A Cross-Cultural Study on the effects of Social Popularity and Deal scarcity on Consumers' Purchase Behavior

This research aims to examine how social popularity and deal scarcity of a product influences consumers’ purchase behavior on e-commerce websites and how this influence varies across cultures. Some studies have shown that Eastern cultures (e.g., China) are more likely to herd than Western cultures (e.g., United States). Also, when a deal offer on a product is about to expire, consumers of various cultures tend to react differently. Drawing on construal level theory (CLT) and research on cultural effects, we hypothesize that for Western cultures (or Eastern cultures), there will be a positive (or negative) interaction between social popularity and deal scarcity on consumers' purchase intentions, such that the effect of social popularity, indicated by the number of customers that have already purchased the product, will be strengthened (or weakened) as the expiration time of a deal draws closer.