This thesis examines how online social proof affects people's choices, focusing on personality, purchase intention, and social proof. To see if extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, consciousness, and openness to new experiences moderated the effect of social proof on intentions, the thesis. An e-commerce simulation was used to test social proof scenarios using 102 online survey participants. The research design manipulated social proof by changing the value of reviews and rating stars on an e-commerce deal. This thesis found no substantial effect of social proof on consumer behavior when purchase intentions were evaluated, contrary to previous research which showed the existing impact of social proof. Personality did not significantly alter the relationship between purchase intentions and social proof, suggesting other elements, such as context, product type, or individual consumer characteristics (Matz et al., 2017) may be involved. This data fits easily into this complex picture of social proof's effectiveness on digital marketplaces, which contradicts many previous findings on the generalizability of social proof. This thesis shows how complicated online customer behavior is and says that we need to do more research to find out how personality traits and social proof affect online purchases.
- Social proof
- Personality traits
- E-commerce
- Purchase intention
- Decision making
- Influence
- Impact
- Mestrado em Gestão e Administração de Empresas
The influence of online social proof on consumer decision making in E-commerce
Belhassen, Y. (Student). 6 Feb 2025
Student thesis: Master's Thesis
