Acceptance of social commerce framework in Saudi Arabia

•We investigate the factors that influence social commerce acceptance in KSA.•UTAUT2 was combined with social support, social commerce constructs and culture.•Habit, PE, HM, PO, SCCs, and social support predicts social commerce acceptance.•IC and UA moderates positively between behavioral intentions and use behavior. The objective of the current study was to examine the factors of online purchase intentions through social media websites in Saudi Arabia. The extended unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT2) with the addition of social support, social commerce constructs, and cultural moderators was applied. The data was collected from 310 university students in Saudi Arabia. Using PLS 3.0-SEM, the results revealed that performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, habit, price saving orientation, social support, and social commerce constructs have a positive association with behavioral intentions. These results further validate that facilitating conditions, habit, and behavioral intentions have a positive relationship with the use behavior. The moderating results of cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance) have also shown the strong impact of behavioral intentions on use behavior. Technology acceptance has gained much attention in different areas but few studies have applied the UTAUT2 model in the social commerce context. The theoretical and managerial implications of this research are explained.