Exploring brand attitude in e-commerce using the S-O-R model: the role of information quantity, information quality and source credibility

Purpose E-commerce platforms in the digital age have become essential to showcase information to consumers about products and brands. This study aims to analyze how social signals (information quantity, information quality and source credibility) influence the emotions of pleasure, arousal and dominance, and how these emotions affect brand attitude and consumer purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected from 835 e-commerce consumers through an online questionnaire distributed by a panel company. The hypotheses were tested by means of a structural equation modeling with Amos software. Findings The results reveal that information quantity, information quality and source credibility can affect the emotions of certain e-commerce consumers. Specifically, information quantity positively influences pleasure and dominance, information quality positively affects arousal and dominance and source credibility positively influences all three emotions. The findings also confirm that pleasure and dominance are clear determinants of brand attitude. Finally, pleasure, dominance and brand attitude are positive determinants of purchase intention, whereas arousal results in the opposite. Practical implications The findings suggest that marketers should implement tools on platforms that encourage consumers to generate enough credible reviews to convey feelings of pleasure and control which will generate positive attitudes toward brands leading to bolster purchase intention. Originality/value This study is original in that it integrates the stimulus-organism-response theory and the pleasure-arousal-dominance model in e-commerce research. Specifically, pleasure, arousal and dominance serve as organisms to identify the roles of information quantity, information quality and source credibility as stimuli, and brand attitude and purchase intention as responses in the understanding of the source of consumer brand attitude.