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Consumers may enjoy the information sharing and social support made available when a social media platform is used for pre-purchase research; however, do consumers reevaluate the privacy and security of the platform differently when ordering and payment capabilities are added? As social media systems have evolved into social commerce platforms (SCPs), individuals are often faced with whether to complete a purchase they have been researching or switch to a traditional e-commerce platform to complete the transaction. This research examines consumer trust formation in the SCP channel and how consumer interest and engagement in the channel are maintained and influence consumer decisions to purchase via the SCP.

Based on trust and involvement literature, a research model was conceptualized to capture consumer beliefs about SCP privacy and security and whether the SCP can be trusted, using these inputs into subsequent consumer interest, engagement and decisions on whether to use the SCP for purchasing. The research model was empirically tested using the panel data's structural equation modeling (AMOS) (n = 405). The data showed acceptable reliability and convergent validity, while the original research model provides predictive validity and theory-confirming insights.

Results confirm that consumer perceptions of privacy and security play a crucial role as decision criteria, informing their judgments of whether a new social commerce channel can be trusted enough to conduct purchases. Further, consumer trust supports their interest in the SCP, resulting in enduring and enhanced behavioral use and, to a lesser extent, purchase intent. Still, a majority of this sample declined to purchase using the SCP and rather preferred to transact on tried and trusted traditional e-commerce sites.

This study is among the first to examine trust formation in new SCPs, where consumers are deciding to expand their engagement level from social and informational to commercial.

The purpose of this paper is to determine which design and operational attributes of e-commerce websites consumers use to assess website quality. Cue utilization theory is used to examine the explanatory power, robustness and relevance of the WebQual model. Results indicate which WebQual dimensions are the most relevant and salient to website users. These dimensions are categorized by their perceived and confidence values. A second study is conducted about how website users evaluate and utilize the WebQual dimensions.

Survey methodology was utilized to provide insight into the nomological validity of the WebQual model by examining it through a cue utilization lens.

The first study categorizes the WebQual dimensions on their ability to provide a diagnostic measure of website quality, and consumer confidence in their ability to use these cues when judging the website's overall quality. The second study presents results of each dimension in relation to the quality evaluation of an actual e-commerce website. Additional analysis also revealed gender differences in cue utilization.

This study provided insight into WebQual-based research and identified original differences in cue utilization across genders. Results suggest that it may be beneficial for brand managers to focus on a subset of quality dimensions, rather than assume that consumers are comfortable using all website attributes to formulate quality judgments. These, results contribute to multiple literatures by providing a model that developers can utilize to focus on the deterministic characteristics of overall website quality. Further, the cue utilization perspective provides additional avenues for fruitful further research into consumer decision-making in the e-commerce context.

This study examines the impact of social media information sharing and usage on consumer beliefs particularly in the credibility of the information provided by e-commerce vendors, and consumer trust formation.

Drawing on trust through social media usage and surface credibility, the authors have proposed a research model to investigate consumers satisfaction on food and beverage (F&B) products. Empirical support for the research model was provided by using structural equation modelling using survey data drawn from Malaysian consumers with an account with Facebook.

Results indicate that consumer participation in social media communities support higher levels of consumer trust and ratings of the surface credibility of information provided by an F&B vendor, and surface credibility also helped to develop consumer trust. Trust in the vendor also exerted a positive influence on consumer satisfaction with F&B product offerings. Results suggest that F&B that provide credible and transparent information regarding their branded products, enjoy increased levels of consumer trust, leading to higher levels of consumer satisfaction with their F&B consumption experience.

The result of this research contributes to social commerce branch of literature and has practical implications for practitioners in the F&B industry as a means to survival strategies to embrace critical and challenging period during an endemic, particularly. As such, this study analyses the relationship between social media usage, surface credibility, trust and satisfaction for developing consumer trust while managing enterprise social media.

The paper aims to examine ways to reduce privacy risk and its effects so that adoption of e‐services can be enhanced.

Consumers that form a viable target market for an e‐service are presented with the task of experiencing the e‐service and expressing their attitudes and intentions toward it. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the responses.

The paper finds that consumer beliefs that the e‐service will be easy to use and that the e‐service provider is credible and capable reduce privacy risk and its effects, thus enhancing adoption likelihood.

The focus on a financial services product (online bill paying) suggests that similar research should be conducted with other high‐risk e‐services (such as those dealing with healthcare) and lower‐risk e‐services (such as subscription services and social networks).

In addition to addressing consumers' privacy risk directly, e‐service providers can also reduce privacy risk and its effects by enhancing corporate credibility and perceived ease of use of the service. Increased assessments of privacy risk perceptions and efforts to reduce those perceptions will likely yield higher usage rates for e‐services.

The use of the technology acceptance model from information systems research, combined with a multi‐faceted conceptualization of privacy risk, moves the examination of privacy risk to a higher level, particularly in light of the examination of the additional factors of perceived ease of use and corporate credibility.

The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth how Web 2.0 (focusing on social media) contributes to create a better communication channel to provide information, support and assistance to patients. Social relationships of individuals on the Internet through social media have created added value for many industries. This phenomenon can be an opportunity for the health care industry, which has encountered huge challenges such as increasing demands, budget cuts, growing numbers of patients and more demanding patient expectations. Web 2.0 and social media have the potential value to make possible an increase in the productivity of modern health care and a reduction in cost to the central government. Social media introduces better channels of communication with patients to increase the value of e-health. Social media are building more social communities that empower patients to share their personalized health information and treatments.

Grounded on social support and transaction cost theories, this paper evaluates the current potential of social media to discuss values it can offer for the overall benefit of the health care industry.

The results show how the social relationship of individuals provides online social support and reduction of cost through social media, leading to the development of modern health care. Implications and limitations are discussed at the end of the paper.

The analysis results indicated that social media provides strong social support for patients who seek help online. Informational support and emotional support have been confirmed as two main dimensions of social support in online health care. It makes a contribution to the health care literature by extending it to online health care support in the context of social media. It may inform and provide some initial understanding to guide future research. In addition, this study indicates that social support theory and transaction cost are appropriate theoretical foundations for studies of online health care. This finding is very valuable, as it helps researchers to advance the understanding of how social media support online health care.

The emergence of Web 2.0 opened a new route for education to use the values derived from this development. The future of e-learning is social learning, where individuals can learn online due to the facility of social media. Social media such as online communities are places for social interactions between users. These social interactions are the way forward and can drive social support in an online context. This paper aims to explore the impact of these interactions

This study uses social support theory to explore the impact of social interactions on the internet on learning and education. The research uses a case study and investigates the health industry.

The paper explains the development in e-learning through social media and the emerging concept of social learning.

The contribution of this research is to emphasise social relationships of individuals in the internet and social interaction in online communities which enhance their learning qualities. The research drawn on social support theory describes social learning as a future for e-learning.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

When a doctor says more people die as a result of worrying about illnesses they might or might not have, rather than illness itself, the medic's opinion might lack the backing of hard facts and figures. But it is one worth noting, especially when the internet has become such a hypochondriacs' playground where they can discover a multitude of symptoms and immediately start to be frightened by them.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing ambidextrous governance and risk management on repurchase intention in social commerce.

A novel research model comprises nine research hypotheses with six constructs, including three dimensions of social capital (structural, relational and cognitive), contracts, relational risk and repurchase intention. The hypotheses are tested on data collected from 395 usable responses in Taiwan, using structural equation modeling.

The findings of this study indicate that online merchants should reinforce their collaborative behavior and activities to improve ambidextrous governance mechanisms, and thus enhance repurchase intention.

The resultant findings only reflect the setting of Taiwan’s social commerce marketplace. With the research model developed, future research on cross-country studies of various forms of social networking sites would be worth conducting to determine regional differences in the development of social commerce activities.

Ambidextrous governance mechanisms have been gaining attention in buyer–supplier relationships. Extending ambidexterity research to the social commerce domain, the authors focus on ambidextrous governance that can include social and contractual governance elements.

This study aims to examine the direct and indirect influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on green cosmetics purchase intention of young Vietnamese female consumers through health concern, environmental concern and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) factors.

Data were collected from a survey of Vietnamese young female consumers that were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results reveal that eWOM has a direct effect on consumers’ purchase intention of green cosmetics. Among TPB factors, attitude was a greater influential predictor of purchase intention than subjective norms. However, the influence of perceived behavioral control on purchase intention was not supported. There were significant indirect effects of eWOM on purchase intention through the mediation of health concern, environmental concern and attitude.

Therefore, the findings of this study are relevant for marketers and managers as they provide valuable insights into understanding the motivational factors of consumers’ green cosmetics purchase intention. The results highlighted that eWOM could increase young female consumers’ environmental concern and health concern, which, in turn, influence a positive attitude toward green cosmetics. Hence, eWOM is a powerful vehicle for environmental and health messages; also, it can be an important channel of sensitization toward environmental and health issues and motivation of proenvironmental behavior and healthy lifestyle.

The study contributed to the literature by confirming the utility of the TPB model in predicting young women’s green cosmetics purchases in the context of Vietnam, an emerging market, which has largely been overlooked in the literature. The findings show that eWOM has a direct influence on green cosmetics purchase intentions of young Vietnamese female consumers and indirectly eWOM through health concern, environmental concern and two TPB factors (attitude and subjective norms).