The role of buyer-seller guanxi facets and positions in social commerce: an analysis of the buyer's perspective in Taiwan

Purpose This study aims to explore how a buyer's perceived buyer-seller (B-S) guanxi facets (i.e. ganqing, renqing and mianzi) and guanxi positions (i.e. zi-ji-ren, shou-ren and sheng-ren) affect the seller's influence effectiveness (SIE) and purchase intention (PI) in social commerce. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted an online survey in three cities of Taiwan and collected a total of 364 data. The structural equation modeling and cluster analysis were used to test research hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that (1) each guanxi facet exerts a different and positive impact on SIE, but only one guanxi facet - renqing - helps improve PI, (2) guanxi facets can be used to predict the buyer's perceived guanxi position toward the seller, (3) the effect of guanxi facets on SIE and PI varies across B-S guanxi positions and (4) the SIE positively mediates effects of guanxi facets on the PI. Originality/value This study demonstrates the individual effect of each guanxi facet on SIE and PI and affirms the implicit guanxi position features guanxi facets and determines the buyer's perceived SIE and PI as well. To the best of our knowledge, these findings are rarely proposed in previous research and are beneficial for understanding the guanxi mechanism in social commerce.

Automated summary

This study explores how a buyer's perceived buyer-seller guanxi facets and positions influence the seller's influence effectiveness and purchase intention in social commerce. The results show that each guanxi facet has a different impact on SIE, with only renqing improving PI, and these effects vary across different guanxi positions. The study highlights the importance and complexity of guanxi mechanisms in social commerce.