Message Framing in Social Commerce Reviews: The Roles of Emotional Congruence and Perceived Authenticity in Purchase Intention

Abstract

Social commerce has reshaped contemporary consumer behaviour by integrating social media interactions with e-commerce functions, creating environments where consumers increasingly rely on peer-generated reviews and testimonials when evaluating products (Hajli, 2015; Liang & Turban, 2011). Such content functions as a form of social proof by helping consumers reduce uncertainty and make purchase-related judgements based on the experiences of others (Cialdini, 1984; Hajli, 2015). Although prior research recognises the persuasive role of social proof in digital commerce, less attention has been given to how the framing of peer-generated reviews, particularly emotional versus rational message framing, shapes consumer responses and purchase intention (Zhang et al., 2018; Fernandes et al., 2022). This thesis addresses this gap by examining how emotional and rational review framing influence purchase intention through the mediating roles of emotional congruence and perceived authenticity.

Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study explores whether consumers respond to social commerce reviews through affective alignment, evaluative credibility, or both (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). A quantitative, between-subjects experimental design was employed across two studies using simulated Instagram-style cosmetics reviews. Study 1 involved 124 female participants, while Study 2 involved 143 female participants. Participants were exposed to either emotionally framed or rationally framed review content before reporting their emotional congruence, perceived authenticity, and purchase intention.

The findings indicate that emotional message framing significantly increased emotional congruence, suggesting that personal and experiential testimonials created stronger affective alignment with consumers. Emotional congruence also mediated the relationship between emotional framing and purchase intention, demonstrating its role as an affective persuasive mechanism. However, emotional framing produced a significant negative direct effect on purchase intention compared with rational framing. This suggests that although emotional appeals may increase personal resonance, they may be less effective in supporting purchase-oriented judgement than rational reviews that provide clearer and more diagnostic product information. Perceived authenticity was found to be a strong positive predictor of purchase intention, but it was not significantly influenced by whether a review was framed emotionally or rationally.

This thesis challenges the assumption that emotional content is inherently more persuasive in social commerce environments. The findings suggest that effective review-based persuasion depends on a balance between emotional resonance, informational clarity, and perceived credibility. This research contributes to social commerce literature by clarifying the mechanisms through which message framing influences purchase intention and offers practical insight for marketers seeking to design credible and persuasive peer-generated content.