Understanding Chinese consumer engagement in social commerce The roles of social support and swift guanxi

Abstract

Purpose: Building on the Chinese guanxi perspective, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that explains the indirect effects of social support from friends on social commerce intentions, as mediated through the relational aspects that potential buyers develop with sellers. Design/methodology/approach: Hypotheses are tested with partial least squares (PLS)-graph applied to data collected via a survey of social media users (n=511). SPSS and PLS-graph are the statistical analysis tools used in this study. Findings: Relationship exists in social commerce interactions and its quality can be captured by swift guanxi and trust. These swift relationships matter as they drive u..