Does Similarity Matter? The Impact of User Similarity on Online Collaborative Shopping

Abstract

Online group buying is increasingly recognized as an important model of online commerce; however, research examining the antecedents of group buying remains limited. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response framework and the social exchange theory, this study proposes an integrated model to explore the impact of user similarity on social exchange and group buying behavior in the social commerce context. Using a survey of 233 respondents with group buying experience, we empirically validate the proposed model. The results largely support the proposed hypotheses, and the findings indicate that user similarity (i.e., internal and external similarity) is positively associated with social exchange (i.e., reciprocity, reputation, and trust), which in turn affects consumer group buying behavior. The three social exchange constructs are found to fully mediate the impact of user similarity on group buying behavior. The present study advances theoretical understanding of online consumer collaborative shopping from the perspective of user characteristics and provides some practical implications for vendors, consumers, and platform operators.