Effects of Negative Emotions and Cognitive Characteristics on Impulse Buying During COVID-19

Purchasing in the digital age: A meta-analytical perspective on trust, risk, security, and e-WOM in e-commerce

This comprehensive meta-analysis investigates the significant factors influencing consumer decision-making in e-commerce. Predominantly focusing on the parameters of trust, perceived risk, perceived security, and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), this study provides insightful revelations on their integral roles in shaping e-commerce purchasing decisions. The findings demonstrate that trust, perceived risk, perceived security, and e-WOM significantly influence consumers' e-commerce purchasing decisions. Perceived Risk plays a substantial moderating role in the relationship between Trust and e-commerce purchasing decisions, amplifying the importance of managing and minimizing risk in online transactions to cultivate consumer trust. Contrastingly, the roles of Perceived Security and e-WOM do not hold the same moderating effect on the trust-purchasing decision nexus, underscoring the direct yet unmoderated influence these factors have on e-commerce purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, The research reveals no significant size effect difference among respondents from high-income and low-income countries or between general internet users and online shoppers concerning the impact of trust on e-commerce purchasing decisions. This intriguing finding suggests the universal importance of trust in the digital purchasing landscape, irrespective of socio-economic status or the degree of e-commerce engagement. This study thus sheds new light on the complexities of e-commerce decision-making processes. It offers valuable insights for businesses aiming to enhance consumer trust and engagement in the expanding digital marketplace.

How active and passive social media use affects impulse buying in Chinese college students? The roles of emotional responses, gender, materialism and self-control

Social media plays a vital role in consumers’ purchasing decision making. There are still gaps in existing research on the relationship between divided dimensions of social media use and impulse buying, as well as the mediating and moderating effects therein. This study explored the mediation and moderation effects in the relationship between different social media usage patterns, emotional responses, and consumer impulse buying. Data from 479 college students who were social media users in China were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that active and passive social media use were significantly and positively associated with users’ enjoyment, whereas passive social media use significantly increased depression. Both enjoyment and depression were significantly and positively associated with users’ impulse buying. Materialism positively moderated the relationship between enjoyment and impulsive consumption, while self-control significantly reduced the effect of depression on impulse buying. These findings that emotion mediated and personality traits moderated relationships between social media use and impulse buying expand impulsive purchase literature and provide insights for guiding college students’ healthy use of social media and rational consumption.