Abstract:

The previous decade witnessed that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) brings the digital revolution to every corner of human life. Particularly, the service industry has largely shifted from a brick-andmortar format to online. In this respect, a revolution in Social Commerce (scommerce) brought more automated and faster services. Despite the middles eastern countries had huge potential to expand their online businesses through s-commerce, there is scant literature on the factors that influence the low acceptance of s-commerce, especially about comprehensive and innovative models. To examine the antecedents of s-commerce acceptance, this research employed the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTUAT2) expanded by social commerce constructs and user trust. Moreover, by drawing on individual difference literature (Sojka and Giese, 2003) this study examines customer gender, age, and use experience as moderates on UTUAT2 factors and purchase intention relationship. After establishing the reliability and validity of measurement scales, the final model was tested with 596 valid responses in structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) in Smart-PLS 4 software. The results of the structural model illustrate that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, price value, and habit are positively and significantly related to customer purchase intention. This research also found that social commerce constructs and user trust are positively related to customer purchase intentions. The findings of this research show that customers' gender, age, and experience moderate the effects of facilitating conditions, price value, hedonic motivation, and habit on purchase intentions and use behaviour. Numerous theoretical and practical implications stem from this study. The research provides some guidelines to researchers, businesses,  policymakers, and government to understand the dynamics of s-commerce and devise their policies accordingly.