How information and communication overload affect consumers' platform switching behavior in social commerce

Area of Science:

• Social Commerce
• Consumer Behavior
• Information Systems

Background:

• Social media platforms are central to modern social commerce, facilitating information search, purchasing, and experience sharing.
• Negative emotional impacts from social media use can drive users to switch platforms.
• Understanding factors influencing platform switching is crucial for social commerce success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of negative factors, specifically information and communication overload, on platform-switching behavior in social commerce.
• To examine the mediating role of online fatigue and switching intention in this relationship.
• To explore the moderating effect of switching costs on the intention-behavior link.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to establish a research framework.
• Conducted an online survey in China with 477 valid responses collected via purposive sampling.
• Employed structural equation modeling (SEM) for data analysis, including mediation and moderation analyses.

Main Results:

• Information and communication overload positively influence online fatigue and switching intention.
• Online fatigue and switching intention positively affect platform-switching behavior.
• Switching costs moderate the relationship between switching intention and switching behavior.
• Information and communication overload indirectly impact switching behavior via online fatigue and switching intention.

Conclusions:

• Information and communication overload are significant drivers of platform switching in social commerce.
• Online fatigue and switching intention act as key mediators in the platform-switching process.
• Switching costs play a critical role in determining whether users actually switch platforms.
• Findings offer theoretical contributions regarding switching costs and provide practical insights for social commerce platforms to enhance user experience and customer retention.