perceived as interesting, relevant, or valuable, individuals are more
likely to regard the cause as important to them and will take some
appropriate actions (e.g., involvement) seriously (Gorton, Angell,
White, & Tseng, 2013). Those with a perception of intimacy in social
media interactions will prefer to access social media materials that
395
are identified as important information and a knowledge source and
that can be accessible in a timely way (cf. Rai, 2011). The inclination
of product comment engagement is thus aroused, and eventually, par-
ticipant involvement in reviewing sWOM product comments
increases. On the above basis, H1 is inferred:
H1 In the social media community, the perceived inti-
macy of interaction (a) reduces perceived environmental
uncertainty and (b) increases sWOM product comment
involvement.
2.3 | Task‐orientation effects on environmental
uncertainty and product comment involvement
Task‐orientation (vs. social‐orientation) refers to the degree to which
people focus on the task at hand rather than engage in having fun
and socializing (Watzlawick, Bavelas, & Jackson, 2009). Task‐oriented
people act more sincere and reasonable (Guerrero et al., 2013), pay
more attention to goal achievement in an effective manner
(Tabernero, Chambel, Curral, & Arana, 2009), and are solidary and
responsible (Mowo, Adimassu, Catacutan, & Lyamchai, 2013). They
are not inclined to have off‐the‐task‐related conversations (Guerrero
et al., 2013) and prefer well‐defined patterns of communication
(Tabernero et al., 2009). Therefore, task‐focused people are regarded
as more serious and easier to communicate with (Burgoon & Hale,
1987). Communication in a social media community that is perceived
as task‐oriented is thus likely to be considered less uncertain. In addi-
tion, the above perceived behavioral characteristics such as sincerity,
responsibility, and effectivity may form the impression that the
sWOM product comments posted by task‐oriented community mem-
bers are less biased and suspect and more valid, just, and transparent.
Thus, balanced product propaganda can be collected. Therefore, the
value of product comments is perceived and aroused, which finally
leads to a higher level of product comment involvement. Accordingly,
H2 is proposed:
H2 In the social media community, the perceived task‐
oriented interaction (a) reduces the perceived environ-
mental uncertainty and (b) increases the sWOM product
comment involvement.
2.4 | Dominance effects on environmental
uncertainty and product comment involvement
Dominance is the degree to which a person influences and controls
the behavior of others (Watanabe & Yamamoto, 2015). Influence
and control imply that the communicative messages and cues may
contain elements such as persuasion, aggressiveness, ingratiation,
commands, and competitiveness (Guerrero et al., 2013). In the social
media community, the ubiquity of the Internet to jointly connect and
link the public together and the self‐disclosure characteristic of social
media may form the impression of difficulties for individuals to manip-
ulate others and override the public. Because the public also has bet-
ter interpretations using various cues and the arguments associated
with a specific theme are easy to be understood and accepted, it is
therefore likely to signify that the public's opinions are more accurate.
396
In other words, social media public opinions are more believable, per-
suasive, and competitive and thus are more dominant (cf. Walther,
2012). The more valuable and quality implications of these public
opinions are sensed and messaged. These cues eventually signify that
the social media community is a less uncertain platform (Goldsmith,
2001). Additionally, the persuasiveness of the content arguments will
give a voice to the participating members that sWOM product com-
ments might be more valid and provide deeper and more useful
insights into future consumption (cf. Labrecque, 2014). Eventually,
the participation in reviewing these comments increases and higher
involvement occurs (Lee, Hosanagar, & Nair, 2014). Based on the
above, H3 is developed:
H3 The perceived dominance of social media community
participants (a) reduces the perceived environmental
uncertainty and (b) increases the sWOM product com-
ment involvement.
2.5 | Informality effects on environmental
uncertainty and product comment involvement
Informality is the way of communicative interaction characterized by
casualness and friendliness among community members (Guerrero
et al., 2013). Conversely, if the interaction is formal, communicators
maintain a polite and formal demeanor (Burgoon & Le Poire, 1999).
In the social media environment, due to the relaxation and pleasure
purposes, the interaction via social networking can be informal, a
positive impression may be developed, and the feeling of closeness
between communicators can be aroused (Khan & Jarvenpaa, 2010).
These then alleviate the perceived uncertainty in communication
messages (Knobloch & Solomon, 1999). Moreover, the feeling of
relaxation to access social media together with a positive arousal
on social media possibly provides an enjoyable impression in
collecting required online materials. As such, the value of reviewing
product comments may be boosted, and the engagement in sWOM
product comments is likely triggered. That is, the way of informality
in the interaction will eventually signify the sense of less uncertainty
and activate the involvement of product comments in the social
media environment. On the basis of the above arguments, H4 is
formulated:
H4 The perceived informality of the social media com-
munity (a) reduces the perceived environmental uncer-
tainty and (b) increases the sWOM product comment
involvement.
2.6 |Environmental uncertainty effects on comment
involvement, trustability, and quality
Product comment trustability is described as the generalized expec-
tancy that the sWOM product comments are credible and believable
and thus can be relied upon (Walther & Bunz, 2005). Trust develops
as the cognitive level of experience and is reached when further evi-
dence or rational reasons are no longer needed for confidence in the
objects of trust (Massey & Kyriazis, 2007). Product comment quality
refers to the cognitive appraisal and judgment of the overall perceived
LE ET AL.
excellence or superiority of sWOM product comments (Zeithaml,
1988). Quality is perceived when outputs meet expectations (Reeves
& Bednar, 1995).
As noted, self‐disclosure characteristics and immunization from
manipulation alleviate environmental uncertainty in social media com-
munities (Ramirez Jr et al., 2002). Because environmental uncertainty
is perceived less, the fears of behavioral opportunism are reduced
(Bendapudi & Berry, 1997), and thus, the participation behavior on
social media is anticipated to be predictable and reliable. Being
regarded as an interpersonal opinion‐exchange media, social media
will be taken as an appropriate lens and a proof source to collect prod-
uct comments (cf. Lee & Dawes, 2005) without the need for direct
interaction with the commenter (Carr & Walther, 2014). The experi-
ence of a reliable social media environment will then give rise to the
expected reliability of posted sWOM product comments (Massey &
Kyriazis, 2007) and will be transferred to these comments despite no
prior experience with these comments (cf. Lee & Dawes, 2005).
Finally, the value of the comments is sensed, and the involvement is
aroused. Moreover, the trustworthiness of these comments is per-
ceived. Additionally, because sWOM product comments are consid-
ered more accurate and reliable and meet the expectations, a
premium and superior quality of product comments is perceived.
These arguments allow H5 below:
H5 In the social media community, perceived environ-
mental uncertainty decreases (a) the sWOM product
comment involvement, (b) the trustability of sWOM prod-
uct comments, and (c) the quality of sWOM product
comments.
2.7 | Product comment involvement effects on
product comment trustability and quality
Involvement is an important predictive factor in explaining the sensi-
tivity of individuals toward the attributes of activities, especially con-
sumer responses to product stimulation and consumption behaviors
(Racherla et al., 2012). Individuals who engage in the review of sWOM
product comments will acknowledge the richness of information on
social media communities. These self‐generated comments (rather
than the viewpoints of firms) provide a variety of arguments, and thus,
balanced contentions can be found. Additionally, because better inter-
pretations through various cues can be collected, the arguments/con-
tentions associated with that specific theme are easy to be compared,
understood, and accepted. That is, the overall perception of product
comments on social media will be regarded as more understandable,
useful, and credible. Thus, a deeper and better insight is gained into
that theme. As a result, it seems apparent that the social media plat-
form that is superior to other media/platforms is competent to pro-
vide better product comments. The trustworthiness of these sWOM
comments thus emerges (cf. Massey & Kyriazis, 2007), and their qual-
ity perception is formed and ensured. On these grounds, H6 is
examined:
H6 In the social media community, sWOM product com-
ment involvement increases (a) the perceived trustability
and (b) the perceived quality of the comments.
LE ET AL.
2.8 | Sequential mediating roles of environmental
uncertainty and product comment involvement in the
relational communication and product comment
perception relationship
Thus far, this research stresses that the characteristic‐perceived
relational communication on social media (including intimacy, task‐
orientation, dominance, and informality) can alleviate the perceived
environmental uncertainty (H1a–H4a). Meanwhile, environmental
uncertainty is claimed to further exert influence on sWOM product
comment involvement (H5a), which in turn leads to the per-
ceived trustability and quality of these sWOM product comments
(H6a–H6b). These hypotheses together reveal that environmental
uncertainty and sWOM product comment involvement serve as a
sequential mediating mechanism through which relational communica-
tions affect the perception of sWOM product comments. Their
intervening roles can be strengthened by the other proposed hypoth-
eses that sWOM product comment involvement is also an outcome
of, and likely to be driven by, relational communications (H1b–H4b)
and that environmental uncertainty is an antecedent of and functions
as a means to facilitate the perception of the product comments
(H5b–H5c). As such, an additional attempt to shed additional light on
the intervening relationship is proposed:
H7 Environmental uncertainty and sWOM product
comment involvement sequentially mediate the effects
of (a) intimacy, (b) task‐orientation, (c) dominance, and
(d) informality on (x) the trustability and (y) quality of
product comments.
3 | R E S E A R C H M ET H O D O L O G Y
3.1 | Scale operationalization
The measurement scales for all studied constructs (i.e., the four
antecedents, the two mediators, the two outcomes, and the three
control variables) were derived from prior validated scales in the
English‐written literature with minor modifications and adaptations
to fit the investigated social media context (i.e., Facebook; see data
collection below). All scale items are shown in Appendix A.
The first three antecedents in the research framework (including
intimacy, task‐orientation, and dominance) were measured by the
scales drawn from Burgoon and Hale (1987). Although originally
developed in a relational communication context in general, these
scales have been validated across offline and online social settings
(e.g., Farrer & Gavin, 2009; Lam & Mayer, 2014) and thus are consid-
ered suitable to be applied in this study context. Intimacy is viewed by
Guerrero et al. (2013) as a global concept that contains cognitive,
emotional, and affective subconcepts. In this study, the scale of inti-
macy included seven items, including the feelings of trust, communica-
tive desires, personal attractiveness, equality, relaxation, attentive
care, and intimate atmosphere. Task‐orientation was measured by
three items: the interest, favorability, and relative evaluation of tasks
at hand over social conversations. The five scale items of dominance
pertained to a participant attempt to dominate, win approval,
397
persuade, compete, and interact aggressively with community
members. The other antecedent, informality, was adapted from
Walther's (1990, p.109) five‐item scale. Its corresponding items such
as trying, wanting, and making informal, casual interactions rather than
formal, business‐like approaches reflect the two possible dimensions
of informal and casual/easy‐going ways of interaction (cf. Guerrero
et al., 2013).
Regarding the mediators, environmental uncertainty was assessed
using the seven‐item scale of Clatterbuck (1979). Respondents were
asked to evaluate different statements pertaining to knowing, having
confidence in, and showing empathy toward others as well as
predicting attitudes, values, emotions, and behaviors of others, all of
which may reflect both the present and future perspectives of uncer-
tainty. The scale of sWOM product comment involvement was
adapted from the dual‐dimension scale of Zaichkowsky (1994). The
dimensionality concept that included cognition and affection has been
widely applied in the literature (e.g., Kim & Sung, 2009; Smith et al.,
2013), and each had five items. Additionally, the two outcome vari-
ables (trustability and quality of sWOM product comments) were
operationalized by adapting the respective three‐ and five‐item scales
of Hsiao, Lin, Wang, Lu, and Yu (2010), and Rains (2007). Rains' (2007)
original scale includes six items, and one of them was removed in this
research because of the concern of its similarity with another corre-
sponding scale item (after translating into the local language in the
studied field). Because the scales adopted for the involvement and
outcome variables have been frequently discussed and verified in prior
research (see Gendel‐Guterman & Levy, 2013; Hsiao et al., 2010;
Racherla et al., 2012), individual modified scale items are not detailed
here (see Appendix A).
To reduce the possible sources of systematic errors, this research
also modeled three control variables: similarity, access duration, and
age. Similarity refers to the resemblance of social cues between the
reviewer and the community (Racherla et al., 2012) and was measured
by the three‐item scale developed by Gilly, Graham, Wolfinbarger, and
Yale (1998). Access duration is communicated as the length of time
consumers spend on social media. Age refers to the age of participants
in the field study. All these variables are reported to affect consumer
purchase behavior in literature (e.g., Moshrefjavadi, Dolatabadi,
Nourbakhsh, Poursaeedi, & Asadollahi, 2012; Racherla et al., 2012).
All English‐based scale items were back‐translated into Chinese,
the official language of the field survey area.
3.2 | Data collection
The survey was conducted in Taiwan. According to Taiwan Network
Information Center (TWNIC, 2015), Taiwan has a high Internet pene-
tration rate (80.3%), and more than three fifths (60.1%) of their online
activities were through social media. Additionally, Taiwan enjoys a
high eCommerce growth rate (e.g., 16% in 2015; SP eCommerce,
2015). For the studied social media setting, this research was con-
ducted in the Facebook context because Facebook is the largest and
the most influential/powerful social media platform around the globe
(Wang, 2016) and more than half of Taiwanese access Facebook each
day (Taiwan Today, 2015). Additionally, university students were
invited to participate in the survey. Facebook users are young and in
398 LE ET AL.

the age group of 18–29. The penetration rates are 87% and more than TABLE 1 Sample characteristics
95% in the world and Taiwan, respectively (TWNIC, 2015; York, Freq. %
2017). Students in Taiwan compose the majority of Facebook users,
Gender
and they represent an important e‐shopping segment (TWNIC,
Male 189 46.3
2015). Because Taiwan has two parallel university systems (public
Female 219 53.7
and private sectors), we selected one national and one private univer-
Total 408 100.0
sity to cover these two systems. Each university had approximately
Age
10,000 students, and about a quarter of them entered the campus
≤20 196 48.0
through the main gates in a day during weekdays. With the target
21–25 196 48.0
sample of 250 subjects for each university, the questionnaire was dis-
26–30 13 3.2
tributed at the main gates of each university. One out of every 10
>30 3 0.7
passing students was requested to participate in the survey. A small
Total 408 100.0
souvenir (e.g., notepad and keychain) was given to motivate participa-
Monthly disposable income (NTD)a
tion. Verbal filtering questions included the exclusion of duplicate par-
≤$6,000 186 45.6
ticipation, university students, and frequent Facebook users, thus
<$6,000–$9,0000≤ 190 46.6
identifying qualified participants. Eventually, 250 questionnaires at
<$9,000–$12,000≤ 21 5.1
each university were distributed in three weekdays (morning, after-
>$12,000 11 2.7
noon, and evening each day). In total, 470 questionnaires were
Total 408 100.0
received, and 408 (including 201 and 207 from the national and pri-
Education background
vate university, respectively) were identified useable for data analysis
Undergraduates 274 67.2
(see their profile in Table 1).
Postgraduates 127 31.1
Doctorate students 7 1.7
Total 408 100.0
4 | D A T A A N A L Y S I S A N D RE S U L T S
Age of Facebook users
≤1 year 11 2.7
The SmartPLS 2.0 package (Ringle, Wende, & Becker, 2015) was used
<1–2 years≤ 23 5.6
for data analysis.
<2–3 years≤ 90 22.1
>3 years 284 69.6

4.1 | Scale accuracy analysis Total 408 100.0

Facebook usage per day
Except for product comment involvement that is conceptually opera-
≤1 hr 103 25.2
tionalized as a dual‐dimension scale, previous studies only test the other
<1–2 hr≤ 137 33.6
studied variables using a relatively broad unidimensional scale (e.g., Carr
<2–3 hr≤ 92 22.5
& Walther, 2014; Ramirez Jr et al., 2007; Tidwell & Walther, 2002).
>3 hr 76 18.6
However, according to the related literature (see scale
Total 408 100.0
operationalization), although some of these scales also contain a long
a
item list (e.g., intimacy), the dimensionality issue might exist. An attempt New Taiwan Dollars; exchange rate: $1 NTD = $0.03 USD.

at exploratory factor analysis was made to identify possible underlying

measurement structures and specify the common variance–covariance
characteristics of the latent dimensions of these variables. Eventually,
the constructs of intimacy, informality, and environmental uncertainty
were multidimensionalized and had three, two, and two latent dimen-
sions, respectively. These dimensions were established based on their
corresponding items and can be seen in Table 2.
The research model had four second‐order constructs that
contained two elements: the higher‐order component (which captured
the more abstract concept) and the lower‐order component (which
captured the subdimensions of the abstract concept). As suggested
by Becker, Klein, and Wetzels (2012), a two‐stage approach of the
sequential latent variable score method was thus used for scale accu-
racy analysis (see results in Table 2). In Stage I, the latent dimensions
of the second‐order constructs and the unidimensional constructs
were added in the research model in order to obtain the latent variable
scores for the included dimensions/constructs. The results were also
used for the assessment of the scale accuracy of these latent
dimensions and unidimensional constructs. In Stage II, the latent vari-
able scores of the latent dimensions obtained in Stage I were deployed
as indicators/inputs for their corresponding second‐order constructs.
Thus, the results were used to test the scale accuracy of the second‐
order constructs.
The composite reliability and average variance extracted (AVE) of
the studied dimensions and constructs were tested to assess their reli-
ability. Two items failed to pass the assessments and were removed.
Then, the final results showed that all the composite reliability values
were above the commonly suggested threshold (.70). With a margin-
ally acceptable case of .48 that was retained for content validity con-
cerns, the other obtained AVEs were higher than the recommended
value (.5). Both results demonstrated an acceptable and satisfactory
reliability for all dimensions and constructs. For convergent validity,
one item that had a loading value to its corresponding dimension less
than the stipulated threshold (.5) was removed. Then, all the remaining
loadings exceeded the cut‐off value. Therefore, every scale was of
 LE
ET AL.

TABLE 2 Scale accuracy analysis

No. of scale items Assessment Stage I Assessment Stage II
Dimension
AVE1/2/ Item loading/highest AVE1/2/ loading/highest
Constructs/dimensions Original Final CR AVE Highest SV cross‐loading CR AVE highest SV cross‐loading
Intimacy
Receptivity 3 3 .85 .66 .81/.36 .83/.39, .80/.31, .81/.26 .73 .48 .69/.35 .71/.36
Equality 2 2 .84 .72 .85/.34 .86/.31, .83/.27 .76/.30
Closeness 2 2 .81 .69 .83/.28 .67/.12, .96/.29 .59/.25
Task‐orientation 3 3 .78 .54 .74/.53 .83/.46, .56/.24, .79/.42 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Dominance 5 5 .89 .61 .78/.53 .80/.43, .76/.30, .80/.44 .84/.44, .70/.44 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Informality
Informality 3 2 .77 .64 .80/.45 .93/.49, .64/.20 .81 .68 .83/.49 .84/.36
Ease 2 2 .77 .63 .79/.36 .70/.21, .88/.43 .81/.43
Uncertainty reduction
Present certainty 3 3 .83 .62 .79/.52 .72/.37, .80/.48, .83/.38 .85 .75 .87/.37 .94/.39
Future predictability 4 4 .91 .73 .85/.52 .79/.41,.85/.41, .90/.44 .86/.52 .78/.23
Product comment involvement
Cognitive 5 4 .88 .64 .80/.75 .80/.52, .78/.51, .77/.73 .85/.63 .90 .83 .91/.72 .93/.75
Affective 5 4 .88 .65 .81/.65 .56/.31, .84/.63, .91/.57 .87/55 .89/.55
Trustability of product comment 3 3 .95 .86 .93/.55 .91/.56, .94/.58, .94/.63 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Quality of product comments 5 5 .90 .64 .80/.75 .75/.55, .86/.57, .90/.63 .70/.67, .77/.54 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Similarity 3 3 .87 .68 .82/.42 .89/.37, .90/.40, .67/.26 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Note. AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability; n.a. not applicable; SV = shared variance.
399
400 LE ET AL.

good convergent validity. For discriminant validity, all AVEs were
higher than the highest shared variances. No item/dimension cross‐
loading value was higher than the loading of its respective dimen-
sion/construct. Therefore, the discriminant validity for every studied
dimension/construct was established. Moreover, in order to prevent
and assess the possibility of common method bias, several remedies
suggested by Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff (2003) were
deployed. The results presented in Appendix B indicate that common
method bias was unlikely a problem in this research.
4.2 | Structural model testing
The quality of the proposed model was assessed through the R2 of the
endogenous constructs, and the values of .26, .13, and .02 repre-
sented substantial, moderate, and small levels, respectively (Cohen,
1988). As observed in Figure 2, the R2 values at least approached a
moderate level. Thus, the results disclosed a sufficient level of explan-
atory power for all the endogenous constructs.
A t‐test calculated from the bootstrapping procedure of 1,000
samples was applied to examine the direct effects. As shown in
Figure 2, the t‐test results revealed that 10 out of 13 direct‐effect
hypotheses (H1a–H1b, H2b, H3a–H3b, H4a, H5b–H5c, and H6a–
H6b) were supported, whereas the effects of task‐orientation to envi-
ronmental uncertainty (H2a), the informality‐product comment
involvement linkage (H4b), and the environmental uncertainty to
trustability of sWOM product comments relationship (H5a) were not
significant. Among the significant relationships, sWOM product com-
ment involvement exhibited the largest effect on both trustability
and quality of sWOM product comments. Additionally, it is worth not-
ing that among the four precursors, intimacy produced the highest
effect on both mediators, thus implying the highest impact on both
outcome variables (trustability and quality). Furthermore, because data
heterogeneity may substantially distort the path estimation at the
aggregate data level (Hair, Sarstedt, Matthews, & Ringle, 2016), an
Finite Mixture Partial Least Squares FIMIX‐PLS analysis was con-
ducted. The result showed no clear evidence for data heterogeneity,
which indicated that it was not a concern in the study (see Table 3).

FIGURE 2 Research results—R2 and direct‐effect relationship coefficients

TABLE 3 FIMIX‐PLS results for the relative segment sizes and segment retention criteria
Relative segment sizes (%)
K = Number of prespecified segments Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3

K=1 1.00
K=2 .63 .37
K=3 .60 .34 .06
Prespecified segments
Segment retention criteria
Fit indices K=1 K=2 K=3
Consistent Akaike's Information 4,049.9 4,078.3 4,154.4
Criterion (CAIC)
Modified Akaike's Information 3,981.7 3,937.9 3,941.7
Criterion with Factor 3 (AIC3)
Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) 4,032.9 4,043.3 4,101.4
Entropy Statistic (EN) # .39 .53

Note. In the FIMIX‐PLS calculation, first of all, the FIMIX‐PLS algorithm was iteratively calculated for the alternating solutions of the different numbers of
segments/groups (K). The calculative process was conducted for the solutions from K = 1 to K = 3, though the third segment of K = 3 occupied only 6% of
the total sample (i.e., 25 observations), which was insufficient to produce a reliable statistic. Subsequently, a comparison among the three solutions (K = 1 to
3) should be conducted in order to attain the best segmentation solution based on two criteria: (a) lowest values of the information criteria (CAIC, AIC3, BIC)
and (b) Entropy Statistic (EN) of at least .50 (Hair et al., 2016). However, because the value of EN was not available in the K = 1 segment solution, only the
other two solutions were suitable for comparison. Compared with the K = 3 segment solution, K = 2 Segment 1 was a better choice as it had lower CAIC,
AIC3, and BIC values. Nonetheless, its EN value (.39) was lower than the cut‐off point of .50. As such, no suitable segmentation solution was found. There-
fore, this FIMIX‐PLS analysis result suggested no clear evidence for the heterogeneity of the aggregate dataset, and data heterogeneity should not be a
concern in this study.
LE ET AL. 401

TABLE 4 Mediation testing

Mediating effects of EU and PCI
Mediation Outcome
Analysis steps Research variables EU PCI QPC
Step 1 Antecedent Int .193c
Dom .106b
Step 2 and Step 3 Antecedent Int −.228c .196c
Dom −.327c .147c
Mediation EU −.325c −.140c
PCI .682c
Step 4 Antecedent Int −.264c .143c .014
Dom −.301c .080a −.039
Mediation EU −.220c −.144c
PCI .688c
Supplementary mediation tests
Antecedent‐mediators‐outcome relationship Significance effect at 95% level VAF
Point of estimate Confidence interval
Int‐EU‐PCI‐QPC .020 .009–.037 20.24%
Dom‐EU‐PCI‐QPC .056 .025–.098 35.68%

Note. Dom = dominance; EU = environmental uncertainty; Int = intimacy; PCI = product comment involvement; QPC = quality of product comments.
a
<.05,
b
<.01,
c
<.001,
*marginal at p < .10.

The four‐step procedure suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986)
was followed to test the sequential mediating effects (see results in
Table 4). Because the direct effect tests above failed to support some
direct‐effect hypotheses associated with the two mediators, in the
mediating effect test, two antecedents (task orientation and informal-
ity) and one outcome (trustability of sWOM product comments) were
excluded, and the related hypotheses were not further assessed in
intervening examinations (H7ax–H7dx, H7by, and H7dy). Only the
qualified mediating effects of H7ay and H7cy were examined. In the
analysis, two remaining antecedents (intimacy and dominance) were
included to assess their effects on the final outcome (quality of sWOM
product comments) through the two sequential intervening mediators
(environmental uncertainty and sWOM product comment involve-
ment). In Step I, the two antecedents possessed significant effects
on the outcome. In Steps II and III, the two antecedents had significant
impacts on the two sequential mediators, which also significantly influ-
enced the outcome, whereas the first mediator significantly affected
the second mediator. Regarding the analysis in the final step, Step
IV, the results disclosed that all of the relationships in Steps II and III
were supported, whereas the direct effects of the two antecedents
on the outcome (i.e., the relationships in Step I) were not. Thus, the
results showed that the two intervening mediators of environmental
uncertainty and product comment involvement fully and sequentially
mediated the effects of intimacy and dominance on the quality of
sWOM product comments. Consequently, the results supported
H7ay and H7cy.
Two additional mediating tests were also conducted to confirm
the significance of these two sequential mediating effects. The
bootstrapping procedure through which the mediation could be for-
mally assessed was conducted, and the Hayes macro for SPSS was
applied. The bootstrapping procedure with 1,000 samples revealed
that the two antecedents had an indirect effect on the outcome (bias
corrected 95% confidence interval: .009–.037 and .025–.098). Addi-
tionally, the variance‐accounted‐for value was calculated, and the
magnitude of the individual mediating effect was measured. The vari-
ance‐accounted‐for values results showed that the indirect effects of
the mediators on the antecedent‐outcome relationship were 20.24%
and 35.68%. In summary, all the analyses jointly indicated that envi-
ronmental uncertainty and product comment involvement played
sequential pathway roles in the two individual antecedent‐outcome
relationships, thereby supporting H7ay and H7cy.
5 | DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION
This research explores the driving forces of the perceptions of product
comments in the sWOM context. Driven by the SIP concept as the
scholarly grounds, four precursors are introduced (including intimacy,
social orientation, dominance, and informality) that are proposed to
affect the two outcome variables (the trustability and quality of
sWOM product comments) through the sequential intervening factors
(environmental uncertainty and then sWOM product comment
involvement). Although the field study is conducted in Taiwan, some
findings are not consistent with expectations. The findings show that,
in a social media community, only intimacy, dominance, and informal-
ity alleviate the perception of environmental uncertainty, which in
turn stimulates the involvement in sWOM product comments. Eventu-
ally, both outcome variables (the trustability and quality of these com-
ments) are aroused and perceived. However, task‐orientation,
intimacy, and dominance can also drive consumers to perceive the
two outcomes through the direct pathway of involvement, whereas
environmental uncertainty can evoke comment quality directly.
As for the unanticipated findings, it is apparent that ease of com-
munication and sincere and reasonable conduct in social media cannot
402
stimulate consumers' confidence to firmly predict social media behav-
ior and release concerns regarding the uncertainty of the environment
on social media platforms. Therefore, a task‐oriented social media
community cannot warrant low perceived uncertainty. Moreover,
informality is likely perceived as disparaging (Walther & Burgoon,
1992), which possibly decreases the effects of closeness and relaxa-
tion to drive to the review of sWOM product comments, thereby
informally failing to exert significant influence on product comment
reviews. Additionally, the certainty and predictability of social media‐
participating behaviors does not seem to be transferred to the per-
ceived reliability, credibility, and believability of sWOM product com-
ments, and thus, a low level of environmental uncertainty cannot
arouse the perceived trustability of sWOM product comments.
5.1 | Research implications
This research addresses a rarely discussed issue and serves as a
pioneering attempt in sWOM, which is deemed the most effective
social media‐marketing tool. Generally, the findings lend empirical evi-
dence to the applicability of the SIP theoretical concept in the studied
subject in Taiwan. The presence of the sequential mediating roles clar-
ifies the dynamics of the proposed framework for the linkages from
the predicting precursors to the outcome variables. Such a demon-
strated theoretical mechanism provides critical insight into and
broadens the body of the extant knowledge of sWOM product com-
ments from an interactive and relational communication perspective.
However, because the prior SIP theory applications are mainly in devel-
oped Western cultures and Japan (e.g., Farrer & Gavin, 2009; Lam &
Mayer, 2014) and this research refers to a baseline as an initial verifica-
tion of the SIP theory in sWOM outside the established location
domain, the occurrence of some unexpected hypothesized relation-
ships may suggest fine tuning the SIP theory if applied around the globe
and across sectors, especially in various contemporary proliferated
CMC environments. Caution should be paid to its theoretical applica-
tions in contingencies and diverse settings rather than taking a general-
ized viewpoint for its applications. Based on the findings, meaningful
practical implications can be drawn from a managerial standpoint.
Among the interactive communication topoi precursors, intimacy
is the most effective approach to strengthen the trustability and qual-
ity perceptions of sWOM product comments. Thus, strategies can be
formulated, such as to stimulate and encourage participants to interact
in social media communities using a receptive and equal way through
an open and close tone. A second strategic priority lies in the way of
dominance during relational communications. More persuasive com-
municative fashions in an aggressive manner should be used, thereby
getting approval from social media community members. However, it
should be mentioned that the ineffective but reversed impact of
task‐orientation on environmental uncertainty might indicate the pre-
vention of using a task‐orientation theme to drive the perceived pos-
itive product comments in social media, especially whereas a social
media platform is considered for the sociality‐driven purpose. Such a
conclusion might infer that other social media, such as YouTube (a con-
tent site for video sharing) rather than Facebook (mainly for social‐
relationship building or maintenance), might be more suitable plat-
forms for sWOM product commenting purposes. One more
LE ET AL.
implication that deserves noting is that compared with the manipula-
tion of the interactive communication topoi precursors, the mediator
of product comment involvement can better arouse social media com-
munity members in trusting and perceiving the quality of sWOM prod-
uct comments. Therefore, great attention in the studied subject should
be paid to the uploaded product comments to cognitively and affec-
tively inspire social media community members to engage in sWOM
product comments, which at the end generates the consumers' per-
ceived trust and quality of the comments.
5.2 | Limitations and future research
This research inherits several limitations that provides avenues for
future research. This research focuses on investigating the four stud-
ied relational communication topoi as the antecedents of subsequent
outcomes. The relatively weak mediating R2 values might suggest fur-
ther exploration of other antecedent variables, especially in other rela-
tional communication topoi variables (such as relaxation and
immediacy; see Burgoon and Hale, 1987, for a thorough review of
these communication variables) as additional driving forces to increase
the variance explanatory power. Another inherited limitation is that
the field study is conducted in Taiwan in a Facebook context using a
student sample and without considering specific product offerings.
For the result applicability concern, the proposed framework can be
replicated across other national cultures, because culture affects the
way human beings interact/communicate (Gong, Stump, & Li, 2013).
Furthermore, because it was introduced and as was implicitly noted
above, social media have proliferated (e.g., for social networking or
content community purposes), and each type presents some unique
characteristics and provides specific benefits (see Kaplan & Haenlein,
2010). Different crucial implications in online social media communica-
tions and the resulting conducts are possibly exhibited. For example,
as indicated earlier, although the social networking site of Facebook
is for relationship building, YouTube concentrates on specific content
sharing/searching and thus may be more suitable for posting/
searching product comments. Future research can seek to answer this
call for duplicating/modifying this research in social media contexts
other than Facebook. Additionally, even though student data have
been frequently used in online and social media research (e.g., Duffett,
2017; Racherla et al., 2012), it would be better if the data can be col-
lected using other segments and population members should have an
equal chance of being selected. Furthermore, product types can affect
purchase motivations and decisions (Yoon, 2013) and thus are likely to
produce different impacts on the proposed relationships. It is there-
fore worthwhile to observe and differentiate the results of the pro-
posed hypotheses from various product‐category aspects. Of course,
if differences exist, an intervening type of research is a matter
warranting future research, such as to model and compare the current
issue across cultures, between social media types, and among product
categories. Such moderating studies are beyond this study's domain
and can offer more detailed insights and make valuable contributions
to the researched subject. Finally, empirical studies indicate that the
trustability and quality of product comments have effects on purchase
intention and actual shopping (e.g., Hsiao et al., 2010). A more‐com-
prehensive conceptual framework incorporating these purchase
LE ET AL.
conducts can be tested, thus providing a more integral solution for
drawing the communication‐shopping hierarchical relationship in the
social media platform.
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN T
This research is funded by University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam.
ORCID
Angelina Nhat Hanh Le http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0288-8993
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Angelina Nhat Hanh Le is Senior Lecturer in the School of Man-
agement, University of Economics HCM City, Vietnam, where
she teaches marketing management and consumer behavior. Her
current research interests include Internet marketing, brand man-
agement, marketing channels, green marketing, and meta‐analysis.
Her research has been published in Journal of the Academy of Mar-
keting Science, Journal of International Marketing, International Jour-
nal of Advertising, Management Decision, and so on.
Ben Roy Do is Assistant Professor in the Business Administration
Department, National Central University, Taiwan, where he
teaches psychology and organizational behavior. His current
research interests include cyber psychology and organization
behavior. His research has been published in several international
journals.
LE ET AL. 405

(Continued)
Nurul Azizah is a research assistant in the Business Administration
Items
Department, National Central University, Taiwan. Her current
(R Reverse‐coded items; *
research interests include social media marketing and WOM. Item/dimension removed
Construct Dimensions during accuracy analysis)
Ryan Huu Phuc Dang is a doctorate student in the Business Facebook community participants
are more interested in working
Administration Department, National Central University, Taiwan. on the task at hand than having
His current research interests include social media marketing and social conversations.
meta‐analysis. Dominance Facebook community participants
want to dominate the interaction.
Facebook community participants
Julian Ming‐Sung Cheng is Professor of Marketing in the Business
always try to win the approval
Administration Department, National Central University, Taiwan, of others.
where he teaches international branding, marketing channels, Facebook community participants
always attempt to persuade others.
and green marketing. His current research interests include digital I feel Facebook community members
marketing, marketing channels, branding, fMRI, creativity, and are more competitive.
Facebook community participants
meta‐analysis. His research has been published in various journals, interact very aggressively.
such as Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Informality Informality Facebook community participants
International Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, European make interaction very formal. R
Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Advertising Research. Facebook community participants
want interaction to be informal
Facebook community participants
try to make interaction informal.
Ease Facebook community participants
How to cite this article: Le ANH, Do BR, Azizah N, Dang take a casual approach to
interaction.
RHP, Cheng JMS. Forces affecting perception of product com-
Facebook community participants
ments on social‐WOM: An interactive, relational communica-
want to foster business‐like
tion perspective. J Consumer Behav. 2018;17:393–406. interaction.R
https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1722 Environmental Present I know Facebook community
Uncertainty certainty participants very well.
I have confidence Facebook
community participants like
my participation.
APPENDIX A I can empathize with the way
Facebook community
M E A S U R E M E N T SC A LE S participants feel
about themselves.
Future I can accurately predict the
predictability attitudes of Facebook
Items community members.
(R Reverse‐coded items; * I can accurately predict the
Item/dimension removed values of Facebook
Construct Dimensions during accuracy analysis) community participants.
I can predict the feelings and
Intimacy Receptivity I feel Facebook community emotions of Facebook
participants want others community participants.
to trust them. I have the confidence to predict
Facebook community participants participation behavior on
desire further communication Facebook communities.
with others.
Product Cognitive Product comments on Facebook
Facebook community participants
comment are meaningful to me.
are attractive to others.
involvement Product comments on Facebook
Equality Facebook community participants
are important to me.
consider others equals.
Product comments on Facebook
Facebook community participants
are always relevant to my request.
feel very relaxed when interacting
Product comments on Facebook
with others.
are valuable to me.
Closeness Facebook community participants
Product comments on Facebook
do not care if others like them.R
are unnecessary to me.R*
The way Facebook community
participants interact with others Affective It is exciting to search for product
seems intimate. comments on Facebook.
It is fascinating to search for product
Task‐ Facebook community participants
comments on Facebook.
orientation are more interested in social
It is appealing to search for product
conversations than the
comments on Facebook.
tasks at hand.R
It is engaging to search for product
Facebook community participants
comments on Facebook.
are very socially oriented.R
406
(Continued)
Items
(R Reverse‐coded items; *
Item/dimension removed
Construct Dimensions during accuracy analysis)
It is boring to search for product
comments on Facebook.R*
Trustability of I trust product comments on
product Facebook.
comments I believe product comments on
Facebook are trustworthy.
Product comments on Facebook
are credible.
Quality of Product comments on Facebook
product contain specific facts.
comments Product comments on Facebook
are well supported.
Product comments on Facebook
communities provide concrete
examples.
Product comments on Facebook
are compelling.
Product comments on Facebook
contain detailed information.
Similarity Considerable similarity between
Facebook community members
and me in terms ofoutlook in life;
tastes and preferences; and
social background.
Note. All scale items were measured using a 7‐point Likert scale.
LE ET AL.
APPENDIX B
C H E C K I N G F O R C O M M O N M E T H O D BI A S
This research employed several procedural remedies recommended
by Podsakoff et al. (2003) to prevent and assess common method
bias (CMB). Prior to data collection, strategies such as prevalidated/
established scales, mixed and reversed items, and hidden research
purposes were used to prevent CMB. In the post‐data‐collection
stage, two statistical tests were performed to check the seriousness
of CMB. First, a confirmatory factor analysis approach was conducted
to compare a full‐factor model—with the items loading onto their the-
oretically corresponding variables—to a one‐factor model—with all of
the items loading onto a common‐method factor. The results showed
a better model fit of the full‐factor model than its corresponding one‐
factor model (χ2/df = 2.24/4.98, CFI = .87/.60, RMSEA = .055/.099).
Therefore, no evidence of CMB was observed. Second, following
Liang, Saraf, Hu, and Xue (2007), a PLS model with a common‐
method factor was supplemented. The result demonstrated that half
of the method loadings were insignificant, with an average method
variance of .01. Moreover, the substantive factor loadings were sig-
nificant and greater than their corresponding method loadings. The
ratio of substantive factor loadings to method loadings was about
68:1, higher than 1. Overall, the results revealed that CMB was
unlikely a problem.