The Power of Social Commerce: Understanding the Role of Social Word-of-Mouth Behaviors and Flow Experience on Social Media Users’ Purchase Intention

Social commerce has emerged as a phenomenon that supports social interaction and user-generated content, allowing individuals to make informed purchasing decisions. This study aims to identify the antecedents of the sWOM behaviors present in social network sites (SNSs). Specifically, tie strength, homophily, trust, informational, and normative influence were included as sWOM antecedents. This study provides a deeper understanding of sWOM behavior in SNSs by identifying and analyzing separately three interrelated behaviors with distinct antecedents: opinion-giving, opinion-seeking, and opinion-passing. Additionally, flow experience is proposed as a less studied antecedent that interacts with all sWOM behaviors, and simultaneously, purchase intention. Our results suggest that flow experience, followed by opinion-seeking and opinion-passing, exerts the greatest influence on purchase intention. Additionally, our findings reveal that informative and normative influence are the analyzed antecedents that have the greatest impact on purchase intention. JEL Classification: M31. Plain language summary This study analyzes the sequential process of evaluation and use of social networks regarding the intention to purchase products recommended by other consumers. Three types of internet behaviors are differentiated: searching for product information, sharing this information with one’s contacts in social networks, and/or generating opinions and evaluations about the products. Several factors have been identified that could enhance both the three aforementioned behaviors and the final purchase intention of the product itself: tie strength, homophily, trust, informative influence, normative influence, and flow experience. The results of the study allow us to conclude that flow experience as well as opinion-seeking and opinion-passing behaviors are the factors that enhance product purchase intention the most. Of the remaining factors analyzed, the effect of informative and normative influences is most significant.