Exploring the Role of Social Influence and Trust in Shaping Purchase Intentions: The Impact of Face-to-Face Friendship, E-WOM Readership, and Social Media Viewership

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the influence of social and influencer exposure on consumer purchase intention through brand trust in the context of e-commerce in Indonesia. The method used is a quantitative research method with the Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) approach through SmartPLS. The results show a significant relationship between trust and purchase intention, social media and trust, and e-WOM and social influence. However, there is a potential discriminant issue between the social influence construct and e-WOM and social media. This study concludes that influencer exposure, electronic word-of-mouth, and brand trust have an important role in shaping consumer purchasing decisions in the digital era