How Social Presence, and Word of Mouth, Affects Online Purchase Intentions in Pakistan: The Mediatory Role of Sellers’ Personal, and Social Commerce Constructs.

Lacking the presence of human and social elements is claimed one major weakness that is hindering the growth of e-commerce. Social commerce reintroduces the social aspect of shopping to e-commerce, increasing the degree of social presence in online environment. Drawing upon the social presence theory, the purpose of this paper is to understand the overall level of social presence that tends to impact the behavior of customers with regards to online purchase intentions and trusting the sellers. Lu et. al. (2016) theorizes the nature of social aspect in online SC marketplace by proposing a set of three social presence variables that produced positive impacts on trusting beliefs which in turn result in online purchase behaviors. We proposed a theoretical framework modifying Lu model to incorporate Wang & Yu (2015) conceptualization of word of mouth, as well as social commerce constructs as proposed by Hajli (2015). Hence, we hypothesized that social presence along with word of mouth positively affects Perceptions of sellers Integrity, Benevolence, and Competence. They also positively affect social commerce constructs such as Ratings & Reviews (RT), Recommendations & Referrals (RE), and Forums & Communities (FC). These personal and social commerce factors affect purchase intentions. Social Presence was measured by Social Presence of Web (SPW), Perception of Others (SPO), and Social Presence of Interaction with Sellers (SPI), whereas word of mouth (WOM) was classified as Positive valence WOM, Negative valence WOM, the content of WOM (WOMC). Empirical validity was established by conducting a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. Data were collected from 200 respondents from Karachi, with certain key target areas in mind. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. The results suggested that WOMC has a positive and significant effect on all 6 personal, and social commerce constructs. Positive WOM seems to effect Recommendations, and Forums & Communities, whereas negative WOM affected Ratings. Positive WOM also affect sellers’ perception of Benevolence and Competence. Social Presence of Web (SPW) have a positive and significant effect on Competence, as well as Forums, and Ratings, whereas the Perception of Others (SPO) affects Benevolence. Interestingly, the Presence of Interaction with Sellers (SPI), seems to affect Competence negatively. Lastly, Ratings & Reviews seems to be the only factor having a significant effect on Purchase Intentions. Hence, Factors like Negative valence WOM, WOMC, and SPW affect purchase intentions through ratings & Reviews.