Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore how buyers’ imitation of others’ online behavior is positively associated with purchase behavior. In addition, we consider the moderating role that product uncertainty, seller uncertainty and product fit uncertainty play in the relationship between imitation and purchase behavior. Users in China who have purchase experience on Xiaohongshu were chosen to test the hypotheses. Finally, longitudinal data from 282 respondents was collected. The findings show that imitation has a positive impact on purchase intention. Purchase intention positively affects actual purchase behavior. Product uncertainty and product fit uncertainty positively moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. But seller uncertainty doesn't moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. Both theoretical and practical contributions are also considered. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 102262 |
| Journal | International Journal of Information Management |
| Volume | 56 |
| Online published | 9 Nov 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2021 |
Research Keywords
- Imitation
- Purchase behavior
- Purchase intention
- Social commerce
- Uncertainty
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: © 2020. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.