Payment behavior of Chinese online literature readers: The use of planned behavior and social capital theories

Abstract

The Chinese online literature market is a developing market with great potential. The study discussed the influence of online literature readers' social capital on readers' planned behavior and aimed to understand the influencing factors of payment behavior among Chinese online literature readers. The researchers used random sampling and received 424 valid questionnaires. Based on the theory of social capital and planned behavior, this study constructed a structural equation model to analyze the data. The results showed that social capital positively affects attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control all have significant effects on intention. Intention can positively and significantly influence behavior. According to the research results, this study believes that to realize the payment behavior of Chinese online literature readers, online literature companies should provide more opportunities to acquire readers' virtual social capital, primarily relational social capital. At the same time, Chinese online literature companies should be aware of the necessary responsibility to design and build high-quality Chinese online literature platforms, establish a positive and healthy brand image, actively accept the state's and the market's supervision and establish a corporate strategy oriented by social responsibility.