Effect of Changes in the Image of Other Users on the Attitude Toward the Intention to Continuous Use: A Case Study of Fashion E-commerce

Recent studies have highlighted the negative effect of an increase in platform users, primarily focusing on factors that may cause problems in using the service. However, there may be factors beyond the use of the service. This study aims to clarify the effect of 1) the image of other users, and 2) the changes in the image of other users on the attitude toward the intention to continuous use. Using questionnaire data, we measured each user’s “own degree of interest in fashion trends” and “image of other users’ degree of interest in fashion trends” at the start of their use and at the present time and conducted a structural equation modeling. Our results shows that users with a high degree of interest in fashion trends have negative feelings toward intention to continuous use the platform when their “image of other users’ degree of interest in fashion trends” had decreased. These results provide new insights into negative network effects.