Journal of Services Marketing

Influence of e-WOM engagement on consumer purchase intention in social commerce

Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin, Abdelsalam H. Busalim,
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Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin, Abdelsalam H. Busalim, (2018) "Influence of e-WOM engagement on consumer
purchase intention in social commerce", Journal of Services Marketing, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2017-0031
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 Influence of e-WOM engagement on consumer
purchase intention in social commerce
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – As a business paradigm, social commerce (s-commerce) has brought about a new stage of innovation, and by extension, has transmuted
the power from seller to buyer. S-commerce is a combination a commercial and social activities in which individuals may spread word of mouth
(WOM) about their shopping experiences and knowledge and provide information about product and services to their to their friends. This kind of
social interactions among individuals has increased the potentials of eWOM communication. Given such a backdrop, this paper aims to look into the
influence of eWOM engagement on consumers’ purchase intention in s-commerce, which may complement the current effort of the research
community in this area.
Design/methodology/approach – This study used elaboration likelihood model, theory of reasoned action and social support theory to investigate
the influence of eWOM engagement on consumers’ purchase intention in s-commerce. The study used 218 respondents to evaluate the proposed
model using SmartPLS.
Findings – The empirical results indicate that information characteristics, consumer behavior and technological factors exert a positive influence on
consumer purchase intentions. All hypotheses between attitude toward eWOM, information credibility, innovativeness, website quality and eWOM
engagement are significant. Also, eWOM engagement has a significant positive influence on consumer purchase intention. However, information
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quality and social support does not have any significant relationship with eWOM engagement.
Research limitations/implications – This study seeks to address the dearth of research in the field of s-commerce, especially as it relates to
eWOM. The study proposes a new model and empirically validates the hypothesized relationships. This research can serve as a stepping stone for
future research in this field.
Practical implications – This study is one of the early studies focusing on the influence of eWOM engagement, especially in s-commerce. The study
offers comprehensive and empirically validated factors pertaining to eWOM engagement in s-commerce. The results of this study are also important
to practitioners and online companies’ managers. The study’s model has demonstrated the contextualization of what makes customers engage in
eWOM and its influence in s-commerce. The study will also offer insights for firms on how to encourage eWOM engagement among customers.
Originality/value – A new eWOM engagement model in s-commerce is proposed with consideration on information characteristics, consumer
behavior, technological and social factors. The model is validated afterwards.
Keywords E-commerce, Social marketing, Engagement, Electronic word of mouth, eWOM, Social networking
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction as electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and can be defined as

Consumers, at present, have the tendency to exchange their
sentiments and encounters about products between each other,
and this is alluded to as word of mouth (WOM) (Arndt, 1967).
WOM, is the impact of somebody’s casual opinion about
products and brands from his/her experience of using them
(Sen and Lerman, 2007). Notably, the communication among
buyers may happen physically or by separation, and because of
its significance in marketing for quite some time, it has been
referred to as a substitute to conventional communication tools
and also has an exceedingly influential asset (Trusov et al.,
2008). Moreover, the evolution of Web 2.0 has changed the
Web into a social domain where consumers generate content
and share it with others. This shared information is referred to
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any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or
former customers about a product or company, which is made
available to a multitude of people and institutions via the internet
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). eWOM can be created by both
consumers and merchants. eWOM conversations among
consumers in s-commerce often revolves around brands (Chu
and Kim, 2011; Wolny and Mueller, 2013). Recent empirical
studies have shown that social collaboration in the form of
eWOM is an integral part of the social commerce (s-commerce)
success story (Wang and Yu, 2015). A study conducted
indicates that 61 per cent of consumers resort to eWOM before
buying any product, and 80 per cent of consumers are only
willing to purchase online after consulting online customers’
reviews (eMarketer, 2008). Because of these enormous
potentials of eWOM, researchers are now showing great
interest in eWOM, in which considerable amount of research
relating to eWOM has been carried out (King et al., 2014).

Received 30 January 2017

Journal of Services Marketing Revised 24 November 2017
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045] 23 March 2018
[DOI 10.1108/JSM-01-2017-0031] Accepted 27 March 2018
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim
Nowadays, electronic commerce (e-commerce) firms engage
their customers in the social Web to obtain vital information on
their products (Hajli et al., 2014). This engagement marks a
paradigm shift from the existing business models, leading to
what is now called s-commerce (Shanmugam et al., 2016).
S-commerce is defined as a new stream in e-commerce in
which social factors are the determinant of this phenomenon
and consumers are empowered to generate content using social
media by means of online communities, forums, ratings,
reviews and recommendations (Hajli and Sims, 2015). It is
expected that IT businesses will invest nearly $50bn yearly in s-
commerce by 2020 (Kim et al., 2013). Given the huge potential
associated with s-commerce, research in this growing field
appears to be in its infancy (Siau and Erickson, 2011).
Previous studies in relation to the influence of eWOM were
reported to be focused on either the characteristics of eWOM
information (Cheung et al., 2008; Shu and Scott, 2014) or
consumers’ behavior toward eWOM information (Plotkina and
Munzel, 2016; Reichelt et al., 2014). However, according to a
latest study which reviews eWOM literature, the influence of
eWOM depends on both information characteristics and
consumers behavior (Knoll, 2016). The present study concurs
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with Knoll’s (2016) suggestion that the characteristics of
eWOM information and consumer behavior toward eWOM
information are deemed necessary in improving our
understanding of eWOM engagement. Nevertheless, we also
argue that the Knoll’s (2016) suggestion may be necessary, but
not a sufficient requirement in investigating the influence of
eWOM engagement in s-commerce. Additionally, investigating
the influence of eWOM engagement remains an open area for
future research (Rossmann et al., 2016).
The suggestion by Knoll (2016) was considered by Erkan
and Evans (2016) to investigate the influence of eWOM on
purchase intention in social media context where they
empirically validate the model with university students in the
UK. The consideration of only university students as the
respondents is not a good representation of the entire
population. Furthermore, there are certain criteria that
differentiate eWOM in s-commerce from eWOM in other
media. S-commerce as eWOM channel is solely meant for
commercial purposes, whereas those in other channels are not
meant for commercial purposes such as social networking sites
(SNSs) (Moran and Muzellec, 2014). Beneke et al. (2016) also
studied the impact of eWOM on consumer purchase intention
on consumer electronics. They found a significant impact
between the variables. They suggest further research on
emerging markets such as s-commerce, where there is lack of
attention from the academic community.
Therefore, the present study develops a comprehensive
model to investigate the influence of eWOM engagement on
consumer purchase intention in s-commerce. In doing so, we
integrate the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), theory of
reasoned action (TRA) and social support theory (SST).
2. A review of literature and theoretical
discussion
2.1 Social commerce and electronic word of mouth
With the recent development observed in Web 2.0 and online
networking, e-commerce firms have now begun to coordinate
Journal of Services Marketing
new innovations on their sites with the aim of providing their
customers with engaging experience (Curty and Zhang, 2011;
Friedrich, 2015). One of the rationales behind s-commerce is
that it is capable of benefitting commercial transactions of
merchants by establishing robust interactions with consumers
(Hajli, 2014).
WOM and other activities undertaken in SNSs are highly
effective in affecting consumer decisions (Liang and Turban,
2011). S-commerce empowers the consumer society, which
relies on information exchange capable of helping consumers to
make informed decisions (Wang et al., 2016). Some of the
recent literature indicated that consumers progressively
perceive SNSs as an aspect of s-commerce with an end goal of
acquiring information about new brands on the market
(Barreda et al., 2015). Consumers may therefore have access to
social knowledge and experiences through interactions with
peers (Lu et al., 2016).
2.2 Elaboration likelihood model
At present, consumers nowadays are flooded with massive
amount of information with regard to products, services and
brands. Constrained by time and other factors, individuals may
not be able to process all persuasive messages from information
sources such as firms or friends (Miller et al., 1976). Hence,
they may select some information cues presenting the salient
aspect of the advocacy. In this regard, ELM is an information-
processing theory that was proposed by Petty et al. (1981);
Petty and Cacioppo (1986).The model notably offers an
important tool for understanding the viability of persuasive
communication (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984). As indicated by
some research, the most effective factor in ELM which may
impact on lasting persuasion is whether a customer will
elaborate on an advocacy (Wu and Wang, 2011). ELM
recommends that there are two potential routes to persuasion
which may impact the development and adjustment of
consumer behavior (i.e. the central route and the peripheral
route). Specifically, the central route to persuasion is portrayed
as the process of participating in astute, judicious and effortful
processing of an advocacy (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984), and the
peripheral route is characterized by psychological exertion and
focus on non-content when processing an advocacy (Petty and
Cacioppo, 1984). This is attributed to the reason that
consumers have unlimited freedom to publish content, and
thus, quality and credibility have therefore become critical at
present (Xu, 2014).
Some recent studies reported in the literature have widely
used ELM to understand eWOM communication (Beneke
et al., 2016; Kok et al., 2014).
2.3 Theory of reasoned action
Attitude is one of the critical factors accounting for human
behavior in various circumstances. It can therefore be defined
as a learned disposition to respond in a consistently favorable or
unfavorable manner with respect to a given object or behavior
(Ajzen and Fishbein, 1975). In this regard, TRA propagates
that an individual’s behavior is determined largely by intentions
to perform that behavior, and such behavioral intention is
considered a function of his/her attitude toward the behavior.
TRA has frequently been used by previous researchers to look
into eWOM and purchase intention (Cheung and Thadani,
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim
2012; Prendergast et al., 2010; Reichelt et al., 2014). Ajzen and
Fishbein (1975) contended that as people’s attitude toward
behavior is determined by their salient beliefs about the
behavior, their attitude could be changed by means of
influencing their primary beliefs.
2.4 Social support theory
In the past, the internet was mostly seen by numerous
individuals as a unique means to abstain from meeting
individuals. Some studies have contended that the more
time an individual spends on the internet, the poorer will be
his interpersonal connections (Sanders et al., 2000). The
proliferation of the SNSs has changed the internet into a
vital channel encouraging consumer interactions. Social
support is a noteworthy social value, which consumers are
capable of acquiring from various online groups (Huang
et al., 2010). Social support can be defined as social
resources which are provided by social group (Gottlieb and
Bergen, 2010), nurtures sense of warmth and care and sense
of belonging (Ali, 2011).
Social support is a multidimensional construct which
differs according to context (Huang et al., 2010).
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Considering the internet being a virtual environment where
interactions are based on message exchange, online social
support is intangible in nature, leaving informational and
emotional support (Huang et al., 2010). In this regard,
emotional support involves being able to confide in and rely
on another person, contribute to the feeling that one is loved
or cared about or even the feeling that one is a member of a
group and not a stranger (Pfeil and Zaphiris, 2009). In
contrast, informational support involves providing messages
in the form of recommendations or advice that will help
other consumers (Liang et al., 2011).
3. Research model and hypotheses development
The characteristics of eWOM information (information
quality and credibility) and consumer behavior (attitude
toward eWOM) are necessary but not necessarily sufficient
conditions in looking at the influences of eWOM
engagement on consumer purchase intention. Moreover,
considering the platform through which eWOM
communication takes place is essential. Hence, the present
study proposes a novel model which considers information
characteristics, consumer behavior, technological and social
factors. The model integrates ELM, TRA and SST. In this
regard, this model investigates the relationship between
these factors: information quality, information credibility,
innovativeness, attitude toward eWOM, website quality,
social support, eWOM engagement and purchase intention.
There is a need to combine these constructs into a single
model and empirically validate in the context of s-
commerce. These constructs along with the related studies
that consider either one or two as reported in the literature
are presented in Table I, which is followed by the proposed
model for the present study in Figure 1.
3.1 Information quality
Information quality has been the generally used antecedent
of the central route, as it is referred to as the persuasive
Journal of Services Marketing
strength of a message (Cheung and Thadani, 2012). The
present study defined information quality as the persuasive
strength of eWOM message. Consumers always attempt to
process any given information to ascertain the veracity or
otherwise of any given message. When these consumers
consider an argument to be valid, they believe in the
usefulness of such information (Sussman and Siegal, 2003).
Information quality is believed to be a vital construct by
previous studies (Aghakhani and Karimi, 2013; Cheung
et al., 2008). More specifically, prior literature has reported
that the quality information positively affects purchase
intention (Lee and Shin, 2014; Park et al., 2007).
Accordingly:
H1. Quality of eWOM information is positively related to
eWOM engagement.
3.2 Information credibility
Information credibility is considered a crucial driver of the
peripheral routes due to the fact that it is the message receivers’
perception on the credibility of a message (Cheung and
Thadani, 2012). In this study, we adopt the definition of
Cheung and Thadani (2012). When consumers adjudge
information to be credible, they are more willing to engage in
any form of communication. In online settings, users have
unlimited freedom to express their feelings without personal
meetings, so typical clues of information credibility do not
apply (Reichelt et al., 2014). Furthermore, individuals could
also be compromised as a result of incentives provided by firms.
Several researchers have demonstrated the importance of
information credibility. For instance, a study found that
information credibility is the main determinant in consumers’
decision-making (Awad and Ragowsky, 2008). Additionally,
studies also revealed the effect of information credibility on
consumers’ purchase intention (Prendergast et al., 2010).
Consequently, we posit that:
H2. The credibility of eWOM information is positively
related to eWOM engagement.
3.3 Website quality
Website quality is referred to as the customers’ perception of a
website’s performance in information retrieval and delivery
(Yang et al., 2005). In this study, we adopt the definition by
Yang et al. (2005). Website quality is measured using system
and service quality. Good quality of a social networking website
will ultimately convince users to keep using it, especially as a
platform to exchange information (Ahn et al., 2007). Reviewing
the e-commerce literature, findings were in support of the fact
that website quality may influence customer interaction with
firms (McKnight et al., 2002). Website quality may affect the
users’ view of the sites because transactions were carried out
through the portal (Ahn et al., 2007). For this reason, the
present study posits that consumers’ eWOM engagement is
influenced by websites’ quality. Hence, the following
proposition is postulated:
H3. Perceived website quality is positively related to eWOM
engagement.
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce Journal of Services Marketing
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim

Table I eWOM engagement factors

Attitude
Information Information Website Social toward eWOM Purchase
Author Names quality credibility quality support Innovativeness information engagement intention
Bai et al. (2015) ✓ ✓
Cheng and Ho (2015) ✓ ✓
Erkan and Evans (2016) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Wang et al. (2016) ✓
Hajli and Sims (2015) ✓
Hsiao et al. (2010) ✓ ✓
Liang et al. (2011) ✓ ✓
Kim and Park (2013) ✓ ✓
Zhang et al. (2014) ✓ ✓
Chen et al. (2014) ✓ ✓ ✓
Filieri et al. (2015) ✓ ✓ ✓
Hsin and Chen (2008) ✓ ✓
Beneke et al. (2016) ✓ ✓ ✓
Shamhuyenhanzva et al. ✓
(2016)
Rossmann et al. (2016) ✓
Kim et al. (2013) ✓
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Tsao and Hsieh (2015) ✓ ✓

Wang (2016) ✓ ✓
Hajli (2014) ✓

Figure 1 The proposed eWOM engagement model

3.4 Innovativeness and share their experiences with peers. Moreover,

A number of concepts in the behavioral sciences have as
much immediate relevance to consumer behavior as
innovativeness (Hirschman, 1980). Innovativeness is
defined as the degree to which an individual is relatively
earlier in adopting an innovation than other members of his
social system (Rogers, 1976). This study adopts Rogers’s
(1976) definition. On a singular premise, each individual is
to some extent a pioneer. In other words, every one of us,
through the span of our lives, adopt new concepts or ideas
(Hirschman, 1980). Innovative consumers are always
willing to share their experiences or seek new information.
Previous studies demonstrate that innovative individuals are
always likely to search for information about new products
innovativeness exerts a positive impact on opinion
leadership (Sun et al., 2006) and information seeking
(Rogers, 1976). For this reason, we posit that:
H4. Consumers innovativeness is positively related to
eWOM engagement.
3.5 Social support
With regard to online communities, social media sites are the
platform for users to acquire information through interaction
with friends, which may result in positive emotional responses
(Bai et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2003). Social support is considered as
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim
information that makes individuals to experience the feeling of
being catered for and empathized within a social group (Cobb,
1976). This study adopts Cobb’s (1976) definition. This form of
support have been studied in various studies on s-commerce (Bai
et al., 2015; Hajli, 2014; Hajli and Sims, 2015). It is believed to
be a multi-dimensional construct, which includes informational
support and emotional support in online setting (Schaefer et al.,
1981). In an online context, individuals are more likely to receive
informational and emotional supports (Welbourne et al., 2009).
Informational support comprises advice, guidance or useful
information to help consumers overcome challenges (Liang et al.,
2011), while emotional support lets the recipient feels he/she is
valued, which often refers to the provision of empathy, concern,
caring, love, understanding and encouragement (Ommen et al.,
2008). Notably, these dimensions encompass online social
support. When consumers experience the feeling of being cared
for in an online group, they also feel the need to share their
shopping experience with other members of the group.
Accordingly:
H5. The perception of social support is positively related to
eWOM engagement.
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3.6 Attitude toward electronic word of mouth
The attitudes toward eWOM is defined as the over-all effect of
“goodness” or “badness” of eWOM communication
(Fu et al., 2015). This study adopts the definition provided by Fu
et al. (2015). Attitude toward information is believed to be a
crucial factor affecting eWOM intention. This is more so as it
determines how consumers react to certain ideas or objects. It is
noteworthy that the attitude of consumers in relation to eWOM
has been studied in prior literature (Ayeh, 2015; Fu et al., 2015;
Reichelt et al., 2014). Consumers with positive attitudes toward
eWOM in s-commerce are likely to engage in eWOM
communication. Thus, we propose:
H6. Attitude toward eWOM is positively related to eWOM
engagement.
When an individual exhibits a positive attitude toward EWOM,
he/she will mostly likely have a greater intention to purchase in
s-commerce. It should be noted that attitude holds control in
influencing consumer’s behavioral intention. Technology
acceptance model and other social psychology theories
recognize the impact of attitude on consumer behavioral
intentions (Ayeh, 2015). Attitude is also shown to have a
profound effect on behavioral intentions in an online
environment (Bruner and Kumar, 2000; Castañeda et al.,
2009). According to Ajzen and Fishbein, (1975), attitude is
among the strongest determinants of an individual’s behavior.
For this reason, we propose that:
H7. Attitude toward eWOM is positively related to
consumer purchase intentions.
3.7 Electronic word of mouth engagement
Engagement refers to the emotional reactions to situations and
to other stimuli from which the consumers form some bond or
relationship with the stimulus (Kapoor and Kulshrestha,
Journal of Services Marketing
2011). Customer engagement can be defined as the behavioral
manifestation of a customer toward firms, for instance,
affecting the firms in ways other than purchase alone (Bijmolt
et al., 2010; Doorn et al., 2010). Related instances may range
from WOM, recommendations, helping other customers,
blogging, writing reviews, participation and co-creation in
brand communities (Doorn et al., 2010; Hollebeek et al.,
2014). To rationalize the impact of eWOM on consumers, we
need to, as a first step, consider user engagement with eWOM
communication. This may provide a deeper understanding of
what individual users require for eWOM communication. In
this study, eWOM engagement is defined as the willingness to
request or share eWOM information with other customers.
Customers tend to develop a greater purchase intention if they
engage in eWOM communication. Several related studies have
investigated the influences of eWOM on consumer purchase
intentions (Baber et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2014; Erkan and
Evans, 2016; Mortazavi et al., 2014; Wu and Wang, 2011; Yu
and Natalia, 2013). For example, it is reported that a positive
relation between eWOM and consumer purchase intention was
observed (Sharifpour et al., 2016). Hence, consumers who
engage in eWOM in s-commerce are very likely to develop a
higher purchase intention. Accordingly:
H8. eWOM engagement is positively related to consumers’
purchase intention.
4. Methodology
4.1 Measures
The survey in this study was designed using a multi-item
approach, where each construct is assessed by several items.
The items for the model’s constructs were adapted from
previous literature. We use two phases of content and face
validity to guarantee the reliability and validity of the selected
items. The first phase involves academic experts in the field of
information systems, who were invited to evaluate the face and
content validity of each item. The results of this phase indicated
that most items represented their respective constructs, except
for where the experts recommend an improvement in item’s
wording. In the second phase, the revised items were reviewed
by three academic experts in the field of s-commerce,
e-commerce and scale development.
4.2 Data collection
We collect our collect primary data from customers who have
experience in two selected s-commerce websites, namely,
Konga and Jumia. Konga and Jumia are leading Nigerian
online shopping platforms with a widespread acceptance
among the populace (Chiejina, 2014). The ultimate aim of
selecting these platforms is in twofold. First, according to
Huang and Benyoucef’s (2013) design model, these two
websites are considered s-commerce websites because they
have the four design layers (individual, conversation,
community and commerce) and the features of s-commerce;
therefore, choosing these websites is appropriate and
compatible with the study’s objectives. They also fall within the
definition of s-commerce as provided by Huang and Benyoucef
(2013). Second, they are among well-known and highly visited
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce Journal of Services Marketing
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim

websites. For instance, Konga and Jumia were ranked the top Table II Descriptive characteristics of the respondents
most e-commerce websites in 2017 by SpecsPrice Nigeria.
Total = 218
A five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)
Demographic Information Frequency (%)
to 5 (strongly agree), was used to measure the variables. Items
were adapted from previous research and modified to suit the Gender
context of this study: s-commerce. In particular, information Male 166 76
quality and information credibility were measured by four- Female 52 24
items and five-items, respectively, and they were adapted from Age
a study by Filieri et al. (2015). Website quality has two 18-22 years 27 12
dimensions: system and service quality. They were assessed 23-27 years 32 15
using three-items adapted from a study by Liang et al. (2011). 28-32 years 103 47
Innovativeness is measured using four-items adapted from a 33-37 years 8 4
study by Sun et al. (2006). Social support has two dimensions: 38-42 years 35 16
emotional and informational support. The items for emotional 43 or above 13 6
and informational support were also adapted from the study by
Liang et al. (2011). Attitude toward eWOM was measured by Level of education
four-items adapted from a study by Ajzen and Fishbein, Bachelors 128 59
(1975). eWOM engagement is assessed using five-items Post graduate 74 34
adapted from a study by Chu and Kim (2011). Finally, Others 16 7
purchase intention was evaluated using three-items adapted Occupation
from the study by Ajzen and Fishbein (1975). The Student 106 48
questionnaires were distributed from July 14, 2017, to
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Working 69 32
September 20, 2017. Overall, 290 participants completed the Unemployed 43 20
survey. A total of 251 questionnaires were returned. Excluding
the same-answer and too much missing data surveys, we used S-commerce site used % of usage
218 for the analysis. Respondents’ personal profiles were Jumia.com.ng 145 67
collected to infer a valid conclusion on the research findings. Konga.com 73 33
The descriptive characteristics of the respondents are presented Duration of s-commerce use
in Table II. Less than 6 months 21 10
6 months-1 year 108 59
5. Result 1-2 years 52 24
More than 2 years 37 17
In analyzing the data, we used the partial least square (PLS)
technique of structural equation modeling (SEM). This study Sharing or seeking information
uses PLS-SEM for several reasons. First, this study intends to Always 64 29
identify the factors for eWOM engagement and develop a Frequently 115 53
model that explains the relationship between these factors. Sometimes 26 12
This is consistent with the rules of thumb provided by Hair et Never 13 6
al. (2016). Second, applying PLS technique requires a
minimum sample size demand (Urbach and Ahlemann,
2010). Third, SmartPLS software is suitable for small sizes of indicates the uniqueness of the construct and captures the
data (Hair et al., 2016). Finally, PLS-SEM is suitable for phenomenon that is not observed by others. The square root
analyzing complex models with large numbers of constructs. values of each construct are greater than that of the off-diagonal
We used SmartPLS 3.0 to assess the measurements and cross of all other constructs, as shown in Table IV.
structural model.
5.2 Structural model assessment
5.1 Measurement model assessment The structural model was evaluated in accordance with the
Before evaluating the hypotheses, the convergent and hypothesized effect in our research model using one tailed test
discriminant validity in our model were assessed. Convergent type. Figure 2 shows the result of the hypothesized structural
validity was evaluated using three criteria: composite reliability model test, estimated path coefficients with significant paths
(CR), average variance extracted (AVE) and outer loadings. indicated by asterisk, an associated t-values of the paths. The
According to Hair et al. (2016), the threshold for AVE, CR and results of the evaluated structural model are presented in
outer loadings are 0.5, 0.7, and 0.7, respectively. As shown in Table V. The results indicate that six out of eight hypotheses
Table III, all the CR values exceed 0.7, and AVE values of all were significant. Specifically, H8, predicting the positive
constructs surpassed the threshold value of 0.5. Some of the impact of eWOM engagement on purchase intention, was
values for the outer loadings were below 0.7 and are kept based supported with t statistics of 1.596 (p = 0.055). Website quality
on the recommendation of Hair et al. (2016) that if deleting is the most significant factor of eWOM engagement with t
those items does not increase either the CR or the AVE. statistics of 6.978 (p = 0.0). Attitude toward eWOM also has a
The discriminant validity is then assessed using the Fornell– significant impact on both consumer purchase intention and
Larcker criterion. The establishment of discriminant validity eWOM engagement, with t-statistics of 2.705 and 1.709 (p =
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce Journal of Services Marketing
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim

Table III Constructs reliability and validity 6. Discussion and conclusion

Construct Name Items Loadings CR AVE The ultimate goal of the present study is to create a robust
Attitude toward eWOM ATT2 0.582 0.783 0.658
understanding of the determinants of eWOM engagement and
ATT4 0.989 its influence on consumers’ purchase intention in s-commerce.
Emotional support EMS1 0.690 0.795 0.564 This study makes significant theoretical and practical
EMS2 0.821 contributions to the understanding of consumer engagement
EMS3 0.737 with eWOM and its influence on consumer purchase intention.
Informational support INS1 0.894 0.885 0.720 This is achieved by integrating the ELM; TRA and SST to
INS2 0.846 explain this phenomenon.
INS3 0.804 While most of the prior research has focused purely on
Information Credibility INC2 0.610 0.779 0.504 either information characteristics or consumer behavior,
INC4 0.772 considering both information characteristics and consumer
INC5 0.910 behavior alongside technological and social factors in a
Information quality INQ1 0.537 0.725 0.501 single model, especially in the context of s-commerce, is
INQ2 0.782 highly valuable. Furthermore, the assessment of the
INQ3 0.654 determinants of eWOM engagement has remained unclear.
INQ4 0.536 Our empirical test reveals that attitude toward eWOM,
Innovativeness INV1 0.846 0.818 0.608 information credibility, innovativeness and website quality
INV2 0.576 are important determinants of eWOM engagement, which
INV3 0.881 also influences purchase intention. Firms might particularly
Purchase intention PUI1 0.886 0.844 0.645 benefit from eWOM if consumers request or share the
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PUI2 0.771 content, which will eventually lead to greater returns.

PUI3 0.744 Specifically, we found that website quality is a highly
Service quality SEQ1 0.995 0.862 0.762 significant determinant of eWOM engagement in
SEQ2 0.731 s-commerce (H3). The result is consistent with previous
System quality SYQ1 0.851 0.865 0.681 eWOM marketing literature, where perceived website
SYQ2 0.851 quality is an essential ingredient that results in eWOM
SYQ3 0.771 adoption (Filieri et al., 2015). In our case, consumers having
eWOM engagement ENG1 0.874 0.923 0.707 strong affinity toward the quality of s-commerce site have
ENG2 0.822 greater willingness to engage in eWOM. This illustrates the
ENG3 0.874 significance of integrating technological factors in this study. We
ENG4 0.859 also found that consumer willingness to innovate is crucial in
ENG5 0.770 encouraging eWOM engagement (H4). Engaging in eWOM
demonstrates the customers’ willingness to try new ideas or
0.003, p = 0.044), respectively. Furthermore, information become pioneers in any endeavor. This supported our argument
credibility and innovativeness appeared to have positive impact that innovative consumers are always willing to seek or share their
on eWOM engagement, with t-statistics of 1.353 and 2.228 experiences. Specifically, this act can lead other consumers to
(p = 0.088, p = 0.013), respectively. However, information share their experiences with products and services. It also affords
quality and social support were not supported, with t-statistics firms the opportunity to recruit innovative customers into their
0.699 and 1.003 (p = 0.242, p = 0.158), respectively. value creation process. Furthermore, empirical results relating to

Table IV Discriminant validity results based on Fornell–Larcker criterion

ATT EMS INC INQ INS INV PUI SEQ SYQ ENG
ATT 0.811
EMS 0.014 0.751
INC 0.026 0.001 0.699
INQ 0.133 0.058 0.054 0.635
INS 0.048 0.110 0.025 0.121 0.849
INV 0.187 0.019 0.057 0.070 0.033 0.780
PUI 0.241 0.037 0.011 0.061 0.025 0.107 0.803
SEQ 0.058 0.352 0.050 0.063 0.050 0.042 0.005 0.873
SYQ 0.096 0.032 0.084 0.066 0.101 0.074 0.006 0.013 0.825
ENG 0.031 0.062 0.173 0.058 0.025 0.190 0.127 0.177 0.222 0.841
Notes: ATT = attitude; EMS = emotional support; INC = information credibility; INQ = information quality; INS = informational support; INV =
innovativeness; PUI = purchase intention; SEQ = service quality; SYQ = system quality; ENG = engagement; the italic values indicate the uniqueness of the
constructs in the proposed model as they happen to be greater than the highest correlation with any other construct, thus establishing the proposed model’s
discriminant validity
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce Journal of Services Marketing
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim

Figure 2 Path coefficients

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Table V Hypotheses testing

Path Hypothesis t-values p-values Significant level
Info quality fi eWOM engagement H1 0.699 0.242 NS
Info credibility fi eWOM engagement H2 1.353 0.088 *
Website quality fi eWOM engagement H3 6.978 0 ***
Innovativeness fi eWOM engagement H4 2.228 0.013 **
Social support fi eWOM engagement H5 1.003 0.158 NS
Attitude fi eWOM engagement H6 1.709 0.044 **
Attitude fi purchase intention H7 2.705 0.003 ***
eWOM engagement fi purchase intention H8 1.596 0.055 *
Notes: *p < 0.10; **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.01; one-tailed

information credibility are found to be a significant determinant
of eWOM engagement in s-commerce (H2). The result is
consistent with previous literature, where information credibility
is crucial to information usefulness (Erkan and Evans, 2016).
When consumers consider information to be credible, they tend
to engage in eWOM (e.g. sharing or seeking information). Firms
will have to do more in encouraging customers to attach vital
clues when sharing their experience to help other consumers
establish the credibility of such messages. Attitude toward
eWOM also exhibits a significant influence on both eWOM
engagement and consumer purchase intention (H6, H7). This is
consistent with TRA. Additionally, our result showed that
eWOM engagement influences consumers’ purchase intention in
s-commerce (H8). This is also consistent with previous
marketing literature, where eWOM is an essential ingredient in
promoting purchase intention (Balakrishnan et al., 2014). When
consumers exhibit strong affinity to engage in eWOM, they tend
to have greater purchase intention. However, information quality
and social support does not have any significant relationship with
eWOM engagement (H1, H5).
In the case of the relationship between information quality
and eWOM engagement, this may be due to the nature of the
study sample and the context. The sample of this study is
collected from s-commerce websites’ participants, unlike prior
studies that targeted SNSs. In s-commerce websites, customers
are more concerned with the credibility of the information than
its quality, as information can be provided by anyone. Some
websites go to the extent of providing reward in exchange for
positive eWOM. As for the relationship between social support
and eWOM engagement, which was also not supported, this
may also be as a result of the context of the study and the
sample. In s-commerce, customers visit these sites with the sole
purpose of getting credible information regarding products and
services of interest rather than building relationships with other
customers, such as in SNSs. Less social interaction is obtained
in this context. This may explain the reason why this
relationship is not supported.
The results of this study provide vital contributions
related to eWOM and s-commerce in several fronts. First,
we have contributed to the literature on eWOM by
investigating consumer engagement with eWOM in
s-commerce context. Given the widespread of SNSs,
consumers have now become information sources and
information seekers. As is generally recognized, securing as
 Consumer purchase intention in social commerce
Ali Sahabi Yusuf, Ab Razak Che Hussin and Abdelsalam H. Busalim
much information is one of the core values of joining online
groups. Currently, eWOM is considered to be a vital
marketing tool that is believed to exert a greater impact on
consumers than advertisements. However, research on
eWOM engagement has not yet received adequate
consideration, particularly what determines consumer
engagement with eWOM in s-commerce. In this study, we
investigate the determinants of eWOM engagement and its
influence on consumer purchase intention in s-commerce.
Second, with the development of this model, we extend our
knowledge of how eWOM engagement in s-commerce impacts
purchase intention. This contributes to the literature by
providing new theoretical reasons to bridge the gap of lack of
research in investigating the effects of eWOM engagement on
purchase intention in s-commerce platforms. The model can
elaborate on such impacts, i.e. how eWOM engagement in s-
commerce positively influence purchase intention.
Third, we discover four important determinants of
eWOM engagement and confirm its influence on consumer
purchase intention in s-commerce. The study empirically
assessed theoretical conjectures on the effect of attitude
toward eWOM, information credibility, innovativeness,
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website quality in consumer eWOM engagement on two s-
commerce sites. To the best of our knowledge, this is the
first study to analyze the determinants of eWOM
engagement and its influence on consumer purchase
intention in s-commerce. The results provide insights to
firms on how to exploit consumer engagement with eWOM
and encourage eWOM generation among s-commerce
users. Firms will advertently benefit from eWOM generated
by consumers. Even the pioneers such as Amazon and eBay
encourage reviews from customers. Jumia also organizes
contest to select best reviews of the year to encourage the
writing of reviews among its customers. The findings would
guide firms in developing a better strategy in using
s-commerce platforms to encourage customer engagement
with eWOM and also improve value co-creation.
Finally, we emphasize on the significance of considering
information characteristics, consumer behavior and
technological factors because this would result in greater
consumer engagement with eWOM and eventually result in
higher purchase intention. The findings will serve as pointer
to s-commerce firms on how these factors can be used as a
means of encouraging eWOM engagement among
s-commerce users. It also indicates that to build an efficient
environment for consumer engagement with eWOM, these
constructs must be given utmost priority. This will
eventually lead to higher purchase intention as empirically
validated in this study.
Altogether, this study presents several theoretical and
managerial implications for strategic management of consumer
engagement with eWOM in s-commerce.
6.1 Limitations and future work
Even though this study proves to be a promising research, it is
not devoid of unavoidable limitations that create an avenue for
further investigation. Findings in this study are limited to
s-commerce websites that integrate social media features to
facilitate social activities. Further research could investigate
other types of s-commerce platforms, as results from the
Journal of Services Marketing
different platforms could be different. Using the present model
in another context could also provide interesting results.
Considering a qualitative approach, such as interviews, could
be another approach to extract new factors that will result in an
extension of our model.
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Corresponding author
Ali Sahabi Yusuf can be contacted at: sahabiali@yahoo.com