Characteristics of eWOM Information on BookTok toward Book Purchase Intention: SOR–IACM Approach

Zhafira Azka Alifa; Nurdin Sobari

doi:10.59261/inkubis.v8i3.394

Authors

Zhafira Azka Alifa Universitas Indonesia
Nurdin Sobari Universitas Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59261/inkubis.v8i3.394

Keywords:

BookTok, electronic word-of-mouth, information usefulness, information adoption, purchase intention

Abstract

Background: BookTok has become an influential short-form video community for book discovery and recommendation, yet the cognitive pathways through which eWOM information is evaluated, adopted, and translated into purchase intention remain insufficiently explained, particularly regarding whether product involvement conditions this process.

Objective: This study examines the effects of information quality, information quantity, information credibility, and needs of information on information usefulness; the effects of information usefulness on information adoption and information adoption on purchase intention; the mediating role of information adoption between information usefulness and purchase intention; and the moderating role of book involvement in the information adoption–purchase intention relationship.

Methods: A quantitative survey was conducted with 368 valid Indonesian TikTok users who had been exposed to BookTok content. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS with 10,000 bootstrap subsamples to evaluate the measurement model, structural relationships, mediation, and moderation.

Results: Information quantity, information credibility, and needs of information positively predicted information usefulness, whereas information quality did not. Information usefulness positively predicted information adoption, and information adoption strongly predicted purchase intention. Information adoption significantly mediated the relationship between information usefulness and purchase intention (β=0.497, p=0.018), while book involvement did not significantly moderate the information adoption–purchase intention relationship (β=-0.014, p=0.417).

Conclusion: BookTok eWOM influences purchase intention through a staged cognitive process in which perceived usefulness must be translated into information adoption before shaping purchase intention. The findings also suggest that high involvement with books does not necessarily strengthen the conversion of adopted BookTok information into purchase intention.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Azmi, N., Afriyani, T., & Kurniaty, D. (2025). The Influence of TikTok Affiliate Digital Marketing Strategy on Generation Z Purchase Intentions in Jakarta, Indonesia. Golden Ratio of Marketing and Applied Psychology of Business, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.52970/grmapb.v5i1.891

Balling, G., & Martens, M. (2024). BookTok Helped Us Sell It: How TikTok Disrupts Publishing and Fuels the #Romantasy Boom. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 32(4), 1258–1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241301271

Bui, C. T., Ngo, T. T. A., Chau, H. K. L., & Tran, N. P. N. (2025). How perceived eWOM in visual form influences online purchase intention on social media: A research based on the SOR theory. Plos One, 20(7), e0328093. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.032809

Cheng, X., Gu, Y., Hua, Y., & Luo, X. (Robert). (2021). The Paradox of Word-of-Mouth in Social Commerce: Exploring the Juxtaposed Impacts of Source Credibility and Information Quality on SWOM Spreading. Information & Management, 58(7), 103505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103505

Cheung, C. M. K., & Thadani, D. R. (2012). The impact of electronic word-of-mouth communication: A literature analysis and integrative model. Decision Support Systems, 54(1), 461–470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2012.06.008

da Silva, T. A. A., Bezerra, E. L. C., de Brito Silva, M. J., & de Oliveira Campos, P. (2025). Reading in the age of influence: an analysis of the impact of BookTokers on book consumption intentions. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 15(1), 100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-025-01542-8

DataReportal. (2025). Digital 2025: Indonesia. DataReportal.

Dera, J. (2024). BookTok: A Narrative Review of Current Literature and Directions for Future Research. Literature Compass, 21(10–12). https://doi.org/10.1111/lic3.70012

Erkan, I., & Evans, C. (2016). The influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’ purchase intentions: An extended approach to information adoption. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.003

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Franke, G., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). Heuristics versus statistics in discriminant validity testing: a comparison of four procedures. Internet Research, 29(3), 430–447. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-11-2017-0510

Fu, J.-R., Lu, I.-W., Chen, J. H. F., & Farn, C.-K. (2020). Investigating consumers’ online social shopping intention: An information processing perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 54, 102189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102189

Geng, R., & Chen, J. (2021). The Influencing Mechanism of Interaction Quality of UGC on Consumers’ Purchase Intention – An Empirical Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697382

Hair, J., & Alamer, A. (2022). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in second language and education research: Guidelines using an applied example. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 1(3), 100027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2022.100027

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis.

Hair Jr, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage publications.

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014- 0403-8

Indrawati, Putri Yones, P. C., & Muthaiyah, S. (2023). eWOM via the TikTok application and its influence on the purchase intention of somethinc products. Asia Pacific Management Review, 28(2), 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2022.07.007

Jerasa, S., & Boffone, T. (2021). BookTok 101: TikTok, Digital Literacies, and Out‐of‐School Reading Practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 65(3), 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1199

Kim, M. J., Lee, C.-K., & Jung, T. (2020). Exploring Consumer Behavior in Virtual Reality Tourism Using an Extended Stimulus-Organism-Response Model. Journal of Travel Research, 59(1), 69–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287518818915

Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of E-Collaboration (Ijec), 11(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijec.2015100101

Leong, C.-M., Loi, A. M.-W., & Woon, S. (2022). The influence of social media eWOM information on purchase intention. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 10(2), 145–157. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-021-00132-9

Leung, D. (2021). Unraveling the interplay of review depth, review breadth, and review language style on review usefulness and review adoption. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 97, 102989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102989

Liu, J., Kang, M., & Haile, T. T. (2021). Argument Quality and Review Adoption: Interaction Effect of Product and Review Type. Asian Journal of Business Research, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.14707/ajbr.210105

Ngo, T. T. A., Bui, C. T., Chau, H. K. L., & Tran, N. P. N. (2024). Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social networking sites (SNS): Roles of information credibility in shaping online purchase intention. Heliyon, 10(11), e32168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32168

Ngo, T. T. A., Vuong, B. L., Le, M. D., Nguyen, T. T., Tran, M. M., & Nguyen, Q. K. (2024). The impact of eWOM information in social media on the online purchase intention of Generation Z. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2316933

Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and Persuasion. Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4964-1

Rahaman, Md. A., Hassan, H. M. K., Asheq, A. Al, & Islam, K. M. A. (2022). The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media: Through the lens of IAM and TAM theory. PLOS ONE, 17(9), e0272926. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272926

Sardar, A., Manzoor, A., Shaikh, K. A., & Ali, L. (2021). An Empirical Examination of the Impact of eWom Information on Young Consumers’ Online Purchase Intention: Mediating Role of eWom Information Adoption. Sage Open, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211052547

Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. john wiley & sons.

Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., Vaithilingam, S., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11). https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0189

Singh, A., Patel, A. K., & Parayitam, S. (2025). Purchase intention of luxury fashion brands in post-pandemic era: A double moderation analysis using information acceptance model. Journal of Marketing Communications, 31(4), 467–490. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2023.2248999

Song, B. L., Liew, C. Y., Sia, J. Y., & Gopal, K. (2021). Electronic word-of-mouth in travel social networking sites and young consumers’ purchase intentions: an extended information adoption model. Young Consumers, 22(4), 521–538. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-03-2021-1288

Zhai, L., Yin, P., Li, C., Wang, J., & Yang, M. (2022). Investigating the Effects of Video-Based E-Word-of-Mouth on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: The Moderating Role of Involvement. Sustainability, 14(15), 9522. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159522