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Interpersonal relationship building in social commerce communities: considering both swift guanxi and relationship commitment

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Abstract

The booming of social media facilitates the popularity of social commerce. In social commerce communities, relationship building is rather crucial. In this study, we consider both swift guanxi and relationship commitment to explore the interpersonal relationship building process in social commerce. Collecting 972 valid responses of social commerce community members, we identify four bond-based antecedents of swift guanxi, namely familiarity, interpersonal similarity, interactivity and personal information, which are all positively associated with swift guanxi. We also demonstrate that swift guanxi exerts a significant positive effect on relationship commitment, unveiling the process of relationship building between members in s-commerce communities. Furthermore, we also verify that swift guanxi has a significant positive impact only on social word-of-mouth (sWOM) adoption behavior, but not on sWOM behavior; while relationship commitment has reverse impacts, which are very interesting findings. Founders of social commerce communities may use these findings to promote the building of social commerce communities.

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Notes

  1. CNNIC, The 38th statistical survey report on Internet development in China, https://www.cnnic.net.cn, 2016.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71871061) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Grand No. 2018-05241) for provding funding for part of this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Xusen Cheng

  2. School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yu Gu

  3. School of Economics and Management, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China

    Jian Mou

  4. Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Jian Mou

Authors
  1. Xusen Cheng
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  2. Yu Gu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian Mou.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Measurement scales

Construct

Item

Content

Familiarity [11, 73]

FA1

I become familiar with other members in the s-commerce community through their referrals and comments

FA2

I become familiar with the consumption habits and the shopping styles of other members in the s-commerce community through their referrals and comments

FA3

I become familiar with the characteristics and interests of other members in the s-commerce community through their referrals and comments

FA4

I communicate with other members in the s-commerce community frequently

Interpersonal similarity [2, 11, 74]

IS1

I shared similar preferences with other members in s-commerce communities

IS2

I share similar values with other members in s-commerce communities

IS3

I share similar viewpoints with other members in s-commerce communities

IS4

I share similar shopping experiences with other members in s-commerce communities

Interactivity [8, 9]

IA1

Members in the s-commerce community actively exchange information with each other

IA2

Members in the s-commerce community frequently interact with each other

IA3

Members in the s-commerce community often respond in a timely manner to inquiries or comments from me

IA4

I am able to get information from other members in the s-commerce community very rapidly

Personal information [27, 75]

PI1

I would like to share information about myself in the s-commerce community

PI2

I would like to share some photos about myself in the s-commerce community

PI3

I would like to share my opinions in the s-commerce community

Swift guanxi—mutual understanding [9]

SMU1

In the s-commerce community, we can understand each other’s needs

SMU2

In the s-commerce community, we can understand the point of view of each other

SMU3

In the s-commerce community, we can make ourselves heard

SMU4

In the s-commerce community, we can follow the flow of conversation

SMU5

In the s-commerce community, we show interest in each other’s opinions

Swift guanxi—reciprocal favors [9]

SRF1

We provide a positive rating or comment to each other in the s-commerce community

SRF2

We help each other in the s-commerce community

SRF3

We proved to be friends by doing a favor for each other in the s-commerce community

Swift guanxi—relationship harmony [9]

SRH1

We maintain harmony in the s-commerce community

SRH2

We avoid conflict in the s-commerce community

SRH3

We respect each other in the s-commerce community

Relationship commitment [32]

RC1

I am very committed to my relationship with other members in the s-commerce community

RC2

I intend to maintain my relationship with other members in the s-commerce community indefinitely

RC3

My relationship with other members in the s-commerce community deserves my maximum effort to maintain

RC4

I am willing to invest time and other resources to maintain my relationship with other members in the s-commerce community

sWOM adoption behavior [77]

SAB1

sWOM shared by other members in the s-commerce community made it easier for me to make a purchase decision (e.g., purchase or not purchase)

SAB2

sWOM shared by other members in the s-commerce community has enhanced my effectiveness in making a purchase decision

SAB3

sWOM shared by other members in the s-commerce community (has) motivated me to make a purchase decision (purchase or not purchase)

SAB4

The last time I read sWOM shared by other members in the s-commerce community, I adopted their recommendations

SAB5

Information from sWOM contributed to my knowledge of (the) discussed product/service

sWOM behavior [76]

SB

How often did you share your shopping experience in the s-commerce community within the last three months?

Appendix 2: Demographic characteristics and constructs from different platforms

S-commerce community

Duitang

Red

Huaban

WeiTao community in Taobao

MOGU Street

Meilishuo

F

Number (total = 444)

0

114

21

279

21

9

–

Gender (1: male, 2: female)

0

1.58

1.29

1.24

1.29

1.33

0.000

Age (1: < 18, 2: 18–22, 3: 23–25,4: 26–30, 5: 31–40, 6: 41–50, 7: ≥ 50)

0

3.05

2.86

3.83

3.86

3.00

0.000

FA

0

4.08

3.79

4.19

3.89

3.67

0.160

IS

0

3.85

3.89

4.25

3.96

4.08

0.018

IA

0

4.15

4.32

4.00

4.39

4.67

0.279

PI

0

3.32

4.18

3.60

4.14

4.17

0.005

SG

0

4.37

4.00

4.63

4.48

4.73

0.026

RC

0

3.37

3.89

3.94

4.39

4.08

0.000

SAB

0

4.72

4.60

4.89

5.40

4.47

0.057

SB

0

1.92

2.57

2.32

1.71

1.33

0.000

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Cheng, X., Gu, Y. & Mou, J. Interpersonal relationship building in social commerce communities: considering both swift guanxi and relationship commitment. Electron Commer Res 20, 53–80 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-019-09375-2

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