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Passion at first sight: how to engage users in social commerce contexts

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Abstract

This study analyzes the role of passion in engaging users and how it affects participation in social commerce contexts. Based on extant marketing research, the engagement-generation process is studied in three stages: cognitive (social presence and interactivity), affective (enjoyment and sPassion) and behavioral (spread of sWOM). The results empirically confirm that the cognitive experience and emotional feelings derived from the process boost user participation. At the core of the process, sPassion positively affects the spread of sWOM. Introduction of the new concept sPassion brings new challenges and opportunities to marketing research, helping to develop the concept of engagement and furthering research on WOM valence. Knowing how sPassion is formed and what factors are key to its creation will enable companies to understand the necessary steps to enhance user participation in social commerce contexts.

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Funding

Funding was provided by Government of Aragon and the European Social Fund (“GENERES” Group S-09), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (Project ECO2015-64567-R), and Hosei International Fund Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Zaragoza, Gran Vía 2, 50005, Zaragoza, Spain

    Carolina Herrando, Julio Jiménez-Martínez & María José Martín-De Hoyos

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  1. Carolina Herrando
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  2. Julio Jiménez-Martínez
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  3. María José Martín-De Hoyos
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Correspondence to Carolina Herrando.

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Herrando, C., Jiménez-Martínez, J. & Martín-De Hoyos, M.J. Passion at first sight: how to engage users in social commerce contexts. Electron Commer Res 17, 701–720 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-016-9251-6

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