在线消费分享社区环境下信息线索利用与购买决策过程特征研究

Web 2.0 features in social commerce have turned Internet platform into a highly dynamic place with interactive communications between businesses and users as well as between users and users. As an important social commerce business model, online consumer sharing community has become an integral part in the ecosystem of ecommerce. Usually, the community possesses rich information cues including utilitarian cues and social cues (user-generated content and user interactive content), which can significantly impact on the behavior of consumers purchasing decision-making. However, the current knowledge of online consumers’ decision processes in the online sharing communities is limited. Little is yet known about the way consumers make buying decisions, identify, and use the rich information cues in this environment. However, understanding consumers’ decision-making processes is of importance both to the social commerce operators and to academics because understanding consumers’ decision-making processes is the first step in supporting them by providing necessary information cues to facilitate their acquisition of products and services within online marketplaces and communities. This research is an attempt to explore the roles of information cues on decision-making process in this environment..The current research specifically focuses on understanding the purchase decision-making behavior characteristics from the process-based perspective. Based on the understanding of comsumers' choice set based decision-making process from prior studies in decision science, information systems management, and online consumer behavior, video recording, think-aloud method, and semi-structured interviews are jointly employed to capture how consumers identify and leverage information cues at different stages of decision-making processes. Next, discrete choice models are constructed to quantitatively make comparisons among the distinct impacts of cues on decision choice. Further, Unified Modeling Language (UML) activity diagrams and path configuration models are used, at the different levels of abstraction, to illustrate the dynamic nature of decision-making processes by modeling the sequence of actions in a purchase decision process. Finally, a cross-cultural comparison study is conducted to investigate the culture’s impact on differential cue utilization patterns and decision-making processes.The results can promote our understanding of the purchasing behavior in the era of social commerce, and expand the existing theories of online consumer purchasing behavior. The results also have practical implications for social commerce practitioners, managers, and social commerce platform designers.

作为社会化商务的一种重要商业模式，在线消费分享社区已在电商生态圈中扮演着重要角色并深刻影响了消费者的购买决策行为。但是，在富社会性信息线索（用户生成内容和用户交互内容）的消费分享社区环境下微观购买决策过程行为研究缺乏。基于此，本项目在对消费者基于选择集决策的购买过程理解的基础上，将综合运用有声思维法，视频录制，半结构访谈等方法研究消费者如何识别与利用可得信息线索对产品进行评估与决策。进一步，使用基于选择集决策过程的离散选择模型对不同信息线索的作用进行定量化比较，并通过使用统一建模语言活动图和路径配置模型对购买决策过程进行动态行为建模。最后，比较研究不同国家文化因素对信息线索利用和购买决策过程的影响。研究结果一方面可以推进对社会化商务环境下购买决策行为规律的理解，拓展现有消费者在线购买行为理论；另一方面对社会化商务的实践者，消费分享社区的管理者以及社会化媒体平台的设计开发人员具有指导意义。

在线消费分享社区信息内容已成为消费者在购买决策过程中的重要参考，对消费者购买决策产生了深刻影响。本项目聚焦消费分享社区环境下信息线索对个体购买决策行为的影响机制。研究内容主要涵盖了：不同在线消费分享社区场景（在线购物分享社区、在线旅游信息分享社区、电子健康分享社区、在线视频分享社区、在线视频直播社区、在线教育消费社区、基于手机应用的移动旅游消费信息分享社区等）不同信息线索对用户交互与购买决策行为的影响机制；对不同信息线索的作用进行实证定量化比较；用户的异质性对信息线索利用和购买决策过程的影响。项目综合应用了实验法，问卷调查，访谈及数据爬取等数据采集方法和计量模型、结构方程模型、模糊定性比较分析等数据分析技术探讨了消费者如何处理与应用在线社区中的信息线索进行交互和购买决策。.研究成果阐明了常见的不同在线消费分享社区场景下的信息线索对用户参与和购买行为决策的影响机制及不同线索重要性差异；揭示了信息线索对在线社区用户不同强度类型的参与行为的影响效应差异性；发现了消费者异质性对信息线索利用模式和购买决策过程形成的影响；初步探讨了情境因素对信息线索利用和购买决策过程的影响。部分研究成果在四川大道同行机器人有限公司等企业获得采纳与应用。.本项目制定的各项研究目标均已完成。在Information & Management，International Journal of Electronic Commerce等SSCI期刊发表研究论文12篇，论文合计被引235次。23人次参加了包括CNAIS，WHICEB，CSWIM，ICSSSM，POMS-HK等多个学科主流学术会议。通过项目研究培养DBA博士1名，硕士3名。项目研究成果紧密契合在线消费分享社区实践发展趋势，内容丰富，方法具备科学性及多样性，产生了较为广泛的学术影响并在企业实践中获得应用。成果不仅丰富了人们对创新的在线消费分享社区环境下用户信息线索利用和决策过程的理解，也有助于在线社区运营商和管理者更好地进行网站功能设计，通过优化信息线索的网页空间布局及提出针对性的政策激励手段促进用户社区参与，确保社区健康可持续的发展。