Comprehensive classification and analysis of s-commerce design research

Abstract

Social media and social networks have a profound impact on business and created a new business model called social commerce (s-commerce). S-commerce is a type of electronic commerce (e-commerce) which utilizes social media platforms to facilitate commercial activities. S-commerce design deals with the structuring of online platforms that integrate social interaction and commercial interactions. S-commerce design is very significant in the transition of e-commerce to s-commerce as user preferences, social interactions, and user-generated content determine the business. This research conducts a systematic mapping study to classify s-commerce design articles published between 2015 and 2023 in online databases. A framework is proposed to analyze and categorize the existing body of knowledge on s-commerce design. The framework comprises three dimensions: design themes, design principles, and design artifacts. The results of the research show that the most prevalent design theme under s-commerce design is behavioral design (66 %), the commonly addressed design artifact is the behavior intention model (63 %), and the most emphasized design principle is usability (22 %). Among the least explored dimensions of s-commerce design are requirement design as the theme (4 %), playfulness as the design principle (6 %), and technical models and conceptual frameworks as the artifact (1 %). This indicates that human behavioral design has been well studied, while more research on technical, business, trust, and requirement design is needed for the efficient implementation of s-commerce platforms. The findings of this study guide future s-commerce research by highlighting gaps and potential directions in areas such as personalization, security, and interaction features.