SYNOPSIS

TITLE: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CONTENT ATTRACTIVNESS IN ONLINE

IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR

SUBMITTED BY:
TONY GEORGE JACOB
P17221
TITLE: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CONTENT ATTRACTIVNESS IN
ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR

INTRODUCTION:
The convenience and anonymity of online shopping have stimulated people’s impulse buying
tendency. Impulse buying is not only a competitive method for businesses, but also a crucial factor
influencing sales of e-commerce. Over the years, with the popularity of credit cards, network
marketing and home shopping networks, the impulse buying behavior has been well established
[5]. Due to the rapid development of B2C and O2O mode, the percentage of online shopping of
the total shopping is also growing, while at the same time, consumers’ impulse buying activities
are also increasing. Consumer’s returning of goods is probably out of three reasons, for example,
the cooling of consumption impulses, which means buyers take the initiative to return goods. Faced
with such a large group of online consumers and a high proportion of impulsive consumptions,
impulse buying behavior has become a key research project in all types of enterprises and
manufactures. Therefore, under this accelerated competitive market environment, impulse buying
has not only been an effective market competition strategy, but also an important factor affecting
sales of both retailer and e-commerce

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Online Impulse Buying
Consumers’ buying decision-making has usually been considered as judicious or rational. Consumers
identify and monitor services or products and then compare and evaluate them before choosing the best
suitable ones [10]. Yet, the propagation of online platforms or channels and information technology (IT)
encouraged impulsive behavior by increasing consumers’ access to services and products [8] and making
the process of payment and purchase much easier. Impulse buying behavior is considered as an important
topic and described in different ways by marketing scholars.

According to [11], in the early stage of research, it was described as unplanned and immediate purchase
behavior while shopping but later an unplanned action was recognized as different from an unplanned
buying. Rook mentioned that impulse buying behavior is connected with a sudden buying, accompanied by
strong feelings of excitement and joy. Impulse buying behavior as an action of purchasing a product without
planned action and a behavior shown prior to an actual buying [2]. Social capital is rooted in the structures
of durable social networks and the relationships among mutually acquainted and recognized [10]. Social
capital is the sum of the actual and poten- tial resources embedded within, available through, and derived
from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit [20]. [4] Shows that web
elements influence impulse buying and that enjoyment mediates said buying, defined as an affective
reaction. [4] Investigate the impact of socially constructed e-atmospherics on impulse buying and
show that social acoustics, co-constructions, and mundane language enactment are three important
and interrelated factors, based on the SOR paradigm and environmental psychology. In addition,
vividness, interactivity, and involvement determine the level of focused attention [5]. Impulse
buying behaviors are spontaneous emotional responses. Attractive content can catch consumers'
eyes with immersion in social network participation. [3]. The importance of consumers' emotions
as well as the positive effect of merchandise attractiveness on browsing that, in turn, affects the
urge to buy

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

Impulsive buying is the degree to which an individual is likely to make un-intended, immediate
and un-reflective purchases and is the result of an exposure to a stimulus, decided on the spot. It
accounts for as much as 40% of online sales. Recent marketing and retail researchers have
classified impulse behavior as a very powerful and real time influence in the consumer buying
behavior process. [8] The present study focus to find some of the important aspects which
influences impulsive buying behavior and can help marketers and retailers to develop marketing
strategies to deal with sales and foot fall.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

 To identify various factors that affects to make impulsive purchase decision.
 To identify the impact of various key factors in impulse buying behavior.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The study focuses on the influence of social capital and content attractiveness on online impulse
buying behavior. Thus helps marketers and retailers to develop marketing strategies to deal with
sales and foot fall.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research model:

Social capital
Impulse
Urge to Buy Buying
Behavior
Content
Attractivenes
s

Research Questions:
1. To find the factors affecting impulse buying behavior of customers?
HYPOTHESIS:
H1: Users' bridging social capital is positively associated with perception of the urge to buy.
H2: Users' bridging Content Attractiveness is positively associated with perception of the urge to
buy.
H3: Users' perception of the urge to buy is positively associated with their impulse buying behavior.
Research design: Explorative Research design
Dependent Variable: Impulse Buying Behavior
Independent Variables: Social Capital and Content Attractiveness
Intervening Variable: Urge to Buy
Target Population: Customers, who visit e-commerce website on regular basis

Sample size: More than 200 customers in Kerala.

Sampling Techniques: Stratified Random sampling
Methods of Data Collection: Primary data through structured questionnaire
Questionnaire Source: Reference [7]
REFERENCE:

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[2] Belk, R. W. (1974): An exploratory assessment of situational effects in buyer behavior.

“Journal of Marketing Research”, 11 (2), 156–63.

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Communication” 12 (4), 1143–1168
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Article)

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