Who do you want to purchase with? The effect of naming strategy on consumer participation in online group purchase

Online group purchases are gaining popularity in online retailing. However, consumers' responses to personally identifiable information such as the initiator's account naming style are still unclear. With three experiments conducted in social-commerce contexts, the research found that a typical (vs. atypical) account name increases consumers' purchase intentions. The effect holds for high-involvement purchases, hedonic products, and a small participant size, while mitigates for low-involvement purchases, utilitarian products, and a large participant size. The research uncovered that trust in the initiator and trust in the product serially mediate the naming style effect. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.