Digital Promotion Effectiveness and Brand Loyalty in Social Commerce: Brand Authenticity as a Boundary Condition for Customer Engagement Outcomes

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue examines how brand authenticity enhances social commerce engagement and loyalty. Moreover, emphasizing the role of peer influence and community dynamics in increasing promotion effectiveness, it shifts the focus from traditional e-commerce transactions to trust-based environments.

We seek empirical studies that test how brand authenticity moderates the impact of digital promotions on loyalty via engagement mechanisms. The focus is on social commerce platforms—defined by user-generated content, influencer collaborations, live-streaming, and community-driven purchasing—which differ significantly from traditional e-commerce (Dwivedi et al., 2021).

A range of methodologies, including behavioral analytics, controlled experiments, and cross-cultural comparisons, are invited to participate in this Special Issue to produce theoretical contributions that go beyond descriptive applications. We encourage studies using advanced analytical techniques (e.g., moderated mediation, multilevel modeling, and machine learning) to explore psychological and behavioral mechanisms in social commerce.

With an emphasis on social commerce features like peer endorsements and real-time interaction helps differentiate authenticity assessments from general digital marketing, studies that (1) test moderated-mediation frameworks with authenticity as a boundary condition, (2) show strong validity, and (3) advance knowledge of trust-building in digital marketplaces are given priority.

The Issue complements JTAER’s previous work on social commerce by highlighting authenticity as a key factor in the effectiveness of digital promotion, and by providing new theoretical insights and advanced methods that differentiate social commerce from traditional e-commerce and general digital marketing.

This Special Issue pursues three primary objectives:

(1) Examine how brand authenticity affects engagement and promotional efficacy in social commerce, focusing on theoretical developments that go beyond simple correlations and investigating how social commerce modifies conventional promotion-loyalty dynamics.

(2) Encourage thorough empirical research that goes beyond managerial insights using a variety of approaches, such as experiments, digital trace data, and cross-cultural comparisons. To foster loyalty and trust in digital environments, we seek evidence-based frameworks for evaluating authenticity and conducting credibility audits.

(3) Develop a research agenda that focuses on the effects of social components, community dynamics, influencer ecosystems, and platform factors on promotional outcomes and perceptions of authenticity in online marketplaces to understand how authenticity distinguishes social commerce from traditional e-commerce.

As the crucial component that determines the routes to engagement, loyalty, and promotional efficacy, brand authenticity is the primary focus of this issue. We encourage studies on moderated mediation frameworks that demonstrate how brand authenticity—driven by sincerity, transparency, and consistency—validates promotional signals. Further, we welcome studies examining the increase in indirect effects on loyalty through behavioral engagement (e.g., Changani & Kumar, 2024; Kumar & Kaushik, 2022).

Strong techniques, such as long-term studies and experiments, should be used in social commerce research to examine promotion, engagement, and authenticity. Understanding complexities requires layered analysis and the development of trust. While machine learning and network analysis can advance theory, a mixed-methods approach that incorporates digital analytics, behavioral data, and qualitative insights can improve validity.

Research on social commerce should examine how features, such as live streaming, sharing, and commenting, influence engagement and trust. Determining authenticity and lowering skepticism requires an understanding of social influence mechanisms, such as influencers and peer endorsements. These will show significant differences when compared to traditional e-commerce and algorithmic effects on engagement. Utilizing platform-specific data and realistic experimental designs will ensure findings accurately represent social commerce ecosystems.

Empirical contributions related to the following themes and topics are welcome in the Special Issue:

Moderated-Mediation Frameworks in Social Commerce

• Brand authenticity, customer engagement, and loyalty boost in social commerce by moderating the impact of digital promotions.
• Psychological processes validating promotion signals through perceptions of authenticity in peer-influenced purchasing contexts.
• The conditions of engagement transition from transactional behavior to relational commitment in social commerce.

Trust Dynamics and Consumer Skepticism in Interactive Environments Focus

• Consumer skepticism about promotion content varies between user-generated and brand-generated posts in social commerce.
• Mechanisms foster trust in interactive digital settings.
• Psychological barriers that distinguish authentic engagement from perceived manipulation in community-driven commerce.

Influencer Marketing and Authenticity Transfer in Social Commerce Focus

• Effectiveness of micro-influencers vs. macro-influencers in building authentic brand relationships through social commerce platforms.
• Credibility audit frameworks for evaluation of authenticity in influencer-brand collaborations
• Boundary conditions and influencer authenticity transfer to brand loyalty outcomes.

Engagement-to-Loyalty Pathways and Behavioral Outcomes

• Promotion exposures translate into behavioral engagement, which subsequently leads to emotional commitment and loyalty.
• Stages of brand authenticity in moderating the engagement-to-loyalty progression.
• Cross-platform or cross-cultural variations affect the effectiveness of the engagement pathway.

Methodological Innovations in Social Commerce Research

Focus

• Digital trace data illuminates real-time engagement behaviors in social commerce.
• Create experiments that shift how people perceive authenticity in social commerce contexts.
• Cross-cultural studies reveal variations in perceptions of authenticity across different social commerce ecosystems.

The current Special Issues can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jtaer/special_issues.

References:

Changani, S., & Kumar, R. (2024). Social Media Marketing Activities, Brand Community Engagement and Brand Loyalty: Modelling the Role of Self-brand Congruency with Moderated Mediation Approach. Global Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509241245558

Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Hughes, D. L., Carlson, J., Filieri, R., Jacobson, J., Jain, V., Karjaluoto, H., Kefi, H., Krishen, A. S., Kumar, V., Rahman, M. M., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., Rowley, J., Salo, J., Tran, G. A., & Wang, Y. (2021). Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management, 59, 102168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168

Kumar, Vikas, & Kaushik, Arun K. (2022). Engaging customers through brand authenticity perceptions: The moderating role of self-congruence. Journal of Business Research, 138, 26–37.

Dr. Georgios Spais
Guest Editor

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• digital promotion effectiveness
• brand authenticity
• boundary conditions
• social commerce platforms
• customer engagement
• brand loyalty
• e-loyalty
• moderated mediation
• behavioral analytics
• digital trace data
• cross-cultural authenticity
• experimental design
• longitudinal analysis