Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

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Information & Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/im

Moderating effects of time pressure on the relationship between perceived

value and purchase intention in social E-commerce sales promotion:
Considering the impact of product involvement
⁎
Lifang Peng , Weiguo Zhang, Xiaorong Wang, Shuyi Liang
School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: How does customer perceived value influence purchase intention in online flash sales on social e-commerce
Online flash sales platforms? This study investigates the role of time pressure and product involvement in the relationship between
Perceived value perceived value and purchase intention. Drawing on survey data from wjx.com in China, we found that per-
Time pressure ceived value is positively related to purchase intention, whereas time pressure negatively moderates the effect of
Product involvement
emotional/social value on purchase intention. The three-way interaction among time pressure, perceived
Purchase intention
functional/emotional/social value, and product involvement was also statistically significant. We discuss the
theoretical and practical implications of these results.

1. Introduction
To boost sales and profits, most merchants on online business
platforms (e.g., Rue La La, Gilt, Amazon, Tmall, JD) employ flash sales
with limited purchase time. Using this emerging promotion strategy,
retailers offer deep discounts for a limited time [82]. However, ex-
perience shows that time limits are a double-edged sword that can si-
multaneously promote and compromise sales. On the one hand, time
limits may create an “opportunity cost perception” among consumers
[48]—in other words, consumers who fail to purchase items within the
designated time period will “regret refusing to buy” [81]. The time limit
creates a sense of urgency [75], thus encouraging consumers to pur-
chase [34,58]. On the other hand, by requiring consumers to make a
purchase decision within a short time, online flash sales can induce time
pressure [17], as the decision maker is likely to become anxious and
under pressure because the available time is less than the time normally
required to make such a decision [73]. This perceived time pressure has
a negative impact on purchase decision-making, thus compromising the
sales promotion [60].
With the development of social e-commerce, information dis-
semination continues to accelerate as customers increasingly share
shopping experiences with others and are influenced by online com-
ments from friends and onlookers. In this situation, customers must
process more information, and the emotional experience of purchase
decision-making is more complex, and the consumer’s perception of
time pressure is more intense. For that reason, understanding the role of
time pressure and preventing the failure of social e-commerce online
flash sales are of great significance for merchants and scholars.
Academics have conducted in-depth research on the correlation
between time pressure and purchase decision-making
[5,10,20,49,60,61]. For example, Payne et al. [61] showed that con-
sumers process information selectively, and Petty et al. [63] reported
that time pressure interferes with the individual’s optimal strategy. In
contrast, other researchers have suggested that consumers exhibit
better decision-making skills when placed under time pressure [49].
Despite extensive previous research, most of these studies were con-
fined to analysis of the immediate relationship between time pressure
and customer behavior. Product category, another integral component
of sales promotion [72,79,85], is also of relevance in this context, as it
determines the level of product involvement [25,28,32], which influ-
ences the consumer’s cognitive and behavioral responses to marketing
stimulation [32,42,59]. Again, past work has neglected the possible
effect of any interaction between time pressure and product involve-
ment on the relationship between customer perceived value and pur-
chase intention.
To address the limitations of previous research, this study tests the
assumption of a positive relationship between customer perceived value
and purchase intention based on the “value perception-purchase in-
tention” framework. Second, the present study analyzes the moderating
effect of time pressure on the relationship between each dimension of

⁎
Corresponding author at: School of Management, Xiamen University, No. 422 Siming South Road, Xiamen, 361005, China.
E-mail addresses: lfpeng@xmu.edu.cn (L. Peng), 982655096@qq.com (W. Zhang), xrwang9283@sina.cn (X. Wang), lsy90624@163.com (S. Liang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2018.11.007
Received 13 July 2017; Received in revised form 14 November 2018; Accepted 24 November 2018
0378-7206/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Peng, L., Information & Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2018.11.007
L. Peng et al.
customer perceived value and purchase intention in the context of
online flash sales. Finally, to situate the research closer to the reality of
business, the paper examines changes in the effect of time pressure with
high and low product involvement. To test the study hypotheses, we
designed an online experimental scenario and collected data from
wjx.com, a professional data services company in China.
This study has both theoretical and practical implications. First, it
enhances existing understanding of the effects of time pressure on de-
cision-making and broadens the scope of research on online flash sales
in social e-commerce contexts. Additionally, it provides guidance for
companies seeking to implement effective online flash sales promotion
strategies for specific products with varying degrees of involvement in
social e-commerce while avoiding any waste of marketing resources.
2. Literature review
2.1. Customer perceived value
Customer perceived value is known to be the most critical de-
terminant of consumers’ decision to purchase [6,8,21,26,51], where
perceived value refers to “the consumer’s overall assessment of the
utility of a product or service, determined by a consumer’s perception of
what is received and given” [91]. If the perceived benefit to the cus-
tomer outweighs the perceived cost, the customer will perceive the item
as having a positive value [52]. According to the value-intention fra-
mework, if an item has a higher perceived value, the customer will
exhibit a stronger purchase intention [11,51]. Perceived value is closely
related to customer demand; in particular, scholars have defined per-
ceived value in terms of different dimensions of customer demand, such
as product function, economic interest, emotion, and social environ-
ment. For example, Young et al. [88] divided perceived value into two
dimensions (hedonic and utilitarian), whereas Sweeney and Soutar di-
vided perceived value into three dimensions (functional, emotional,
and social) [76]. Li et al. discussed perceived value in terms of social/
emotional, utilitarian, and economic value [44], and Chi and Kilduff
referred to price value, social value, emotional value, and quality value
[9]. Chen and Tsai divided perceived value into six dimensions: emo-
tional, social, quality, health, epistemic, and educational [7,8].
The present study categorizes the dimensions of customer perceived
value on the basis of customer requirements in social e-commerce si-
tuations. First, based on rational shopping demands (regardless of the
type of shopping channel or platform), most customers’ first concerns
are price and product function. If the price of a new product is low,
customers will be more willing to try that product, thus making price a
purchase-decision factor [54]. The functional value of a product or
service is the primary motive for purchase, thus referring to a custo-
mer’s sense of its quality, design, durability, appearance, and safety
[67]. The present study considers the dimensions of price value and
functional value.
In addition, customers are paying increasing attention to the online
shopping experience, including such factors as ease, convenience, fun,
communication, and self-satisfaction. As the experience of buying
goods on an online shopping platform creates emotional value for
customers [37], this study also examines emotional value as an im-
portant dimension of customer perceived value.
In social e-commerce contexts, customers often have social contact
with other people, and their comments on a product, as well as word-of-
mouth and dissemination of information, significantly affects custo-
mers’ shopping decisions based on conformable psychology [47]. Al-
ternatively, as customers may strengthen their social identity and social
self-consciousness through the perceived social value of their purchase
[7,8], this paper also considers social value as a dimension of customer
perceived value. To summarize, price value, functional value, emo-
tional value, and social value are considered to be dimensions of cus-
tomer perceived value in social e-commerce environments. Table 1
relates the existing literature to the four values of consumer product
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perception.
2.2. Online flash sales and time pressure
Given the prevalence of online flash sales on e-commerce and social
e-commerce platforms, it is surprising that only a few researchers have
addressed the topic [27,82]. A flash sale involves a specific limit, such
as a quantitative or time limit [12], and promotional mechanisms vary
for different types of limit. While a quantitative limit commonly en-
courages consumers to perceive a product as extremely rare, stimu-
lating their competitive purchase mentality [1], a time limit is mainly
intended to increase consumers’ willingness to buy [75]. There is some
evidence in support of these assumptions; for example, in a series of
experiments, Inman et al. concluded that imposing a time limit sends a
signal to consumers and increases the probability that they will select
the product [35]. However, other studies have shown that, when pur-
chasing time is limited, consumers form a negative view of the pur-
chasing process [71]. Many scholars believe this is because a time limit
results in “time pressure perception” among consumers. Time limit and
time pressure are distinct concepts; while the former is an objective
phenomenon, the latter is a subjective feeling [45]. If a time limit does
not make a customer feel urgent and anxious, there is no time pressure
as far as that individual customer is concerned [74].
While scholars’ views vary in relation to the effects of time pressure,
its characteristics can be said to include time limits, attitude toward
time limits, and emotional experience. For example, Svenson and
Edland [73] stressed that time pressure can cause anxiety if the decision
maker feels that the deadline is approaching for task completion. Payne
et al. [60] characterized time pressure as an individual’s subjective
response and emotional reaction to a time limit. Svenson and Maule
[74] concluded that time pressure is the result of limited time for de-
cision-making.
Studies of consumer behavior focus increasingly on the impact of
time pressure on customers’ decision-making, and there is extensive
research on this relationship. For instance, Spears [72] investigated the
impact of time pressure on purchase decision-making by examining the
relationship between time pressure and information processing, and
Kocher and Sutter [39] studied that impact by analyzing at the re-
lationship between time pressure, material stimulation, and decision-
quality. While there is some evidence [55] that time pressure accel-
erates customer decision-making and may even improve its quality,
many studies have shown that customers tend to make worse decisions
under time pressure, thus impacting negatively on the quality of deci-
sion-making [60,61].
In general, potential purchasers who are under time pressure have
insufficient time to find out enough about a product’s attributes to make
a comprehensive evaluation [36]. These customers tend to apply some
form of heuristic rule [19,40,74], thus focusing, for example, on key
product information or others’ opinions or consulting their acquain-
tances. When having to make judgments or decisions under time
pressure, customers experience psychological stress [57] and develop
negative emotions or become risk-averse [56,70,91]. In response to a
high level of perceived risk, people tend to adopt a strategy that
minimizes uncertainty, usually with the least effort or complexity [46].
2.3. Product involvement
Product involvement is the relationship between a consumer’s per-
ception of the product and the consumer’s internal demands, value, and
interest [89,90], thus indicating the consumer’s focus on the product or
its significance for that individual. Product involvement differs from
one consumer to another depending on personal factors and perceptions
of product significance and risk. In general, products with a high price
and a high level of misleading risk (such as real estate) entail high in-
volvement [41], which strengthens customers’ information seeking and
processing and engagement in complicated decision behaviors [22].
L. Peng et al.
Table 1
Dimensions of Perceived Value.
Value dimension Definition
Price value The utility derived from a product owing to the reduction of its perceived shorter- and longer-term costs.
Functional value The utility derived from the product’s perceived quality and expected performance.
Emotional value The utility derived from feelings or affective states generated by the process of buying a product.
Social value The utility derived from the product’s ability to enhance one’s social self-concept.
Previous research has shown that consumers’ information proces-
sing mode differs significantly according to product category and pro-
duct involvement [90], which combines with customers’ cognitive and
affective attributes to affect customers’ decision-making [53,66]. For
products that prompt high involvement, customers tend to make pur-
chase decisions based mainly on their cognitive attributes. For products
with low involvement, customers are likely to make purchase decisions
that depend mainly on affective attributes [68,86]. Given its im-
portance in consumers’ buying behaviors [41], the present study ex-
plores how product involvement contributes to moderation of time
pressure along the path from perceived value to purchase intention.
3. Research model and hypothesis development
3.1. Research model
To explore the moderating effect of time pressure on the relation-
ship between customer perceived value and purchase intention in on-
line flash sales, the present study defines customer perceived value in
terms of price value, functional value, emotional value, and social
value. According to the value-intention framework, perceived value has
a positive impact on purchase intention [51,52], and previous studies
have examined the positive relationship between these values
[8,11,26,44]. On that basis, we predict that customer perceived value
will impact positively on purchase intention in online flash sales. We
also examine the moderating effect of time pressure on the relationship
between customer perceived value and purchase intention. To ap-
proximate real business practices, we further assume that product in-
volvement will have an impact on this moderating effect. Fig. 1 de-
scribes our research model.
3.2. Hypothesis development
3.2.1. Consumer perceived value and purchase intention
Customer perceived value serves as a bridge between customer
value and purchase behavior, thereby linking the consumer’s attitudes
to purchasing and psychological behavior during decision-making.
Customer perceived value is closely related to customer needs and in-
volves different dimensions [87]. Based on the observed behavior of
online customers, customer perceived value is considered here in terms
of four dimensions: price value, functional value, sentimental value,
and social value. Extensive research has shown that perceived value has
a positive impact on consumer purchase intention [16,51,52]; high
perceived value is positively correlated with purchase intention and
increases a customer’s willingness to make repeated purchases [16].
While this positive relationship is well established, we have included
Fig. 1. Research Model.
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References
[9,44,50,62]
[7,8,9,44,62,69,88]
[7,8,44,76]
[7,8,9,44]
some related hypotheses in this model for the sake of completeness.
H1. Price value is positively related to purchase intention.
H2. Functional value is positively related to purchase intention.
H3. Emotional value is positively related to purchase intention.
H4. Social value is positively related to purchase intention.
3.2.2. The role of time pressure
Time pressure is a subjective feeling of urgency and anxiety as
perceived by the customer. Time limits are one assumed cause of time
pressure, but in the context of customer purchase decisions, a time limit
does not necessarily produce time pressure. Rather, a time limit will
cause time pressure only when the customer experiences a desire to
purchase because he or she has realized the value of a commodity and
must make a purchasing decision within a specified timeframe [55].
This means that perceived value is another potential cause of time
pressure [48]. Additionally, as customers may have insufficient time to
collect information for product evaluation under time pressure [36],
this will hinder information processing, which underpins the formation
of customer perceived value [30]. In this way, consumer expectation
and consumer perception of value may deviate [39,74,89], and we
consider that the interaction between time pressure and perceived
value may impact consumer purchase intention. In the next section, we
analyze how time pressure interacts with each dimension of perceived
value to affect purchase intention.
3.2.2.1. The role of time pressure in price value-purchase
intention. Merchants’ use of price discounting to promote sales
confirms that price value is an important dimension of customer
perceived value. Price discount promotions involving a limited
purchase time are considered useful because “customers will feel
regret if they do not buy within the limited purchase time” [81].
Because time limits prompt consumers to create an “opportunity cost
perception” [48], they increase the probability that a purchase will be
made [35]. Based on the success of limited-time price discount
promotions, researchers have suggested that time limits strengthen
the positive relationship between price value and purchase intention. In
practice, however, such promotions often fail, and many scholars have
argued that time limits weaken the positive relationship between price
value and purchase intention.
Here, we argue that time limit is not identical to time pressure; if
customers make decisions within a modest time limit that does not
cause them to experience time pressure, purchase intention may be
enhanced as a result of “opportunity cost perception” [35,48,81].
However, if (as a great deal of the evidence suggests) customers must
make decisions within a time limit that triggers a sense of time pressure,
anxiety, and worry, decision-making quality will be negatively affected
[60,61]. Where the unpleasant experience of time pressure exceeds the
pleasant experience of “gaining” derived from price discount, the im-
portance and meaning of that discount is degraded [14,15,77,83].
Additionally, time pressure may impair the customer’s ability to make
an objective and accurate judgment [3,36,46], thereby causing them to
underestimate the price value of the commodity [39,74,88]. From this
grounded perspective, we hypothesize that time pressure may weaken
the positive relationship between price value and purchase intention.
L. Peng et al.
H5a. Time pressure moderates the relationship between price value and
purchase intention; when time pressure is high, the effect of price value
on purchase intention is weakened.
3.2.2.2. The role of time pressure in functional value- purchase
intention. In general, customers judge a commodity’s functional value
in terms of technical parameters or by comparing its performance with
available alternatives. As most consumers have limited knowledge of a
product’s performance, they need time to collect the relevant
information or to consult others. If there is insufficient time to
evaluate a product’s attributes in this way, potential purchasers are
likely to apply some heuristic rule [19,40,74] using an information-
filtering strategy for decision-making [3]—for example, focusing on key
product information. Additionally, when customers judge a
commodity’s functional value under time pressure, their experience of
psychological stress is likely to induce risk aversion [56,57,70,92].
Once they perceive risk, customers tend to look for ways of reducing
uncertainty to minimize that risk with the least effort, thus adopting a
simple approach [46]. This may lead them to delay decision-making or
abandon purchasing to avoid loss [51,52]. On that basis, we formulated
the following hypothesis.
H5b. Time pressure moderates the relationship between functional
value and purchase intention; when time pressure is high, the effect of
functional value on purchase intention is weakened.
3.2.2.3. The role of time pressure in emotional value-purchase
intention. Emotional value is the utility derived from feelings or
affective states generated by the process of buying a product [7,8].
This process includes the purchase decision-making stage. According to
previous research, when customers make shopping decisions under
time pressure, they generate negative emotions such as tension,
anxiety, and worry [57], thus indicating that time pressure
immediately degrades perceived emotional value. This negative
emotional experience reduces both perceived emotional value and
other dimensions of perceived value [60,61,70,91], thereby lowering
the level of overall perceived value and undermining the customer’s
purchase intention. On that basis, we argue that, in limited-time
promotions, time pressure will interact with emotional value to
weaken purchase intention. On that basis, we formulated the
following hypothesis.
H5c. Time pressure moderates the relationship between emotional
value and purchase intention; when time pressure is high, the effect of
emotional value on purchase intention is weakened.
3.2.2.4. The role of time pressure in social value- purchase intention. Social
value is defined as the utility derived from a product’s ability to
enhance social self-concept [7–9]. By obtaining the perceived social
value of their purchase, the customer strengthens their social identity
and social self-consciousness [7,8]. Social value can be seen to relate to
subjective factors such as interest, preference, emotion, culture, belief,
and personal value criteria. These factors are more irrational than
rational [68], and as a result, the customer’s judgment of social value
becomes complicated. For example, social value is often judged on the
basis of other people’s comments or the opinions of friends. However,
individual preferences or value criteria do not accord exactly with those
of others, as the customer needs to balance these elements. The need to
judge a product’s social value and make a purchase decision in a limited
time is therefore likely to create a strong sense of time pressure and
anxiety.
In general, the individual customer may realize that it is risky to
make a purchase decision based on social value in a limited time be-
cause this includes many factors that are subjective and less rational. As
this risk awareness can also degrade perceived social value, anxiety and
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risk awareness may combine to diminish purchase intention when time
pressure interacts with social value in limited-time promotions. On that
basis, we formulated the following hypothesis.
H5d. Time pressure moderates the relationship between social value
and purchase intention; when time pressure is high, the effect of social
value on purchase intention is weakened.
3.2.3. The role of product involvement
The literature review above characterizes product involvement in
terms of perceived product relevance to the individual consumer, based
on their inherent needs, values, and interests [90,91]. As this means
that product involvement is closely related to customer perceived value,
it seems likely that the two variables may interact. For example, a high-
price commodity with a high level of misleading risk (such as real es-
tate) will usually be seen to entail high product involvement [43]. If in
turn a customer sees something as a high-involvement product, this
creates a higher expectation of value—for instance, in terms of product
attributes or brand loyalty [41,90].
Product involvement relates to the attention that customers pay to a
product over a period of time [84]. In the decision-making process, the
customer’s cognitive mechanism changes with the level of product in-
volvement [81]. For low-involvement products, customers tend to
adopt a noncompensatory incomplete processing strategy based on at-
tributes, investing less cognitive effort in decision-making [60]. In the
case of high-involvement products, however, customers are likely to
collect more information and undertake a more complex decision-
making process, thus processing information carefully (i.e., within a
systematic thinking model) to avoid risk [22]. Because the customer’s
attitude and the mechanism and psychological features of decision-
making vary with level of involvement, their perceptions of time
pressure in online flash sales will also differ, which means that product
involvement may interact with time pressure in purchase decision-
making. We analyzed the interaction of product involvement, time
pressure, and each dimension of perceived value in terms of their effect
on purchase intention.
3.2.3.1. The role of product involvement in time pressure-price value-
purchase intention. In the case of high-involvement products, the
customer is likely to be more sensitive to price value—that is, to the
benefits of price discounts [63]. At the same time, as high involvement
creates a strong sense of the need to avoid risk and loss, more time is
needed to judge overall value and perceived time pressure increases.
Because the customer is strongly attracted by the price discount while
their perception of time limitation is heightened, they are likely to
experience greater anxiety and worry when purchasing a high-
involvement product in a limited-time promotion. Common sense
suggests that unpleasant feelings and negative emotions under more
serious time pressure may exceed the pleasant experience of “gaining”
derived from a price discount, thus impairing their ability to judge
goods objectively and accurately. This means that the moderating effect
of time pressure on the positive relationship between perceived price
value and purchase intention will be stronger in the case of a high-
involvement product. On that basis, we formulated the following
hypothesis.
H6a. The negative moderating effect of time pressure on the
relationship between price value and purchase intention is stronger
when product involvement is higher.
3.2.3.2. The role of product involvement in time pressure-functional value-
purchase intention. The customer’s basic motivation for purchasing a
product is to use that product—that is, the product must provide use
value—which explains why customers usually devote considerable
attention to a product’s functional value. For high-involvement
products, that attention is correspondingly more intense. Customers
L. Peng et al. Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

also evaluate such products mainly on cognitive criteria while low- of participating in sales promotions. To better understand the effects of
involvement products are evaluated mainly on affective criteria time pressure on the relationship between perceived value and pur-
[45,57]. For high-involvement products, customers regard careful chase intention in the proposed research model, we included these
thinking as an important factor in product selection and they need to variables as control variables.
spend more time collecting product information [18]. With high
product involvement, perceived time pressure and risk awareness
become stronger [49]. On the basis of this analysis, we posited that 4. Research method
the interaction of high involvement, time pressure, and functional value
impacts purchase intention, and we formulated the following 4.1. Scenario design and procedure
hypothesis.
An online scenario was developed to empirically examine and va-
H6b. The negative moderating effect of time pressure on the
lidate the proposed research model. The experiment employed a 2 × 2
relationship between functional value and purchase intention is
(time pressure level: high vs. low x product involvement level: high vs.
stronger when product involvement is higher.
low) between-subjects factorial design. The use of 1 h/1 day before the
end of the promotion as two types of time pressure reflects current
3.2.3.3. The role of product involvement in time pressure-emotional value- practice on large social e-commerce sites and pilot work in China.
purchase intention. As discussed earlier, product involvement relates to Product categories included low-involvement and high-involvement
the significance of the commodity for the individual consumer; the products; on the basis of previous research, we selected a laptop as the
higher the level of product involvement, the stronger is the customer's high-involvement product and a cup as the low-involvement product
attention. For higher involvement products, the customer’s decision- [29,59,90]. In addition, the selected discount promotion features
making mechanism becomes more complicated, and decision-making (“Save 50%”) reflected the sales promotion strategy during the Double
time becomes longer. This in turn means that perceived time pressure Eleven Day holiday promotion (similar to Black Friday in the U.S.) on
intensifies, as do anxiety, negative emotions, and perceived risk. For most e-commerce and social e-commerce websites.
that reason, perceived emotional value will be seriously weakened All participants were members of wjx.com, a professional survey
when purchasing high-involvement products in limited-time website in China, and they were randomly assigned to one of four
promotions, and negative feelings increase significantly. This strongly scenario groups. Respondents were first asked about their level of in-
unpleasant purchase experience will seriously damage customer volvement with the laptop or the cup. Our scenarios then displayed the
perceived value and purchase intention. In short, high product promotional information for each product, including end of promotion
involvement will strengthen the moderating effect of time pressure on period, product price, and product features (see Appendix A). Subjects
the positive relationship between emotional value and purchasing were then asked to simulate online shopping and were subsequently
intention. On that basis, we formulated the following hypothesis. asked to fill out a questionnaire. In total, 654 responses were collected
during the study period (November 1–18, 2017), and 570 valid samples
H6c. The negative moderating effect of time pressure on the
were included in the subsequent analysis. Table 2 summarizes partici-
relationship between emotional value and purchase intention is
pants’ demographic data. Most respondents were aged 25–34 years, and
stronger when product involvement is higher.
most had 5–7 years of online shopping experience. This profile (rela-
tively young and quite experienced) matched the general characteristics
3.2.3.4. The role of product involvement in time pressure-social value- of online customers.
purchase intention. Literature confirms that high product involvement
heightens relevance and intensifies attention [63]. When purchasing Table 2
high-involvement products, customers adopt a cautious attitude, thus Demographics Summary.
strengthening information collection and engaging in a complex
Variable Classification Number Percent
decision-making process as well as processing information carefully to
avoid risk [22]. This means that customers depend on more rational Gender Male 276 48.4%
judgments when purchasing high-involvement products in limited-time Female 294 51.6%
promotions. However, the mental process of judging social value by Age (years) < =18 47 8.2%
19–24 172 30.2%
referring to other people’s value criteria depends on affective or 25–34 176 30.9%
irrational factors [7–9,68]. For that reason, in judging the social 35–39 101 17.7%
value of a high-involvement product, the struggle between rational 40–44 50 8.8%
and irrational factors will cause customers to feel conflicted. If a > =45 24 4.2%
Degree High school 24 4.2%
customer must decide whether or not to purchase a high-involvement
College 78 13.7%
product with a sense of urgency and limited time, perceived time Undergraduate 410 71.9%
pressure and negative emotions will be experienced more strongly. In Graduate 58 10.2%
these circumstances, customers may delay making a purchase decision Online shopping experience (OSE) < =2 11 1.9%
or abandon their purchase intention. On that basis, we formulated the 2–4 106 18.6%
5–7 265 46.5%
following hypothesis.
8–10 114 20.0%
H6d. The negative moderating effect of time pressure on the > 10 74 13.0%
Online consumption in one of the e- < =2000 38 6.7%
relationship between social value and purchase intention is stronger commerce sites in 2016 (OCS) 2001–4000 83 14.6%
when product involvement is higher. 4001–6000 127 22.3%
6001–8000 114 20.0%
8001–10000 99 17.4%
3.3. Control variable 10001–12000 47 8.2%
> 12000 62 10.9%
In addition to the underlying constructs described above, we also Experience of participating in time-limited seldom 44 7.7%
promotion (EPT) sometime 238 41.8%
postulated that purchase intention may rely on such variables as
often 229 40.2%
gender, age, education, online shopping experience, consumption on frequently 59 10.4%
social e-commerce platforms patronized in the last year, and experience

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Table 3
Instruments.
Construct Item Source

Product Involvement (PT) PT1 This product is important to me. Adapted from Zaichkowsky [90]
PT2 This product makes me excited.
PT3 This product is interesting to me.
PT4 This product is needed for me.
PT5 This product means a lot to me.
PT6 This product is involving to me.
PT7 This product is fascinating to me.
Time Pressure TP1 No time pressure/Too much time pressure. Suri and Monroe [65]
(TP) TP2 More than adequate time available/Not adequate time available.
TP3 Need not more time to concern this purchase making/Need lot more time to
concern this purchase making.
Price Value (PV) PV1 I save money when I shop here. Adapted from Sweeney and Soutar [76] and Rintamäki
PV2 I make inexpensive purchases. et al. [80]
PV3 I got my purchases done cheaper than if I had made them elsewhere.
Functional Value FV1 The product I will purchase from this promotion is good. Adapted from Sweeney and Soutar [76] and Rintamäki
(FV) FV2 The product I will purchase from this promotion has an acceptable standard of et al. [80]
quality.
FV3 The product I will purchase from this promotion is useful.
FV4 The quality of this product is reliable.
Emotional Value EV1 This purchase way totally absorbs me. Adapted from Sweeney and Soutar [76] and Rintamäki
(EV) EV2 This purchase way entertains me. et al. [80]
EV3 This is a pleasant purchase way.
EV4 I enjoy this shopping experience itself.
Social Value (SV) SV1 Would help me to feel acceptable. Adapted from Sweeney and Soutar [76] and Rintamäki
SV2 Would improve the way I am perceived. et al. [80]
SV3 Would make a good impression on other people.
SV4 Would give its owner social approval.
Purchase Intention PI1 The probability that I would consider buying the product from this time-limited Adapted from Dodds et al. [16] and Kim et al. [38]
(PI) promotion is high.
PI2 If I were to buy the product, I would consider buying it from this time-limited
promotion.
PI3 The likelihood of my purchasing the product from this time-limited promotion is
high.
PI4 My willingness to buy the product from this time-limited promotion is high.

4.2. Measures
All constructs and measures were adapted from previously validated
studies (see Table 3). Purchase intention was measured using four items
adapted from Dodds et al. [16] and Kim et al. [38], who investigated
purchase intention in an online context. Price value, functional value,
emotional value, and social value were assessed by items adapted from
Sweeney and Soutar [76] and from Rintamäki et al. [80]. A three-item
scale developed by Suri and Monroe [65] was used to measure time
pressure. A seven-item scale adapted by Hong [32] from Zaichkowsky
[89] was used to determine the level of product involvement. Responses
were captured on Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to
5 (strongly agree) for each statement of perceived value and purchase
intention. Responses related to time pressure and product involvement
were captured on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree). In addition, in relation to promotion time limit, 1 day and 1 h
were coded as 0 and 1, respectively, thus representing the low and high
time pressure groups; for the product category, we substituted cup and
laptop for 0 and 1 to represent low involvement and high involvement,
respectively. Finally, we employed a commonly accepted double-
translation procedure to ensure the Chinese equivalence of instruments
and measures originally written in English because the survey was
conducted in China [4].
5. Data analysis and results
5.1. Manipulation check
For the purposes of this study, we manipulated the time limit and
product category. By using a repeated-measures independent t-test to
understand manipulation effectiveness, the results (Table 4) indicate
that respondents in the 1-hour condition reported higher time pressure
than those in the 1-day condition (time pressure: mean low = 3.703;
mean high = 5.029; t(568) = 12.159; p < .001). At the same time,
subjects in the laptop condition reported higher involvement than those
in the cup condition (product involvement: mean low = 4.970; mean
high = 5.934; t(568) = 12.186; p < .001). As the results confirmed
that the manipulations of limited time and product category were
successful, samples of the four conditions were used for the purpose of
data analysis.
5.2. Measurement model
To verify the measurement model, we first scrutinized the collected
data by conducting a PCA with varimax rotation, using SPSS 23.0. We
analyzed seven factors with eigenvalues of more than 1.0 from all
items, which accounted for 75.204% of the total variance. Using AMOS
23.0, we then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis. The fit indexes
for the measurement model were CMIN/DF = 2.010, RMSEA = 0.042,
NFI = 0.941, IFI = 0.969, TLI = 0.965, and CFI = 0.969. On the basis
of the guidelines for determining model fit [33], the measurement
model shows good fit for this study.
We also tested the convergent validity of the measurement model
using three indices [23,24]. The criteria for good convergent validity
are as follows: factor loading > 0.7; combination reliability (CR),
Cronbach’s alpha > 0.7; and average variance extracted (AVE) > 0.5.
Table 5 shows the final convergent validity results. As the value of
factor loadings, AVEs, and CRs for all constructs met the recommended
standards, our instrument was deemed to exhibit acceptable convergent
validity.
We tested discriminant validity against the criterion that the po-
tential variable correlation coefficient should be less than the square
root of its AVE value. In Table 6, the square root of the AVE value is on
the diagonal; the other data are the correlation coefficients. The results

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L. Peng et al. Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 4
Manipulation Check.
Condition Dummy variable Number Mean of TP Mean of PT

One day, cup (0, 0) 144 3.442 4.936

One day, laptop (0, 1) 142 3.967 5.932
One hour, cup (1, 0) 139 4.851 5.006
One hour, laptop (1, 1) 145 5.200 5.937
t-Test – 570 M low vs. M high = 3.703 vs. 5.029, t (568) = 12.159*** M low vs. M high = 4.970 vs. 5.934, t (568) = 12.186***

Notes: TP refers to time pressure, PT refers to product involvement; (0, 0) is low TP & low PT, (0, 1) is low TP & high PT, (1, 0) is high TP & low PT, and (1, 1) is high
TP & high PT.
*** p < 0.001.

Table 5 5.3. Common method variance

Measurement Model.
Construct Item Factor Mean S.D. AVE CR Cronbach’s As the present study used a self-report approach, the potential
loading alpha problem for common method bias needed to be addressed. We per-
formed two statistical analyses to assess the severity of common method
Product PT1 .823 5.456 1.551 .679 .937 .937
bias, the first of which was Harman’s one-factor method with ex-
Involvement PT2 .812
(PT) PT3 .766
ploratory factor analysis [31,64]. All items related to the seven con-
PT4 .844 structs in our model were subjected to principal component factor
PT5 .848 analysis, and the explained variance of the first principal component
PT6 .843 was 18.738%. We then conducted CFA with a common method factor
PT7 .827
[64] and found that the one-factor model exhibited considerably worse
Time Pressure TP1 .882 4.427 2.394 .735 .892 .902
(TP) TP2 .888 fit than the measurement model. On that basis, we concluded that
TP3 .799 common method bias was not a serious problem here.
Price Value (PV) PV1 .844 3.971 .733 .647 .846 .843
PV2 .821
PV3 .744 5.4. Hypothesis testing
Functional Value FV1 .749 3.886 .657 .551 .830 .830
(FV) FV2 .747 To test Hypotheses 1 to 6d, we performed a moderated regression
FV3 .764
analysis after centralizing all independent variables. Following
FV4 .707
Emotional Value EV1 .855 3.839 .781 .691 .899 .897 Takeuchi et al.’s method [78], we completed six steps for multiple re-
(EV) EV2 .853 gression analysis and all the results are presented in Table 7. The first
EV3 .757 step included the six control variables (gender, age, education, online
EV4 .855 shopping experience, online consumption in the last year, and experi-
Social Value (SV) SV1 .860 3.352 .961 .679 .894 .887
SV2 .842
ence of participating in sales promotions), and results are shown in
SV3 .795 model 1 of Table 7. To examine the main effects, the second step added
SV4 .796 time pressure and four dimensions of perceived value (price value,
Purchase Intention PI1 .796 3.810 .615 .677 .893 .880 functional value, emotional value, and social value) and results can be
(PI) PI2 .788
seen in model 2 of Table 7. In the third step, we added the two-way
PI3 .849
PI4 .856 interaction terms between time pressure and perceived value, and re-
sults can be seen in model 3 of Table 7. The fourth step included pro-
duct involvement to control its main effect because product involve-
Table 6 ment is an additional moderator of the relationships among time
Correlations and Discriminant Validity. pressure, perceived value, and purchase intention, and results are
shown in model 4 of Table 7. The fifth step included the two-way in-
PT TP PV FV EV SV PI
teraction terms between product involvement and time pressure, and
PT .824 between product involvement and perceived value, and results can be
TP .143** .857 seen in model 5 of Table 7. Finally, in the sixth step, we added the
PV .537** .081 .804
three-way interaction terms between time pressure, perceived value,
FV .565** .022 .659** .743
EV .603** .077 .726** .677** .831 and product involvement, and results are shown in model 6 of Table 7.
SV .448** .054 .367** .468** .523** .824 Hypotheses 1–4 predicted that customer perceived value is posi-
PI .587** .013 .638** .649** .664** .523** .823 tively related to purchase intention. When four independent variables
were added in the second step, the results for Model 2 in Table 7 in-
Note: PT = Product involvement; TP = Time pressure; PV = Price value;
dicate that the positive effects of perceived price value (b = 0.26,
FV = Functional value; EV = Emotional value; SV = Social value;
p < 0.001), functional value (b = 0.30, p < 0.001), emotional value
PI = Purchase intention; Diagonal elements represent the square root of AVE
for that construct.
(b = 0.22, p < 0.001), and social value (b = 0.20, p < 0.001) on
*
p < 0.05. purchase intention are statistically significant, thus indicating support
** p < 0.01. for Hypotheses 1–4.
Hypotheses 5a to 5d predicted that the positive relationship be-
indicate that our instrument exhibits good discriminant validity. Col- tween each perceived value and purchase intention would be weakened
lectively, across the criteria examined, measurement of all constructs in when time pressure is high. The empirical results for Model 3 (Table 7)
our research model exhibits high reliability and good validity. support the predictions that time pressure moderates the relationship
between emotional value (b = -0.24, p < 0.05) and purchase intention
and the relationship between social value (b = -0.12, p < 0.05) and
purchase intention, but this was not supported for price value (b =

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L. Peng et al. Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 7
Results of Moderated Regression Analysis on Purchase Intention.
Purchase Intention

Step Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6

Intercept 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.76 3.77 3.77

1 Gender .10 .09 .08 .08 .08 .08
Age .06* .02 .01 .01 .02 .01
Degree .06 .06 .05 .05 .06 .06
OSE −.03 −.03 −.03 −.03 −.03 −.04
OCS .04* .01 .01 .01 .01 .003
EPT .25*** −.01 −.01 −.01 −.02 −.01
2 TP −.01 −.004 −.01 −.01 −.04
PV .26*** .25*** .24*** .23*** .23***
FV .30*** .29*** .30*** .32*** .33***
EV .22*** .23*** .22*** .20*** .19***
SV .20*** .20*** .20*** .19*** .18***
3 TP × PV -.07 −.06 −.05 −.07
TP × FV −.08 −.08 −.09 .06
TP × EV −.24* −.23* −.22* −.16*
TP × SV −.12* −.12* −.11* −.10*
4 PT −.08 −.06 −.09
5 TP × PT −.02 −.02
PT × PV .03 .02
PT × FV .10 .14
PT × EV .09 .08
PT × SV .17** .17**
6 TP × PV × PT −.06
TP × FV × PT −.30*
TP × EV × PT −.10*
TP × SV × PT −.24*
R2 .09 .57 .58 .58 .59 .60
F 9.77*** 67.43*** 51.10*** 13.28*** 10.23*** 8.73***
ΔR2 .48 .01 .002 .01 .01
ΔF 123.82*** 3.24* 2.58 1.74 3.19*
Mean VIF 1.20 1.59 1.77 1.75 1.84 1.96

Notes: N = 570; PV = Price value; FV = Functional value; EV = Emotional value; SV = Social value; PT = Product involvement; TP = Time pressure; Coefficient is
unstandardized; All independent variables are centralized.
* p < 0.05.
** p < 0.01.
*** P < 0.001.

Fig. 4. Moderating effects of TP on PV-PI.

Fig. 2. Moderating effects of TP on EV-PI.

-0.07, p > 0.05) or for functional value (b = -0.08, p > 0.05). To

Fig. 3. Moderating effects of TP on SV-PI.
interpret the significance of two-way interaction between perceived
value and time pressure, following Aiken and West’s approach [2], we
plotted these interaction effects by entering unstandardized regression
coefficients (including intercept) and means and standard deviations for
the independent variables. By using this method, we interpreted the
significance level of the relationships between the perceived value and
purchase intention under high or low levels of time pressure. Figs. 2–5
show the results of this test.
As shown in Fig. 2, in situations of low time pressure (illustrated by
the solid line) with a high emotional value, the level of purchase in-
tention tends to be higher (i.e., the slope is steeper). However, the
positive relationship disappears (i.e., the slope becomes flat) under high
time pressure (dotted line). This result indicates that time pressure
negatively moderates the relationship between emotional value and

8
L. Peng et al.
Fig. 5. Moderating effects of TP on FV-PI.
Note: TP = Time pressure; EV = Emotional value; SV = Social value;
PV = Price value; FV = Functional value; PI = Purchase intention (similarly
hereinafter).
purchase intention. As shown in Fig. 3, the slope is steeper when time
pressure is low (solid line), whereas the slope is flat when time pressure
is high (dotted line). These results indicate that the positive relationship
between social value and purchase intention diminished significantly
for high time pressure customers while the effect was strong for low
time pressure customers. Figs. 4 and 5 show that the effects of perceived
price value and functional value on their purchase intention were
maintained regardless of whether time pressure was high or low, thus
confirming that time pressure had no significant moderating effect on
these two variables. In sum, these results indicate that purchase in-
tention among customers in the high time pressure condition group
weakens with an increase in emotional and social value, but this is not
the case for price value or functional value.
Hypotheses 6a to 6d predicted that customers’ perceived value
would be weakly related to purchase intention under high time pres-
sure, more strongly so when product involvement was higher. The re-
sults of Model 6 in Table 7 shows that when the three-way interaction
among perceived value, time pressure, and product involvement was
introduced in the sixth step, this interaction was statistically significant
for functional value (b = -0.30, p < 0.05), emotional value (b = -0.10,
p < 0.05), and social value (b = -0.24, p < 0.05) but not for price
value (b = -0.06, p > 0.05). To further explore these moderating ef-
fects, we plotted the three-way interaction using simple slopes analysis
as in Aiken and West [2] and Dawson and Richter [13], thus defining
the low and high condition groups noted above. Figs. 6–9 show the
three-way interaction effects among product involvement, perceived
value (i.e., functional value, emotional value, social value and price
value), and time pressure on purchase intention.
Fig. 6 shows the three-way interaction effect of product involve-
ment, perceived functional value, and time pressure on purchase in-
tention. As shown in Fig. 6a, for customers operating with low-in-
volvement products, perceived functional value is positively related to
purchase intention whether time pressure is high or low. On the other
hand, as shown in Fig. 6b, for customers operating with the high-in-
volvement product, perceived functional value was positively related to
Fig. 6. Effects of product involvement on TP-FV-PI.
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Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
purchase intention in situations of low time pressure (solid line).
However, this positive relationship flattens in situations of high time
pressure (dotted line). This means that the mitigating effect of high time
pressure on the relationship between functional value and purchase
intention is enhanced when product involvement is high, thus pro-
viding support for Hypothesis 6b.
Similarly, Fig. 7 depicts the three-way interaction effect among
product involvement, perceived emotional value, and time pressure on
purchase intention. As shown in Fig. 7a and b, the dampening effect of
time pressure on the relationship between perceived emotional value
and purchase intention is strengthened when product involvement is
high, but the relationship is maintained where there is low product
involvement. These results support Hypothesis 6c.
Fig. 8 shows the three-way interaction effect of product involve-
ment, perceived social value, and time pressure on purchase intention.
As shown in Fig. 8a and b, the dampening effect of time pressure on the
relationship between perceived social value and purchase intention is
aggravated where there is high product involvement but not in situa-
tions of low product involvement.
However, Fig. 9a and b shows that the moderating effect of time
pressure on the relationship between perceived price value and pur-
chase intention was maintained, regardless of whether customers were
operating with high or low product involvement. This confirms that the
three-way interaction effect of product involvement, perceived price
value, and time pressure on purchase intention is not significant. In
summary, these empirical results provide support for the aggravating
effect of high product involvement on functional, emotional, and social
value but not on price value.
6. Discussion and implications
This study attempts to understand how time pressure and product
involvement affect customers’ decision-making in the context of social
e-commerce flash sales. To achieve this objective, we first tested the
positive effects of price value, functional value, emotional value, and
social value on purchase intention. Considering the temporary nature of
sales promotions, we further proposed time pressure to be a moderating
variable in the model. We also tested the impact of different product
categories on consumers’ online shopping behaviors. Our results show
first that each perceived value had a significant positive influence on
purchase intention. Second, time pressure had a significant negative
regulating effect on the relationship between perceived emotional/so-
cial value and purchase intention. Third, time pressure had strikingly
different regulating effects on different product categories. For high-
involvement products, the negative moderating effect of time pressure
on the relationship between perceived functional/emotional/social
value and purchase intention was stronger in that this positive re-
lationship is weakest when time pressure is high. However, for low-
involvement products, there was a smaller difference in the negative
moderating effect of time pressure on the relationship between per-
ceived value and purchase intention. On the basis of these intriguing
L. Peng et al.
Fig. 7. Effects of product involvement on TP-EV-PI.
findings, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this
study.
6.1. Research implications
This research produced some important theoretical insights. First,
while past research on sales promotion has focused mainly on tradi-
tional shopping environments, the present study extends the applica-
tion of the perceived value-purchase intention framework to customer
purchase behavior in social e-commerce environments. The study also
assigned perceived value to four dimensions: price value, functional
value, emotional value, and social value. The results indicate that
emotional value and social value are very important for online sales
promotions, deepening existing knowledge about customer purchase
decision-making in the context of social e-commerce.
Second, much of the earlier research investigating the relationship
between time pressure and customer decision-making was relatively
narrow in scope. By examining the impact of time pressure as a mod-
erating variable in the relationship between customer perceived value
and purchase intention, the present study deepens and expands our
understanding of time pressure. While past research confirmed the
significant impact of time pressure on customer purchase decision-
making, it did so mainly from psychological and behavioral perspec-
tives. By demonstrating the moderating effects of time pressure on the
relationship between customer perceived value and purchase intention,
the present research illuminates the mechanism and process of time
pressure in customer purchase decision-making. This also provided a
more nuanced understanding of how customers formulate an intention
to purchase under the time pressure of sales promotions.
Third, this study augments the existing literature by investigating
the boundary conditions for time pressure as an influence on sales
promotion. Because customer behavior in real business contexts is the
result of multiple factors that include product involvement and time
pressure, it is important to take account of these for a more nuanced
analysis. The present findings enable us to more accurately predict the
result of customers’ decision-making and bring us closer to the reality of
contemporary business.
Fig. 8. Effects of product involvement on TP-SV-PI.
10
Information & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
6.2. Practical implications
This research contributes important new insights concerning lim-
ited-time promotions in social e-commerce. The most obvious of these is
the positive correlation between functional value and purchase inten-
tion; our findings show that function value remains the most important
criterion for customers purchase decisions on online business platforms.
Regardless of the rapid development of e-commerce or social e-com-
merce, it is clear that merchants should continue to highlight the
functional value of their products as the basis for successful sales pro-
motions.
Second, our findings show that time pressure and the positive cor-
relations between emotional value, social value, and purchase intention
play an obviously negative role in social e-commerce environments,
where the impact of emotional and social factors is stronger than in
physical stores. For this reason, companies implementing flash sales on
social e-commerce platforms need to take effective measures to prevent
(or at least reduce) the negative impact of time pressure on custo-
mers—for example, by setting a suitable time limit, thus providing
customers with product information for reference, increasing inter-
activity in customer consulting and creating an atmosphere that de-
livers positive emotional and social experiences.
Finally, our findings reveal that high product involvement does not
reinforce the moderating effects of time pressure on the positive cor-
relation between price value and purchase intention. However, high
product involvement strengthens the negative moderating effects of
time pressure on the positive correlation between functional value,
emotional value, social value, and purchase intention. This means that,
in online flash sales, the price value of high-involvement products still
attracts customers. However, if other aspects of the product are over-
looked, product involvement may interact with time pressure to further
impact the positive correlation between functional/emotional/social
value and purchase intention. As a result, customers may choose not to
buy, hence compromising the flash sale. For high-involvement pro-
ducts, merchants on social e-commerce platforms should pay particular
attention to two issues. (1) Publicity and guidance should focus on
customer perceptions of product functionality, brand, cultural sig-
nificance, positive and social commentary to reduce the effect on
L. Peng et al.
Fig. 9. Effects of product involvement on TP-PV-PI.
purchase intention of the interaction among product involvement and
time pressure and functional/emotional/social value. (2) Merchants
should also publish data for customer reference, such as core product
information, functional parameters, and comparative advantages. This
will help to reduce the time that customers need to collect information
and their perception of time pressure, hence reducing the negative ef-
fect of high time pressure and product involvement on the positive
relationship between perceived value and purchase intention.
6.3. Limitations and future research
The use of a scenario experimental method enabled us to simplify
complicated problems, identify key issues, and clarify development
rules. However, this approach excludes other influencing factors. First,
because the time stress experienced by customers during online pur-
chasing is less than that when shopping in a physical store, future re-
search should explore the boundary conditions of time stress in online
settings by setting the time limited promotion to 5–10 min rather than
the 1 h/24 h settings used here. A second limitation is that the study
settings for high and low product involvement may be very simplistic.
In subsequent research, it would be useful to classify product involve-
ment in more detail, based on more representative corresponding pro-
ducts. Finally, the research model fails to consider the effects of inter-
vening variables such as personality, social dissemination, risk
perception, or brand effects, and these might usefully be incorporated
in future research.
Funding
This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
China (Grant# 71671154); the Fundamental Research Funds for the
Central Universities (Grant# 20720161052); Social science planning
key projects in Fujian Province (Grant# FJ2015B202).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the
online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2018.11.007.
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Lifang Peng is a professor of management information systems and the head of
Management Science Department at the School of Management, Xiamen University. She
received her Ph.D. degree from the School of Economics and Finance at Xi’an Jiaotong
University. Dr. Peng’s research deals with strategies of electronic commerce and business
intelligence. She has published research articles in Information and Management,
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Electronic Commerce Research,
Computers in Human Behavior, and proceedings of Hawaii International Conference on
System Sciences.
Weiguo Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Management at Xiamen University.
His research focuses on the areas of online reputation systems, IT in retail market, and
social commerce.
Xiaorong Wang received her Ph.D. degree from the School of Management at Xiamen
University. Her research focuses on the impacts of technology on how people commu-
nicate, process information, and make decisions in social media and social network. She
has published research articles in Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Electronic
Commerce Research, and proceedings of some information systems conferences.
Shuyi Liang received her M.S. degree in management science and engineering from
Xiamen University. Her research interest is in investigating the influence of social media
on business performance.