Wangshuai Wang, Nuoya Chen, Jie Li and Gong Sun
Social networking sites (SNSs) are an indispensable part of people’s daily lives. However, scant literature describes how SNSs affect users’ behaviors, especially consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
Social networking sites (SNSs) are an indispensable part of people’s daily lives. However, scant literature describes how SNSs affect users’ behaviors, especially consumer behavior in emerging markets. This research aims to fill this literature gap.
Design/methodology/approach
Two empirical studies were conducted using different methods. Study 1, a survey, provided correlational evidence. Study 2, a lab experiment, further verified the causal relationship.
Findings
From Chinese consumer data, SNS consumption exposure enhances luxury brand consumption, mediated by social comparison motivation and moderated by legitimacy perceptions of SNSs as information outlets.
Originality/value
This research bridges SNSs and luxury brand consumption, two islands among different streams of literature. In addition, the paper illuminates the psychological mechanism through which SNSs affect luxury brand consumption and the boundary condition in which this effect diminishes. Practically, this paper is also instructive for SNSs and luxury brands.
Details
Keywords
Ruoshi Geng, Ruijie Sun, Jie Li, Fan Guo, Wangshuai Wang and Gong Sun
This paper examined the relationship between firm innovativeness and consumer trust in the sharing economy. In addition, the authors examine the mediating effect of organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examined the relationship between firm innovativeness and consumer trust in the sharing economy. In addition, the authors examine the mediating effect of organizational legitimacy and the moderating effect of social worth.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the hypotheses, the authors collected data from 276 users of a sharing platform (Didi) in China to conduct empirical research. The “lavaan” packages in R and SPSS were used to analyze the data and test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that sharing platforms' innovativeness is positively related to consumer trust, and this relationship is mediated by organizational legitimacy. Furthermore, sharing platforms' social worth moderates the relationship between firm innovativeness and organizational legitimacy as well as the indirect effect of firm innovativeness on consumer trust via organizational legitimacy.
Practical implications
This article proposes strategies that enable sharing platforms to increase consumer trust, which can also better promote the development of the sharing economy.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the social attributes of the sharing economy. By building a more detailed model of consumer trust, this paper adds to the knowledge on the influencing mechanism of consumer trust in the sharing economy.
Details
Keywords
Xin-an Zhang and Wangshuai Wang
Luxury consumption in China is featured by clear conspicuous purposes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this phenomenon from the indigenous perspective of face…
Abstract
Purpose
Luxury consumption in China is featured by clear conspicuous purposes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this phenomenon from the indigenous perspective of face consciousness.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Ho’s (1976) framework of gaining vs losing face process, the authors decomposed the construct of face consciousness into two dimensions, namely, desire to gain face and fear of losing face, and developed a multi-dimensional scale for face consciousness. Then, a survey that consisted of 338 participants was conducted to test the relationship between face consciousness and luxury consumption.
Findings
The face consciousness scale was shown to be reliable and valid. Furthermore, the authors found both desire to gain face and fear of losing face had a unique contribution in explaining why Chinese consumers purchase luxury products.
Originality/value
This paper fills the gap in the extant literature by developing a multi-dimensional face consciousness scale, providing convenience for empirical research in future. Moreover, this research shows that Chinese consumers’ luxury consumption behavior contains both promotion and prevention motivation.