The Role of Electronic Word-of-mouth (e-WOM) in Mediating the Relationship between User Engagement and Young Consumers Online Purchase Intention in Social Media Based Virtual Art

Amid the growing popularity of immersive digital experiences, electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) has become a critical driver of consumer behavior, especially within social media-based virtual art exhibitions. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework and integrating Pine and Gilmore’s 4E experience economy model, this study examines the mediating role of user engagement (UE) in the relationship between e-WOM and online purchase intention (OPI) among young consumers. Drawing on 491 valid survey responses, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for empirical analysis. The results show that all four experiential dimensions: entertainment (ENT), education (EDU), escapism (ESC), and aesthetics (AES), significantly and positively influence UE, which subsequently drives e-WOM and strengthens OPI. e-WOM partially mediates the UE–OPI link, underscoring its central role in shaping behavioral outcomes in virtual exhibitions. An Importance–Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) reveals that while e-WOM holds the highest importance in predicting purchase intention, its performance score remains modest, indicating opportunities to enhance visual content strategies and user incentive mechanisms. This research contributes to the literature on visual communication and digital consumer behavior and offers actionable insights for optimizing e-WOM strategies in virtual art contexts.