Antecedent research on cross-border E-commerce consumer purchase decision-making: The moderating role of platform-recommended advertisement characteristics

Relying on the development of big data, internet technology, and digital trade, consumers are seeking cross-border e-commerce platforms increasingly. Platform-based advertising communication, characterized by low cost and wide coverage, is notable as one of the marketing strategies favored most within general cross-border e-commerce platforms. It furnishes consumers with abundant shopping options while it exerts influence on their purchasing decisions concurrently. Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory to explore in-platform advertisements' effect on consumer purchasing decisions in cross-border e-commerce platforms, this study introduces advertising features as moderating variables. From the perspectives of self-efficacy, behavioral rationality, and inclusiveness, a behavioral reasoning model for consumer purchasing decisions is constructed. This paper focuses on cross-border e-commerce platform consumers as the research object, and uses Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data and validate the model. The results show that self-efficacy and behavioral rationality can have a direct effect on consumers' purchase decision-making behaviors, while self-efficacy plays a significant mediating role between behavioral reasonableness and purchase decision-making behaviors. Inclusiveness has a significant direct effect on self-efficacy and behavioral reasonableness; moreover, advertisement characteristics have a significant negative moderating effect on inclusiveness and behavioral reasonableness-adoption. This study revealed the influencing mechanisms of consumers' purchasing decision behavior on cross-border e-commerce platforms, and expands the scope of Behavioral Reasoning Theory's application. Further, it provides valuable insights for the development of cross-border e-commerce platforms that have both theoretical and practical significance.