Online shopper engagement in price negotiation: the roles of culture, involvement and eWOM

The strategy of inviting online shoppers to negotiate product prices has been employed by numerous online sellers due to its benefits for buyers and sellers. Social media facilitates sharing information regarding such economic benefits among shoppers, thereby generating eWOM, which boosts online social commerce. Yet not all buyers choose to embrace sellers' offers to negotiate product price. In the current paper, we employ consumer culture theory and the elaboration likelihood model to theorize the effects of culture and involvement on consumer engagement in price negotiation. Two studies were designed to test the proposed conceptual framework. Based on eBay transaction data (N = 498), Study 1 supported the hypothesized positive main effects of collectivism and involvement on shoppers’ engagement in price negotiation. Study 2 demonstrated, in a controlled laboratory setting (N = 468), the moderating effect of eWOM on these relationships. When other buyers shared information regarding price negotiation, the positive effect of collectivism on negotiation was mitigated, and the effect of involvement was strengthened. These findings have significant theoretical, practical, and social implications.