The role of social presence and trust on customer loyalty

Purpose: E-commerce and social media technologies can significantly benefit the food and beverage industry by reducing costs, streamlining supply activities, and, most importantly, engaging users in active interaction and enhancing social presence. This research aims to propose a model to examine the role of trust and social presence on loyalty in the food and beverage industry. Moreover, the mediating role of trust is the link between social presence and loyalty examined in this study. Design/methodology/approach: A survey has been conducted to examine the structural model. The research model is tested using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The result indicated the effect of Social presence and Trust in social media on Customer loyalty in the context of online shopping. Our finding contributes remarkable insights into the food and beverage industry, particularly in the COVID-19 era, as more consumers buy through e-commerce platforms. Originality/value: This study expands the understanding of the role of the managers of social commerce websites in maintaining customer loyalty. Hence, the social commerce site managers can use this finding to develop strategies for building customer trust and, ultimately, customer loyalty. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Burden of mental distress in the US associated with trust in media for COVID-19 information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, news and social media outlets have played a major role in dissemination of information. This analysis aimed to study the association between trust in social and traditional media and experiences of mental distress among a representative sample of US adults. Data for this study came from National Pandemic Pulse, a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey that sampled participants on the Dynata platform. Participants included 6435 adults surveyed between 15-23 December 2020. Ordinal logistic regression analyses examined the associations of trust in (i) social media, (ii) print media, (iii) broadcast TV and (iv) cable TV, for COVID-19-related information with self-reported mental distress (4-item Patient Health Questionnaire), controlling for sociodemographics and census region. Compared with those who distrusted social media, those who trusted social media had 2.09 times (95% CI = 1.84-2.37) greater adjusted odds of being in a more severe category of mental distress. In contrast, compared with those who distrusted print media, those who trusted print media had 0.80 times (95% CI = 0.69-0.93) lower adjusted odds of being in a more severe category of mental distress. No significant associations were found between mental distress and trust in broadcast or cable TV for accessing news about COVID-19. Trust in different news outlets may be associated with mental distress during public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies should explore mechanisms behind these associations, including adherence to best practices for crisis reporting among different media sources and exposure of individuals to misinformation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, both, traditional channels like print, TV and cable news, as well as social media, have been major sources to obtain news about the pandemic. In this manuscript, we study the association between trust in social and traditional media and symptoms of mental distress among a nationally representative sample of 6435 US adults surveyed in December 2020. Our findings show that those who reported trusting traditional print media were less likely to report more severe mental distress. Conversely, those who reported trusting social media were more likely to report more severe levels of mental distress. This highlights the urgent need for understanding the diffusion patterns of misinformation and rumors that circulate on social media, and consumers' reactions to them. It is important that during a public health emergency, we follow best practices for crisis communication to reduce panic, address uncertainty, promote protective behaviors and mental health.

The role of social presence and trust on customer loyalty

Purpose: E-commerce and social media technologies can significantly benefit the food and beverage industry by reducing costs, streamlining supply activities, and, most importantly, engaging users in active interaction and enhancing social presence. This research aims to propose a model to examine the role of trust and social presence on loyalty in the food and beverage industry. Moreover, the mediating role of trust is the link between social presence and loyalty examined in this study. Design/methodology/approach: A survey has been conducted to examine the structural model. The research model is tested using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The result indicated the effect of Social presence and Trust in social media on Customer loyalty in the context of online shopping. Our finding contributes remarkable insights into the food and beverage industry, particularly in the COVID-19 era, as more consumers buy through e-commerce platforms. Originality/value: This study expands the understanding of the role of the managers of social commerce websites in maintaining customer loyalty. Hence, the social commerce site managers can use this finding to develop strategies for building customer trust and, ultimately, customer loyalty. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

How COVID-19 Triggers Our Herding Behavior? Risk Perception, State Anxiety, and Trust.

People have felt afraid during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), because a virus is an invisible enemy. During the pandemic outbreak, society has become worried about the spread of infections and the shortage of protective equipment. This common fear among the public subsequently deepens each person's fear, increasing their belief in the content reported by the media and thus actively compelling these individuals to engage in the behavior of panic buying. In this study, we explored the effects of the public's risk perception, state anxiety, and trust in social media on the herding effect among individuals. The study was based on an online questionnaire survey and convenience sampling. The results showed that the public's risk perception increased their state anxiety and then deepened their willingness to wait in line for a purchase. In addition, the more people that trust the message delivered by the media, the more actively they will join the queue to buy goods. This study also found that anxiety had a greater impact on the public's willingness to wait for a purchase than trust in social media. Therefore, the top priority for the government should be to reduce the public's state anxiety and then reduce the herding effect.