Main Article Content

Abstract

Abstract. Malaysia’s social commerce landscape is expanding rapidly, with Generation X serving as a critical demographic in this transition. Grounded in the Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) theory, this study investigates the factors influencing their adoption of social commerce. A survey of 100 Malaysian participants aged 42–58 identified trust as the most significant determinant (β =0.281), while concerns regarding performance risks negatively impacted perceived ease of use. Perceived enjoyment, media usefulness, and product informativeness were found to have positive correlations with performance risk concerns. These findings highlight the complex interplay of push factors (dissatisfaction), pull factors (platform appeal), and mooring factors (commitment, herd behavior) in shaping Generation X’s engagement with social commerce. This study contributes to the literature by addressing a research gap in social commerce adoption among Generation X, a demographic often overlooked in favor of younger consumers. By employing the PPM framework, the research provides a structured analysis of consumer switching behavior, emphasizing trust as a critical enabler and performance risk as a significant barrier. The findings underscore the necessity for businesses to enhance transparency and reliability to foster trust while leveraging enjoyment, media usefulness, and informativeness to optimize user engagement. These insights offer practical implications for businesses seeking to refine strategies targeting Generation X consumers in Malaysia’s evolving social commerce ecosystem.


Keywords: Social commerce; generation x; push-pull-mooring theory; trust; performance risk; Malaysia; consumer behavior

Keywords

Social commerce generation x push-pull-mooring theory trust performance risk Malaysia consumer behavior

Article Details

How to Cite
Jamaludin, H. (2025). Exploring Consumer Switching Behaviour to Social Commerce: A Study on Generation X in Malaysia. The Asian Journal of Technology Management (AJTM), 18(1), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.12695/ajtm.2025.18.1.3

References

  1. Anas, M., Uddin, S.M.F., Khan, M.N., Faisal, M.N. and Rana, N.P. (2023) ‘A Cognitive- Dissonance Theory Perspective in Understanding Online Shopping Journey’, Journal of Computer Information Systems, pp. 1–14. doi:10.1080/08874417.2023.2281626.
  2. Bansal, H. S., Taylor, S. F., & St. James, Y. (2005). “Migrating” to new service providers: Toward a unifying framework of consumers’ switching behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(1), 96-115.
  3. Cheng, Y. H., & Yee, C. L. (2014). The role of perceived usefulness in e-commerce adoption: A study of online consumer behavior. Journal of Internet Commerce, 13(2), 128-147.
  4. Cheng, B.L. & Yee, S.W. (2014). Factors Influencing Consumers’ Online Purchase Intention: A Study among University Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(8), 121-133.
  5. Donthu, N.,&Gracia, A. (1999). The internet Shopper. Journal of advertising research, 39(3),52-58.
  6. En, A., Govindarajo, N., & Dileep, M. (2021, May). Factors of Purchase Intention Toward Social Commerce Among Young Generation in Malaysia. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Law, Social Science, Economics, and Education, ICLSSEE 2021, March 6th 2021, Jakarta, Indonesia.
  7. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. In Stanford University Press eBooks. doi: 10.1515/9781503620766
  8. Gefen, D., & Straub, D. (2000). The relative importance of perceived ease of use in IS adoption: A study of E-Commerce Adoption. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 1(1), 1–30. doi: 10.17705/1jais.00008
  9. Hajli, N. (2015). Social commerce constructs and consumer’s intention to buy. International Journal of Information Management, 35(2), 183–191. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.12.005
  10. Hajli, N., Sims, J., Zadeh, A. H., & Richard, M. (2017). A social commerce investigation of the role of trust in a social networking site on purchase intentions. Journal of Business Research, 71, 133–141. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.004
  11. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
  12. Kassim, E. S., Bhattarai, R. K., Zamzuri, N. H., & Othman, A. K. (2017). Social commerce in the digital age: Analysis of adoption differences among consumers in Malaysia and Nepal. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 25, 309-317.
  13. Kim, J., Park, H. and Sung, Y. (2022) ‘Exploring the role of social commerce in consumer decision-making: The moderating effects of perceived risk and trust’, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 65, p. 102495. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102495.
  14. Lăzăroiu, G., Neguriţă, O., Grecu, I., Grecu, G., & Mitran, P. C. (2020). Consumers’ Decision-Making Process on social commerce platforms: online trust, perceived risk, and purchase intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00890
  15. Lim, W. M., Yap, S. F., & Makkar, M. (2020). The effects of influencer credibility on online purchasing behavior among Generation X consumers. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19(2), 135-148.
  16. Lee, H. H., Fiore, A. M., & Kim, J. (2006). The role of the technology acceptance model in explaining effects of image interactivity technology on consumer responses. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 34(8), 621- 644.
  17. Lee, M.K.O. and Chen, L. (2021). Consumer trust and technology acceptance in social commerce: A multi-theoretical perspective’, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 50, p. 101087. doi: 10.1016/j.elerap.2021.101087.
  18. Lee, S., Khong, K. W., Lang, H. J., & Guptan, V. P. (2014). Examining the role of viral effect, shopping enjoyment and trust on purchase intention of social commerce sites in Malaysia. Social Science Research Network. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2515656_code2246088.pdf?abstr actid=2515656&mirid=1
  19. Liang, T., Ho, Y., Li, Y., & Turban, E. (2011). What drives social commerce: the role of social support and relationship quality. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 16(2), 69–90. doi: 10.2753/jec1086-4415160204
  20. Lim, X. J., Cheah, J. H., & Wong, M. W. (2020). The impact of social media influencers on purchase intention and the mediation effect of customer attitude. Asian Journal of Busniness Research. 10(2), 19-34
  21. Moon, J., & Kim, Y. (2001). Extending the TAM for a World-Wide-Web context. Information & Management, 38(4), 217–230. doi: 10.1016/s0378-7206(00)00061-6
  22. Moorthy, K., Ling, C.S., Fatt, Y.W., Yee, C.M., Yin, E.C.K., Yee, K.S. and Wei, L.K. (2019). Barriers of Mobile Commerce Adoption Intention: Perceptions of Generation X in Malaysia, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 14(2), 37–53. doi: 10.4067/S0718-18762017000200004
  23. Moslehpour, M., Khoirul, A., & Lin, P. K. (2018, July). What do Indonesian Facebook Advertisers Want? The Impact of E-Service Quality on E-Loyalty. In 2018 15th International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management (ICSSSM) (pp.1-6). IEEE.
  24. Pappas, I. O. (2018). User engagement in e-commerce: The role of psychological motivations. Computers in Human Behavior, 86(2), 221–233.
  25. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63(1), 539–569.
  26. Rahman, M.K., Al-Mamum, A., Jalil, M.A. & Robel, S.D. (2014). Factors Influencing Malaysian Consumers' Intention Towards E-shopping. Journal of Applied Sciences, 14(18), 2119-2128. doi: 10.3923/jas.2014.2119.2128
  27. Statista (2023a) Social commerce in Malaysia - statistics & facts. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/12570/social-commerce-in-malaysia
  28. Statista (2023b) Malaysia: frequency of social media purchases 2023. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1375378/malaysia-frequency-of-social-media- purchases
  29. Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2020). Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach (8th ed.). Wiley.
  30. Suan, C.L., Gondokusumo, A.R., Saroso, H., Dwidienawati, D. and Syahchari, D.H. (2023). Exploring Switching Intentions Among Generation Z Smartphone Users: A Push- Pull-Mooring Framework Analysis of Factors Across Smartphone Segments’, Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 17(5), 52–64. doi:10.14453/aabfj.v17i5.06.
  31. Yang, X. (2021). Exchanging social support in social commerce: The role of peer relations. Computers in Human Behavior, 124, 106911.
  32. Yang, X. (2022). Consumers' purchase intentions in social commerce: the role of social psychological distance, perceived value, and perceived cognitive effort. Information Technology & People, 35(8), 330-348.
  33. Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. doi: 10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926
  34. Zheng, C. K., & Geetha, S. M. I. T. H. A. (2019). Factors influencing consumer online purchase intention in social commerce among millennial in Malaysia. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Review, 4.