Self-Awareness or Context-Awareness? The Role of Awareness in Herd Behavior

Online consumers are increasingly using social commerce platforms to engage in various social interactions and conduct commercial activities. Drawing on latent state-trait (LST) theory, this study investigates how self-awareness (i.e., private and public self-awareness) and context-awareness (i.e., perceived expertise, similarity and familiarity) influence herd behavior (i.e., discounting own information and imitating other). In addition, we examine the interplay between self-awareness and context-awareness. Furthermore, we posit that herd behavior contributes positively to purchase intention, which in turn influences purchase behavior. To test the proposed model, we will collect longitudinal data from actual social commerce users. The theoretical and practical implication will be discussed.