How perceived social distance and trust influence reciprocity expectations and eWOM sharing intention in social commerce

Purpose Currently, consumers can easily access social media to share information and experiences. How a relationship between these consumers influences their decisions has not been clearly investigated. When consumers participate in information sharing activities, they usually communicate with each other and can perceive their social distance from others. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the direct and indirect effects of perceived social distance on eWOM sharing intentions. Design/methodology/approach Specifically, a moderated mediation model was validated, in which the indirect effect of perceived social distance on eWOM sharing intentions through reciprocity expectations was moderated by trust. Findings Perceived social distance had a positive indirect effect on eWOM sharing intentions through reciprocity expectations, which was found to be negatively moderated by trust. Originality/value This study integrates the concept of perceived social distance into the eWOM research area. Moreover, this result adds to the s-commerce literature by specifying the conditions of the indirect effect of perceived social distance through reciprocity expectations on eWOM sharing intention.