Exploring Determinants of Consumers’ Platform Usage in “Double Eleven” Shopping Carnival in China: Cognition and Emotion from an Integrated Perspective

Abstract

There is a great deal of interest concerning how e-commerce in China can be developed in sustainable ways. Answering this question requires not only the strategic management at the aggregate level, but also developing a micro framework that can effectively understand the cognitive-behavioral pathway of consumers in various online contexts. This paper focuses on the “Double Eleven” Global Online Shopping Carnival (GOSC) in China and attempts to investigate the determinants of consumers’ behaviors of shopping platform usage. The distinguishing feature of this study is that we define GOSC as a unique scenario compared to normal online shopping context, where consumers’ emotional state towards such an event plays a larger role in determining behaviors. Based on Cognitive Emotion Theory (CET), the main findings of this paper suggest that (1) consumers’ behaviors of online platform usage can be affected by both cognitions related factors, including price value, gamification and personalized services, and by emotional state such as having arousal and being pleasured; (2) cognition has an effect on emotional state, such as the positive effect of price value on arousal and pleasure or gamification on arousal. Our study, therefore, has highlighted a number of key points to the sustainable development of GOSC. Limitations and further research directions are also discussed.

Modelling e-commerce customer reactions. Exploring online shopping carnivals in China

“…The second method entailed using a common method factor (Xu et al, 2020), and measuring the variance of each variable considering the principal construct, on one side, and the common factor, on the other side, and subsequently calculating the ratio of the two variances (Liang et al, 2007). The findings display average explained variances of the main variable to the measured variables of 0.758, on one part, and of the common method factor to the measured variable of 0.003, on the other part, with a ratio of 253:1.…”

“…In conclusion, OSCs are appropriate avenues for comprehending consumer behaviour patterns due to the complex B2C and B2B relationships established in such events (Xu et al, 2020), driven by the catering of physical and spiritual needs of shoppers (Zhao et al, 2019).…”

“…Nguyen and Leblanc (2001) concluded that corporate image would strongly impact on CL, their focus being on 3 service sectors. In OSCs, corporate image is connected to utilitarian and hedonic values sought-after by customers (Xu et al, 2020).…”

“…In an OSC, suppliers should calibrate their efforts to focus on delivering either low prices or top quality (Yu et al, 2018), in both instances ECCI being the conveyor of such aim to prospects. Moreover, Xu et al (2020) argue that an OSC is a favourable environment for value co-creation. Hence, this paper assumes that during an OSC, ECCI will have an impact on CE, SAT and CL, hence the following hypotheses being forwarded (Figure 1):…”

“…Conversely, dissatisfaction is expressed in the form of complaints and negative wordof-mouth (Bayol et al, 2000;Huete-Alcocer, 2017;Zhang et al, 2019). The current literature prompts studies on OSC consumer behaviour, covering impulse buying (Akram et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2019), purchase intention (Xu et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2018), purchase and intention behaviour (Zeng et al, 2019), the impact of information and social influence on OSC consumer behaviour (Xu et al, 2017), or consumer intention to participate in OSC (Yu et al, 2018) and platform usage (Xu et al, 2020). Yet, very few of these studies focus on customer reactions, centring on satisfaction, as a dependent and independent variable in the same theoretical approach, and not one of them aimed to explore its influence on customer complaints.…”