UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER’S ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL COMMERCE

Abstract

This study proposes a model to understand how the different processes of social influence, individual needs, and social gratifications influence the online impulse buying behavior. It also examines the moderating role of impulsiveness on the relationship between the different processes of social influence and urge to buy impulsively. This study uses a quantitative approach and adopts survey as its research method. Drawing on the theories of social influence theory, and uses and gratifications theory, it is hypothesized that social influence processes (compliance, internalization, and identification), individual needs, and gratifications of using social networks (purposive value, entertainment, selfdiscovery, social enhancement and maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity) positively influence consumers\u27 online impulse buying behavior in social commerce sites. It is also assumed that the effect of different processes of social influence on the online impulse buying behavior can be moderated by the trait of impulsiveness