The influence of social network communication on the buying behavior of Cameroonian consumers on social e-commerce platforms

Purpose The paper explores how social networks influence Cameroonian consumers' buying behavior. Then, the authors examine customers' advertising perceptions and psychological dispositions to explain their purchase intention and behavioral consumption. Design/methodology/approach The research framework is developed based on Nelson's theory of advertising by studying advertising perceptions, consumer psychological dispositions associated with social network characteristics and behavioral consumption. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the validation takes support from 231 responses collected with an online questionnaire from Cameroun. Findings The study reveals three critical results: (1) consumers' perceptions of advertising significantly influence their psychological disposition, (2) consumers' psychological dispositions and the social network significantly influence their intention to purchase and (3) consumers' intention to purchase significantly impacts their behavioral consumption. Originality/value The proposed and validated model contributes to understanding the influence of social network communication on customers' buying behavior on social s-Commerce platforms of developing country enterprises.