Online purchase intention in Chinese social commerce platforms: Being emotional or rational?

Abstract Drawing on social learning theory, this study investigates the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and online purchase intention (OPI) under Chinese social commerce environment. Additionally, two moderators (eWOM & social values) and one mediator (customer engagement) were used in the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and OPI. A conceptual model including ten hypotheses was developed and tested based on 585 valid questionnaires. The result indicates that utilitarian and hedonic motivations positively affects OPI. In addition, the eWOM and social value significantly and positively moderates the relationship between (hedonic & utilitarian motivations) and OPI. Finally, two motivations (hedonic and utilitarian) and OPI significantly mediated by customer engagement. Implications for managers are discussed in the manuscript – how e-venders manage the online websites activates to improve the consumer purchase intention.