PLOS ONE

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The interplay between eWOM information

and purchase intention on social media:
Through the lens of IAM and TAM theory
Md. Atikur Rahaman1, H. M. Kamrul Hassan ID2, Ahmed Al Asheq ID3,4*, K. M.
Anwarul Islam5
1 School of Management, Jiujiang University, Jiangxi, China, 2 Department of Marketing, Faculty of
Business Administration, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh, 3 School of Business,
Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland, 4 Department of Business Administration, World University of
Bangladesh (WUB), Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5 Department of Business Administration, The Millennium
a1111111111 University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
a1111111111
a1111111111 * [email protected], [email protected]
a1111111111
a1111111111
Abstract
The maturity and growth of social media have empowered online customers to generate
electronic word of mouth (eWOM), on various online websites and platforms, which may
OPEN ACCESS
influence an individual’s decision-making process. This paper explores eWOM information’s
Citation: Rahaman M.A, Hassan HMK, Asheq AA,
impact on social media users’ purchase intention by applying the information adoption
Islam KMA (2022) The interplay between eWOM
information and purchase intention on social model (IAM) and the technology acceptance model (TAM). PLS-SEM (SmartPLS V.3.3)
media: Through the lens of IAM and TAM theory. has been utilized to test the hypotheses using data of 432 respondents. The research find-
PLoS ONE 17(9): e0272926. https://doi.org/
ings evinced that eWOM information quality, credibility, usefulness, and ease of use have
10.1371/journal.pone.0272926
been critical in determining online consumers’ intention to adopt eWOM and form purchase
Editor: J E. Trinidad Segovia, University of Almeria,
behavior on social media. The study’s outcomes offer the marketing managers a viewpoint
SPAIN
to realize the significance of the effect of eWOM information on online purchase intention
Received: November 9, 2021
among social media users. Furthermore, the study findings will also enlighten marketing
Accepted: July 29, 2022 and business managers to utilize social media websites by gauging consumer behavior and
Published: September 6, 2022 focusing on characteristics of eWOM information on social media for better consumer
insights.
Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the
benefits of transparency in the peer review
process; therefore, we enable the publication of
all of the content of peer review and author
responses alongside final, published articles. The
editorial history of this article is available here:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272926 1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2022 Rahaman et al. This is an open The swift development of technological progress has offered customers several modes of com-
access article distributed under the terms of the
munication channels to interact with business firms in today’s time [1]. Along with this tech-
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
nological advancement, various social media platforms have been developed to facilitate the
reproduction in any medium, provided the original exchange of information among online customers. Globally, social media is considered one of
author and source are credited. the most powerful platforms among consumers to share and spread information [2]. The
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
maturity and growth of social media have also empowered online customers to generate elec-
within the paper and its Supporting information tronic word of mouth, known as “eWOM,” on various online websites and platforms, utilizing
files. product/service reviews, blogs, recommendations, and so on [3]. Researchers [4] defined the

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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

Funding: This study was supported by the School concept of “eWOM” as “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual or former
of Management, Jiujiang University and Center for customer which is available to a multitude of people via the internet” (p. 39). The eWOM
Entreprenureship & Innovation Research Society
information is more likely to be reliable as individuals can experience a neutral opinion about
(grant number: 43120227). The funders have no
role in study design, data collection and analysis, a product or service [5]. Therefore, eWOM information has been discerned as a more power-
decision to publish, or preparation of the ful medium to influence an individual’s decision-making process [6]. Before purchasing a
manuscript. The funders will bear the cost of the product or service, consumers tend to look for more information about the product online
article processing charge of the paper subject to and significantly consider the review comments about the product generated by other con-
the acceptance of the manuscript.
sumers [7]. Consumers rely on eWOM information to minimize their doubts and risk when
Competing interests: No conflict of interest among making a purchase effort [8]. Past research exhibited that eWOM impacted the consumers’
the authors. selection process of goods/services [9] and influenced individuals’ purchasing decisions [10].
Nonetheless, social media websites are considered a relatively new platform for generating
eWOM, allowing online users to develop a connection with other users by sharing their opin-
ions, ideas, and experiences [11]. Through social media engagement, people can now exchange
their viewpoints and share experiences about a product/service with their friends and familiar
people in the network [12]. This reciprocal information-sharing process in social media makes
eWOM information more authentic and dependable for the consumers. The social media-gen-
erated conversations were found to have a robust natural impact on online purchase behavior
[13]. It is observed that online individuals form their purchase decisions based on eWOM
information. Henceforth, it is also critical for them to sort out and screen out the relevant
information available online before using as online users are generally exposed to a boundless
quantity of eWOM information on social media websites. Still, the aspects of eWOM informa-
tion and online purchase intention at social media websites are not well explored in the litera-
ture. More specifically, the roles of eWOM information in triggering consumer behaviors such
as buying intention have not been largely investigated in regard to the eWOM perspective
[14–16]. Furthermore, others [17] argued that the influence of eWOM not only relies on the
information but also depends on online users on social media. Hence, it is of importance to
evaluate the influence of various aspects of eWOM information on consumer purchase inten-
tion from the social media perspective. To achieve this research aim, both Information Adop-
tion Model (IAM) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) have been considered as it is
believed that IAM is an appropriate model to illustrate the aspects of eWOM information. In
contrast, TAM will explain online consumer behavior towards eWOM.
The current paper presents a number of valuable and noteworthy contributions to the cur-
rent literature based on the consumer behavior perspective. Firstly, several studies have exam-
ined the impact of eWOM on consumer purchase intention by considering the TAM model
[18, 19] in which factor: “perceived usefulness” of the TAM model was adopted as a determi-
nant of information adoption and purchase intention. Still, the impact of perceived ease of use
of eWOM on consumer purchase decisions was merely reported in the literature. The novelty
of this study lies in attempting to fill out this gap by analyzing the influence of ease of use of
eWOM on information adoption behavior and purchase intention. Secondly, this study has
considered a recent growing economy: Bangladesh, to draw the study sample as it is observed
that the country has been experiencing a digital transformation across the nation [20], where
eWOM plays a critical role in developing the business growth, especially on online platforms.
Lastly, several studies in Bangladesh were carried out to exhibit the connection of social media
with brand equity [21], consumer behavior [22], and purchase intention [23, 24]. In contrast,
the relationship between various attributes of eWOM and consumer behavioral aspects was
rarely tested in the Bangladesh context, where social media-based businesses have started
flourishing day by day. Henceforth, the current study has filled this void by integrating the
IAM and TAM models to predict consumer purchase intention in Bangladesh. The findings of
this paper also offer theoretical knowledge on the roles of eWOM information on consumer

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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

behavior in social media and strive to contribute to the body of literature through the research
model. Finally, as a means of managerial implications, it has been crucial to examine the
impact of eWOM information on purchase intention in the social media context. Because it
would offer online consumer insights to the marketing managers to develop a better marketing
strategy by leveraging eWOM information.

2. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in social media

The eWOM information can be referred as any form of comment regarding a product or ser-
vice, which is easily accessible and available to numerous individuals on internet-mediated
platforms [25]. Social media websites have offered a new platform for the communication
channel to disseminate information, and these websites are regarded as one of the suitable and
appropriate platforms for electronic word of mouth (eWOM) [26]. On these websites, individ-
ual users can easily make any comments and share any information in the form of text writing,
posting a photo or uploading a video, etc. Apparently, enriched contents on social media web-
sites result in making eWOM information more noticeable and entertaining to online users
[27]. On social media websites, online users usually like to read and check various comments,
thoughts, and others’ experiential opinions about products or services [2]. Therefore, online
consumers are more intentional to resort to diverse platforms of social media in order to
gather the needful information about brands [28].
Generally, eWOM information may emerge in several means on social media platforms,
such as online users can deliberately share their opinions about brands by posting on social
media, or they can reveal their liking for any brand by becoming a member of an online fan
club. Even marketing people can purposefully share various helpful information about the
brands on the official page of their social media accounts [29]. So, eWOM information might
have an important influence on online consumers to decide which products they will purchase.
As eWOM helps individuals to make better purchase decision [30], hence it is very critical to
find out what aspects or characteristics of eWOM information might affect consumers’ pur-
chase intention on social media websites.

3. Literature review & hypotheses development

3.1. Theoretical underpinning
Several research studies have adopted the information adoption method to evaluate how indi-
viduals make use of the information they receive or the message they convey to themselves
[31]. Many researchers in the discipline of information systems have adopted the concept of
the “Information Adoption Model (IAM)” to demonstrate how humans receive persuasive
information in order to make decisions [32, 33]. Researchers [34] proposed the theory of IAM,
which was originally formulated on the basis of the integration of both the “Elaboration Likeli-
hood Model (ELM)” [35] and the “Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)” [36]. This IAM
model demonstrates that individuals are significantly influenced by a set of information in two
different ways: either through the central path or through the peripheral path [37]. The core of
the communication is shown by the central path, whereas the peripheral path is not directly
related to the central part of the message [38]. The IAM is often combined of four attributes,
which are argument quality (which corresponds to the central route), source credibility (which
corresponds to the peripheral pathway), functionality and incorporation of the information
(which refers to the periphery path), and overall effectiveness [39]. IAM aims to demonstrate
how people tend to be impacted by computer-mediated information on internet-based plat-
forms by addressing these four factors [10]. Thus, the IAM model notably determines the
trustworthiness and quality of eWOM information.

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Alternatively, the “Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)” developed by other scholars

[36], is one of the most commonly used theories that truly describes any behavioural attributes
of information technology (IT) users when they encounter with the task of embracing and
acknowledging a modern IT-oriented platform [40, 41]. Despite the fact that this model was
originally formed from the “Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA),” TAM theory has been contin-
ued to be based on information technology [42], in contrast to the way that TRA theory has
tended to be restricted to behavioral models [43]. It is generally built on two constructs: per-
ceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, both of which are utilized to forecast an individu-
al’s likelihood to embrace a technology system [44]. There has been a substantial application of
this approach in various settings, including social media usage [45], mobile banking usage
[46], and online review [47]. This study examines the usefulness and ease of use of eWOM
information obtained via TAM to determine whether it impacts online purchase intention.

3.2. Hypotheses development

3.2.1. The relationship of eWOM information quality (IQ) with perceived usefulness
(USE) and ease of Use of eWOM Information (EOU). Information quality (IQ) indicates
the users’ perception-based assessment of whether the given information attributes fulfill their
usage purpose or meet up the needs of any given system [7]. Information quality (IQ) repre-
sents the correctness, lucidity, understandability, and dependability of the given information
embedded into a system [48]. The scholars [49] described that consistency and completeness
had been considered the two critical determining factors of information quality. According to
researchers [50], “The issues of information quality and credibility are gaining importance,
particularly in the World Wide Web context. The WWW provides unique information-seek-
ing environment but often lacks quality control mechanisms” (p. 1243). IQ plays a crucial part
in assessing and appraising the quality of the products or services by the customers on an
online platform [51]. When high-quality information is delivered to consumers through social
media platforms, they are more likely to perceive it as valuable and useable, encouraging them
to make a more informed purchase decision. The excellent review comments and conversa-
tional postings on a particular subject assist consumers in locating useful information and give
some critical suggestions on the subject [52]. Furthermore, once internet users come across
improved quality information, they consider the content convenient and valuable [53]. By
adopting the UTAUT model, researchers [54] found that IQ positively affects the usefulness
and ease of use of the given information in the food delivery service application. Henceforth,
based on the discussion, the study assumes that the IQ of eWOM information will determine
both perceived usefulness and ease of use of eWOM information from the social media pur-
chasing perspective. Hence, the following assumptions are proposed:
H1: eWOM Information quality (IQ) will affect the perceived usefulness of eWOM information
(USE).
H2: eWOM Information quality (IQ) will affect the perceived ease of use of eWOM information
(EOU).

3.2.2. The relationship of eWOM information credibility with usefulness and ease of
use of eWOM information. In essence, credibility may be defined as the capacity to be
believed from the users’ perspective [55]. Information credibility can be explained as the con-
sumers’ perception and discernment of the genuineness and trustworthiness of the given
information on an electronic platform such as social media [7]. Generally, information credi-
bility indicates the extent to which a person considers the given information believable and

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convincing provided by the respective electronic source [56]. The eWOM information credi-
bility measures to what extent an online user considers the review comments or recommenda-
tions from other online users as genuine and factual [57]. Consumers usually tend to prioritize
information that they feel is more believable and credible when it is available on an online plat-
form [58], and internet users are more expected to perceive authentic information as more
useful and credible [59]. The lack of credible information might result in negative customer
perceptions [60]. Other authors [61] argued that the acceptance of review comments by indi-
viduals also relies on their value judgment of the credibility of the provided information in a
message. Other scholars [62] advocated that eWOM has appeared as a significant medium of
customer information in online purchasing. On social media platforms, online users share
their viewpoints, opinions, judgments, and their negative or positive perspectives toward a
particular product. This type of opinion-based eWOM information enhances the online users’
perceived usefulness as they believe that the information is unbiased and credible [63]. As a
result, consumers’ perceptions about perceived ease of use of new information systems are
influenced by reliable sources of information [64]. Therefore, the study proposes the following
hypotheses:
H3: Information credibility (IC) will affect the perceived usefulness of eWOM information
(USE).
H4: Information credibility (IC) will affect the perceived ease of use of eWOM information
(EOU).

3.2.3. The relationship of perceived ease of use of eWOM information (EOU) with the
adoption of eWOM information (INAD) and purchase intention (PI) on social media.
The scholar [36] interpreted the idea of “perceived ease of use” as “the degree to which a per-
son feels that utilizing a given system would be devoid of effort” (p. 320). From a consumer
point of view, perceived ease of use assesses how effortless it is to utilize a specific technology-
based system [65]. In the current paper, perceived ease of use of the information relates to
online consumers’ view that the online information may be readily and seamlessly compre-
hended and utilized to increase the consumer’s performance in the online purchase decision-
making process. Many researchers have indicated that perceived ease of use significantly
impacts behavioral adoption and intention. For example, in his research study, the author [66]
demonstrated that perceived ease of use positively impacted students’ attitudes toward adopt-
ing mobile learning apps. The study of [67] empirically analyzed Omani students’ acceptance
of e-learning systems. They discovered that simplicity of use significantly impacts students’
readiness to embrace e-learning systems. According to the study findings conducted by other
scholars [68], ease of use is a determinant of online intention to purchase wine among online-
based customers. Thus, based on the existing literature, it is believed that if eWOM informa-
tion becomes easier and uncomplicated for online users on social media networks, online cus-
tomers will be more likely to adopt eWOM information and will have an intention towards
purchase the products or services on social media websites. Henceforth, the current paper pos-
tulates the following hypotheses:
H5: Perceived ease of use of eWOM information (EOU) will affect eWOM information adoption
(INAD).
H6: Perceived ease of use of eWOM information (EOU) will affect purchase intention(PI) on
social media.

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3.2.4. The relationship of perceived usefulness of information (USE) with adoption of

eWOM information (INAD) and purchase intention (PI) on social media. As defined by
the author [36], “perceived usefulness” is “the degree to which a person feels that utilizing a
certain system would improve his or her job performance” (p. 320). According to scholars
[69], Perceived Usefulness has been defined as the user’s belief that using online technology
will lead to achieving their performance. According to scholars [70], the perceived usefulness
of the information indicates the users’ perception that new information is likely to upgrade
their performance. In the case of online purchases, information adoption is driven by the
degree to which the provided information is valuable on the specific online platform [71]. If
online consumers consider the information, they find on social media networks to be relevant
and meaningful, they are more likely to have formed a solid inclination to accept that knowl-
edge [10]. Furthermore, prior research identified perceived usefulness as a significant predic-
tor of online purchase intention [72–74]. Therefore, the study proposes the following
hypotheses:
H7: Perceived usefulness of eWOM information (USE) will affect eWOM information adoption
(INAD).
H8: Perceived usefulness of eWOM information (USE) will affect purchase intention (PI) on
social media.

3.2.5. The relationship of adoption of eWOM information (INAD) with purchase inten-
tion (PI) in social media. The Information adoption can be referred to as a process through
which individuals are purposefully involved in making use of the given information [70].
Information adoption has been regarded as one of the critical factors in impacting consumers’
intention towards making a purchasing decision [16]. The adoption of eWOM information is
based on the information adoption procedure that indicates the degree of the online users’ uti-
lization process of given information [75]. It is highly likely that individuals who adopt
eWOM information tend to leverage it when making an actual buying decision [75]. Online
users, who are likely to utilize and adopt eWOM information, tend to have buying intentions
[11]. Consumers will develop a firm purchase intention if they get involved in eWOM infor-
mation [76]. Several studies reported a positive connection between eWOM and purchase
intention in the online platform [77–79]. Therefore, based on the discussion on the connection
between eWOM information and purchase intention, the following hypothesis is postulated:
H9: The adoption of eWOM information (INAD) will affect consumers’ purchase intention (PI)
on Social Media.
Based on the above hypotheses, the following figure is proposed as the conceptual model of
the study (please refer to Fig 1):

4. Materials and methods

From the research philosophy perspective, the positivism paradigm has been considered by
the researcher to focus on facts with quantitative analysis in order to operationalize concepts
so that they can be measured scientifically and systematically [80]. Therefore, it is essential to
incorporate deductive methods emphasizing truly quantitative analysis and then test by empir-
ical observation [81] to achieve predetermined well-defined research objectives.

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Fig 1. Conceptual model of the study.

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4.1. Study population & sample

For the current investigation, university students studying in various public and private uni-
versities inside Chattogram city of Bangladesh have been considered the sampling population
in this study. University students represent a diverse group of different qualities and reflect the
broader community and society [82]. The convenience sampling method has been considered
for this study as it allows the researcher to attain specific data and patterns without the incon-
venience of a randomized sample. Additionally, this sampling method assists in capturing the
presence of a certain quality of behavior within the given sample, along with identifying associ-
ations between various phenomena [83]. An online survey was conducted around May and
June 2021 to obtain the required data. After eliminating 118 incomplete responses from a total
of 550 questionnaires, 432 sample respondents have been chosen, resulting in an effective sam-
ple rate of about 78.55 percent. Participants were initially approached through a direct email to
all university students notifying them that they had been chosen randomly to participate in
this survey. Later they received an email including a link to Google form, where a brief expla-
nation of the study was given first, and then asked to complete a questionnaire survey with
demographic questions. The email also contained the researcher’s contact information that
students can use to reach the researcher. The online survey was highly compatible with widely
used web browsers, and the surveys were easily understandable using a large font.

4.2. Measures
A survey instrument was developed based on earlier research which included relevant infor-
mation related to social media usage and verified in two stages. Initially, the questionnaire set
was delivered to researchers and professionals in the business and IT industries who have
expert knowledge on such topics to ensure its simplicity and relativeness with the field. The
experts’ recommendations and opinions have been utilized to improve the questionnaire.
Later, pilot testing was performed on a small sample of 35 respondents having university
degrees and using social media-related applications, who were asked for their thoughts to min-
imize the complexity and ambiguity of the questionnaire. Cronbach’s Alpha test was used to
calculate reliability. All the variables are evaluated without any change as they all surpassed the
threshold value of the Cronbach alpha reliability (0.70). In the final analysis, the data from the
pilot research were not used.
In this study, the questionnaires consisted of two distinct parts: part A is about the partici-
pants’ demographic information. Part B comprises the item-wise Likert questions on

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dependent and independent variables derived from various previous studies. For measuring
constructs of eWOM information quality, three items were adopted from [84]; four items are
used for measuring eWOM information credibility, which is adopted from [85]; three items
are considered for measuring eWOM information usefulness, which is adopted from [34]; two
items are considered for measuring eWOM information ease of use, which is adopted from
[36]. Four items have been adopted for the measurement of eWOM information adoption
[86]. Finally, four items were adopted from [87] to measure the purchase intention on social
media websites. Participants were asked to rate the items prepared based on the five-point rat-
ing Likert scale (starting with strongly disagree to strongly agree).

4.3. Data analysis

Structural equation modeling is a well-developed scientific approach that truly emphasizes sta-
tistical tools to develop cause and effect relationships between independent and dependent
constructs used for the measurement of study through developing predetermined critical
hypotheses logically and analytically [88, 89]. This study has employed SPSS 23 for descriptive
analysis, SMARTPLS 3.3 for confirmatory factor analysis, and a structural modeling.

5. Results
5.1. Respondents’ profile
The demographic profile of respondents has been taken into consideration based on gender,
age, level of education, and social media user experience (Table 1). Overall, the survey results
showed that 61.81% of the participants were males, 42.13% were between the ages of 25 and
30, 56% were studying at the postgraduate level, and 63.19% had 1–3 years of usage experience
of social media.
Confirmatory Factor analysis has been employed to evaluate the validity and reliability of
overall and individual measurement constructs. In CFA, predetermined hypotheses are esti-
mated to lead to a certain outcome based on an underlying causal explanation. In order to
evaluate the measurement model, outer loading constructs reliability and construct validity
were examined. To determine the correlation between the latent measures and the reflective
indicators, the values of the outer loadings were evaluated where indicators with outer loading
of 0.6 or above were considered [90]. Cronbach’s alpha values were used to determine the

Table 1. Demographic information.

Variables Items Frequency Percent
Age Below 20 years 69 15.97%
20–25 years 144 33.33%
25–30 years 182 42.13%
Above 30 years 37 8.56%
Gender Female 165 38.19%
Male 267 61.81%
Education Level Undergraduate 187 43.29%
Postgraduate 245 56.71%
Social media using experience Less than 1 year 132 30.56%
1–3 years 273 63.19%
>3 years 27 6.25%
��
n = 432

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Table 2. Construct validity results.

Constructs Items Loadings Cronbach’s Alpha CR AVE
eWOM Information quality (IQ) IQ1 0.82 0.774 0.869 0.688
IQ3 0.858
IQ4 0.809
eWOM Information credibility (IC) IC1 0.774 0.77 0.853 0.592
IC2 0.757
IC3 0.823
IC4 0.72
eWOM Ease of use (EOU) EOU1 0.844 0.675 0.859 0.753
EOU2 0.891
eWOM Usefulness (USE) USE1 0.759 0.615 0.796 0.565
USE2 0.776
USE3 0.72
eWOM Information Adoption (INAD) INAD1 0.747 0.78 0.858 0.603
INAD2 0.807
INAD3 0.827
INAD4 0.72
Purchase Intention (PI) PI1 0.7 0.793 0.866 0.619
PI2 0.831
PI3 0.823
PI4 0.787
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construct’s reliability, where all values demonstrated satisfactory results, exceeding the 0.60 cri-
terion [90]. The current study has employed convergent and discriminant validity to verify
construct validity. While evaluating convergent validity, values of AVEs were between 0.565
and 0.753, and the CR values are also found within 0.796 to 0.869, which correlates to the
threshold value explained by other scholars [90] (see Table 2).

5.2. Measurement model analysis

After concluding the convergent validity test, the discriminant validity test was performed. As
shown in the literature, scholars [91] stated that for each indicator, the square root of AVE
must be higher than the associated values of that specific indicator with other indicators
(Table 3). Despite this, many argue that the Fornell–Larcker criteria are not justifiable since
they cannot correctly evaluate the presence of discriminant validity in extensive research [92].
To address the shortcomings of the other [91] method, other authors [92] used the HTMT as a
more thorough and more confined approach for researchers employing PLS-SEM to evaluate
discriminant validity, specifying that the HTMT values must be less than 0.85 or 0.90 [92]. The
HTMT test result is presented in Table 3, and the results met the HTMT 0.85 and HTMT 0.90
criteria, indicating that the measurement model was discriminately validated.

5.3. Structural model analysis

An assessment of the structural model was undertaken to determine the significance of the
paths and the predictive power of the model through the PLS algorithm, and then by consider-
ing a bootstrapping using 5,000 samples process [90] (Fig 2). According to the findings
(Table 4), eWOM information quality significantly influences both eWOM perceived ease of
use and eWOM perceived usefulness (β = 0.219, t-values = 4.882, significance p < 0.000 and β

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Table 3. Discriminant validity.

Fornell and Larcker’s criterion
IQ IC EOU USE INAD PI
IQ 0.829
IC 0.371 0.769
EOU 0.395 0.557 0.868
USE 0.33 0.416 0.405 0.752
INAD 0.52 0.451 0.552 0.489 0.777
PI 0.334 0.375 0.457 0.517 0.492 0.787
Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT)
IQ IC EOU USE INAD PI
IQ
IC 0.476
EOU 0.535 0.765
USE 0.482 0.595 0.624
INAD 0.667 0.575 0.752 0.701
PI 0.42 0.473 0.612 0.734 0.614
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272926.t003

= 0.204, t-values = 3.996, significance p < 0.000), therefore confirming H1 and H2. Again, per-
ceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of eWOM information were influenced by eWOM
information credibility (β = 0.476, t-values = 6.691, significance p < 0.000 and β = 0.341, t-val-
ues = 5.396, significance p < 0.000), thereby validating H3 and H4. Ease of use of eWOM has
shown significant influence on both eWOM information adoption and purchase intention (β
= 0.424, t-values = 8.514, significance p < 0.000 and β = 0.203, t-values = 3.703, significance
p < 0.000), and confirmed the H5 and H6.
Again, eWOM perceived usefulness had positive and significant influence on both eWOM
information adoption and purchase intention (β = 0.317, t-values = 5.913, significance
p < 0.000 and β = 0.327, t-values = 6.196, significance p < 0.000), and confirmed the H7 and
H8. Finally, H9 is accepted as eWOM information adoption and purchase intention are found
significant (β = 0.221, t-values = 3.227, significance p < 0.05).
The determination coefficient (R2 value) is the most broadly utilized measure to analyze the
structural equation model. The R2 value measures the goodness of the structural model. The

Fig 2. Path coefficients of the model.

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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

Table 4. Path coefficients.

Hypothesis Path Beta SE T-value P Values Decision
H1 IQ -> EOU 0.219 0.045 4.882 0.000 Accepted
H2 IQ -> USE 0.204 0.051 3.996 0.000 Accepted
H3 IC -> EOU 0.476 0.057 8.388 0.000 Accepted
H4 IC -> USE 0.341 0.063 5.396 0.000 Accepted
H5 EOU -> INAD 0.424 0.050 8.514 0.000 Accepted
H6 EOU -> PI 0.203 0.055 3.703 0.000 Accepted
H7 USE -> INAD 0.317 0.054 5.913 0.000 Accepted
H8 USE -> PI 0.327 0.053 6.196 0.000 Accepted
H9 INAD -> PI 0.221 0.068 3.227 0.001 Accepted
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272926.t004

R2 value of 0.37 means that the model explains that 37.0 percent of the variance in young con-
sumers’ behavior intention towards social media can be explained by the predictors in this
study. Furthermore, the study assessed effect sizes (f2) and predictive relevance by employing
the Stone- Geisser Q2 value. The “ƒ2” effect size is utilized to measure the degree to which each
latent exogenous variable influences the latent endogenous variables, where the satisfactory
effect size values are 0.35, 0.15, and 0.02 deemed as substantial, medium, and small effect sizes,
respectively [90]. Again, research authors [90] suggested that predictive relevance Q2 values
should be greater than 0, which means that the exogenous variables have predictive signifi-
cance over the endogenous variables and the model is predictively relevant. Table 5 summa-
rizes the acceptable values for predictive relevance Q2, effect sizes (f2), and coefficient of
determination R2.

6. Discussion & implications

This study aims to examine the behavioral intention to order in social media based on the
eWOM review through integrating the “Information Adoption Model (IAM)” and “Technol-
ogy Acceptance Model (TAM)”. Based on this, the current framework incorporates eWOM
information quality, eWOM information credibility, perceived ease of use of information, per-
ceived usefulness of information, adoption of eWOM information, and purchase intention in
social media. Incorporating eWOM information quality and eWOM information credibility

Table 5. Predictive relevance Q2, effect sizes (f2), and coefficient of determination R2.
R2 Q2 f2 Decision
Purchase Intention 0.37 0.219
eWOM Information Adoption 0.047 Small
eWOM Information Adoption 0.389 0.227
Perceived Ease of Use of Information 0.246 Medium
Perceived Usefulness of Information 0.138 Small
Perceived Ease of Use of Information 0.351 0.26
Information Quality of Information 0.064 Small
Information Credibility of Information 0.301 Medium
Perceived Usefulness of Information 0.209 0.116
Information Quality of Information 0.045 Small
Information Credibility of Information 0.127 Small
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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

as a context creates an extended framework of TAM, which has enhanced the model’s predic-
tive ability (R2 = 37%).
The eWOM information quality significantly affects information usefulness and ease of use
which is relevant to the previous studies [93–95]. The eWOM information quality significantly
affects information usefulness and ease of use which is relevant to the previous studies [93–
95]. With regard to the online-based platform, users are more willing to take advantage of
information quality if they believe that the system delivers clear, comprehensible, and current
information and the content is of high quality [96]. The results from the structural equation
model also indicated that the eWOM information credibility significantly affects information
usefulness and ease of use which is significant to earlier studies [97]. The credibility of the pro-
vided information is crucial for improving the benefit of a delivery channel when information
overflow makes selection challenging for consumers, and consumers feel that if an online plat-
form is convenient and efficient, it has the ability to manage successful transactions [93]. Infor-
mation on social media is primarily commercialized, making verifying information’s quality,
traceability, and credibility difficult. Therefore, reviews on social media platforms greatly assist
online users in determining the traceability, authenticity, and quality of online businesses,
which in turn encourage them to make a decision. In addition to the reviews provided by con-
sumers, the firm’s engagement in social media communication will help improve its credibility
in affecting consumer perceptions [98].
As hypothesized, perceived ease of use had a statistically significant positive effect on behav-
ioral intention to order in social media based on an eWOM review [97, 99]. The result shows
that customers with a positive mindset towards adopting new technologies and who believe
that technologies are simple to use may enhance their interest in technology adoption. And if
the actual content is simple and fast retrievable, young consumers become more interested in
staying on the platform. Thus, they will likely continue adopting it [97]. From the outcomes of
this study, it has also been revealed that PEU positively influences users’ behavioral intention,
which is consistent with previous research studies [73, 100]. Young consumers will enjoy shar-
ing eWOM on social networks if the social media content is simple and easy to use, combines
consumer-focused technology with socialization patterns, and doesn’t limit capabilities for
users to post, share, and maintain relationships [2].
Perceived usefulness is significantly related to information adoption, which is significant to
previous studies [101–103]. The perceived usefulness of harnessing social media in accom-
plishing tasks may be interpreted as the adoption of information by users that would help
them better complete their tasks [104]. Information that is useful is considered the critical
determining factor influencing individuals to adopt that information [101, 102]. Again, per-
ceived usefulness is significantly associated with behavioral intention [105]. In particular,
while communicating on the eWOM platform, its usefulness substantially influences people’s
perception of using technology and their intention to adopt eWOM [106]. Individuals using
social networks are introduced to a large volume of eWOM information, which might lead to
a higher inclination to incorporate information that seems beneficial to them [71].
Furthermore, it has been noted that information adoption is significantly and positively
related to online purchase intention, which supports earlier studies [71, 107]. Information
adoption is commonly acknowledged as something that will enable or hinder decisions [108].
The usefulness of information is crucial in purchasing decisions since it aids consumers in
determining and understanding products, services, and associated aspects of their purchasing
decisions [102]. When individuals adopt information about the rival brand and the attributes
and benefits of a product or service, this enhances their buying decisions since it facilitates
them in evaluating their options [107]. The finding revealed that information adoption partly
mediates the suggested relationship [107].

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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

In comparison to direct effects, the mediation analysis revealed that the impact of perceived
ease of use and perceived usefulness on behavioral intention was mediated by information
adoption. Although the contrast between the direct effects of perceived ease of use and per-
ceived usefulness on behavioral intention and the indirect effects through information adop-
tion indicates that the indirect effect was lower, however, the partial mediation and significant
relationship reveal that information adoption has a significant role in affecting consumers’
behavioral intention. Overall, the results of the current study point to the importance of
eWOM contents in social media, i.e., quality and credibility, as well as to perceived usefulness
and ease of use associated with information adoption, which eventually affects behavioral
intention toward ordering in social media based on eWOM review.
The current research findings offer the marketing managers a viewpoint to realize the sig-
nificance of the effect of eWOM information on online purchase intention among social
media users. As this research reports that online purchase intention among social media users
is connected with eWOM information, hence it does indicate that marketers create brands by
leveraging social media platforms. The research findings suggest that both eWOM information
credibility and quality enhance the ease of use and usefulness of eWOM information that
would affect adoption and purchase intention. So, marketers need to place reliable and quality
information about their products or services on social media websites so that it might lead to
developing a better impression in online consumers’ mindsets. To enhance the online con-
sumers’ likelihood to purchase, marketers should focus on uploading useful and understand-
able content to promote their product/services on social media websites to enhance online
consumers’ propensity to buy the product. Social media users usually seek more information
before making a purchase decision online; thus, business firms may think of developing fan
pages to share the latest update about product/service and presenting genuine and complete
information to online consumers on social media websites. Furthermore, business managers
and marketers should close track and monitor the consumer-generated eWOM on social
media to keep themselves updated about consumers’ current viewpoints. To do this, business
firms can hire online customer managers, who will assist online consumers by providing help-
ful, authentic, trustworthy, quality, and intelligible information as per consumer’s require-
ments so that consumers would provide positive eWOM about the company or product,
which will affect other consumers’ purchasing behaviors on social media websites.

7. Conclusions & directions for future research

The current paper has set out the objective to explore the influence of various aspects of
eWOM information purchase intention on social media websites by considering relevant com-
ponents from IAM and TAM models. The study’s research model has been validated through
PLS-SEM, where social media using 432 university students participated as respondents. The
research findings indicate that quality, credibility, usefulness, and ease of use of eWOM infor-
mation have been critical in determining online consumers’ intention to adopt eWOM and
form purchase behavior on social media. From the managerial perspective, it has been pointed
out that marketing and business managers should utilize social media websites to gauge con-
sumer behavior by focusing on characteristics of eWOM information on social media to
obtain better consumer insights. Nonetheless, the present research has few limitations. Hence,
the research findings of this paper should be considered by taking into account the following
research limitations. Firstly, the study developed a research model and measured the model
using the PLS-SEM method, which is a quantitative approach. Future studies may consider a
qualitative approach to find some new characteristics of eWOM information which may influ-
ence online consumer behavior. Secondly, the sample was drawn from social media using

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PLOS ONE The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media

university students in Bangladesh, which might not represent the entire population. Thus, con-
sidering samples from different age groups in future studies would be more helpful in produc-
ing more reflective and generalizable findings. Also, age can be regarded as a moderating
variable to capture the differential age effect on the relationship between eWOM information
and online consumer behavior. Finally, the study has drawn samples from Bangladeshi univer-
sity students; hence future studies may adopt samples from developing and developed coun-
tries to understand the influence of cultural differences on the relationship between
determinants of eWOM information and social media consumer behavior. Also, to generate a
greater degree of generalization of the study findings, the current study has not solely focused
on a particular product category which might also be considered a limitation of the study.
Future studies might consider the specific product category to reveal the impact of eWOM-
related characteristics on consumer buying behavior.

Supporting information
S1 Dataset.
(CSV)

Author Contributions
Conceptualization: H. M. Kamrul Hassan, Ahmed Al Asheq.
Data curation: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan.
Formal analysis: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan, Ahmed Al Asheq.
Funding acquisition: Md. Atikur Rahaman.
Investigation: H. M. Kamrul Hassan.
Methodology: H. M. Kamrul Hassan, Ahmed Al Asheq.
Project administration: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan.
Resources: Md. Atikur Rahaman.
Software: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan.
Supervision: H. M. Kamrul Hassan.
Validation: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan, K. M. Anwarul Islam.
Visualization: Md. Atikur Rahaman, H. M. Kamrul Hassan, K. M. Anwarul Islam.
Writing – original draft: H. M. Kamrul Hassan, Ahmed Al Asheq.
Writing – review & editing: Md. Atikur Rahaman, Ahmed Al Asheq, K. M. Anwarul Islam.

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