Abstract
Several studies have approached the link between social media and e-commerce with different lenses, however, the study of motivations for sharing content specifically from e-commerce websites into social media has not been thoroughly approached and provides fertile ground for further exploration. This chapter uncovers which motivations serve as a background for individuals sharing intentions of e-commerce content. After a focus group with 7 individuals, results indicate participants focus more on intrinsic rewards than extrinsic ones when sharing, that self-interest is more predominant than reciprocity as a motivator for sharing, one-to-one exchanges are the preferential direction of exchange. Also, websites with cleaner designs and higher usability positively impact sharing intentions, experiences tend to be more likely shared than physical products, and participants are purposeful in their selection of sharing channels.
TopIntroduction
Understanding the motivations for sharing content from e-commerce websites into social media networks is a field of knowledge that can be expanded and there are no studies about the motivations of users in a specific e-commerce context to share product and other information on social media channels. Therefore, we believe that going deeper and analyzing motivations in this very specific context should provide a new contribution to this field of study. On a more practical side, we believe that it is also in the best interest of companies operating e-commerce websites, to understand what consumers think and what drives them to share content in order to adapt their websites’ content strategically, significantly improving the shareability of the content and efficiently using the users of social networks to spread the word about products or services promoted by the company.
Key Terms in this Chapter
User Generated Content (UGC): Content coming from regular people who, voluntarily, contribute data, information, or media that then appears before other people in a useful or entertaining way, usually on the web.
Electronic Word Of Mouth (E-WOM): Positive ornegative statement made by potential, actual, orformer customers about a product or company, whichis made available to a multitude of people and institutionsvia the Internet.e-WOMcan be articulated in many different forms such as opinions, online ratings, feedback, reviews, comments and experience sharing on the internet and through many different channels which range from blogs to discussion forums as well as online retailers and social networking sites.