What makes social shopping? Re-examining the effects of multi-attributes utility, trust and relationship on social shopping intention

In this study, a Structural Equation Modeling was applied to empirical identify the factors predicting social shopping intention, using Amos17.0.The results confirm that product utilitarian value, shopping hedonic value,retail service quality and search costs steadily significantly affect social shopping intention regardless the level of trust and interpersonal relationship, while perceived risk never affect shopping intention in social commerce. In terms of reciprocal altruism, its positive influence on social shopping intention significantly varies under different levels of relationships and demonstrates a more important effect when the relationship between buyer and seller is close. Trust on seller is a 'threshold' variable and the effect will eliminate after the level of trust reaches a certain level. In addition, Interpersonal relationship has a moderating effect on the relation between trust and social shopping intention. Trust does not play a role in the group of close relationship.