Exploring factors that enhance customer engagement with social commerce

Abstract

Purpose The emergence of s-commerce has increased the significance of enhancing customer engagement (CE) behavior via the company’s pages on social networking sites (SNS). CE motives are categorized into two elements: hedonic and utilitarian. However, the specific factors that determine utilitarian or hedonic motives in the context of s-commerce remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the development of hedonic and utilitarian motives, thereby improving CE in s-commerce, based on the uses and gratification theory (UGT). Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed model, an online survey was conducted, and data were collected using a convenience sample of 271 Egyptian Facebook users who interact with the company’s Facebook pages. The data were subsequently analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The study findings indicated that convenience, selection, information availability and lack of sociality are positively correlated with the utilitarian motive (UM), whereas adventure, gratification and idea shopping are positively associated with the hedonic motive (HM). In addition, the results indicated that both UM and HM contribute to increasing CE on s-commerce pages. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the specific variables affecting hedonic and utilitarian motives that enhance CE in the context of social commerce. This enables businesses and practitioners, especially in developing countries, to manage their s-commerce pages more efficiently and effectively, thereby enhancing consumer engagement with their social media platforms.