The impacts of relational benefits on the behavior of customers in online community-based group buying

Abstract

Considering an increasing interest in group buying among online communities, we developed a conceptual model for group-buying behavior based on relationship theory. Multidimensional relational benefits are used to predict customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment. An investigation of customers who engage in online community-based group buying produced 563 valid responses for partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. Our results demonstrate that economic exchange is the strongest predictor of both customer satisfaction and trust, followed by social exchange, and that customer feelings of satisfaction and trust increase customer reuse intentions. However, customer perceptions of self-interest based on group-buying experiences do not lead to positive responses. This study contributes to retail research by examining the relative impacts of multidimensional relationship constructs in the formation of positive customer attitudes and behavior.