Adapting the UTAUT2 Model for Social Commerce Context

Abstract

Social commerce (SC) became a major channel for conducting business as a result of the ban adopted by many countries because of Covid-19 era. The simplicity of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT) and its extended version (UTAUT2) invites researchers to explore other options that can yield better explanation of the adoption of SC. This study extended the UTAUT2 with perceived value, trust and a SC related construct. In addition, the study re-structured the UTAUT2 to fit with SC environment. The study utilized 463 surveys distributed in Qatar, and analyzed the data using SEM. Results fully supported the proposed model, where trust, perceived value, facilitating conditions, and hedonic motivation significantly predicted behavioral intentions with an R2 value equal to 72%. The model supported the role of performance expectancy and SC constructs in predicting perceived value, and the role of effort expectancy and habit in predicting hedonic motivation.