Intention to purchase on social commerce websites across cultures: A cross-regional study

• Trust in one's close social network community is transferable to trust in other firms in the community.
• Extend the trust transference theory by incorporating the moderating role of culture.
• Culture plays a moderating role in predicting purchase intentions in the social commerce context.
• Trust in a social network community mediates the relationship between social interactions and intention to purchase.
• The mediating role of trust in a social network community is conditional on culture.

This study investigates the moderating effect of culture and the mediating effect of trust in a social network community on the relationship between social interactions and purchase intention. Trust transference theory, social interactions, and Hofstede's cultural dimensions are considered. The findings from the research support the moderating effect of culture and the mediating role of trust in a social network community on the relationship between social interactions (in terms of closeness and familiarity) and intention to purchase in social commerce environments. In addition, the mediating effect of trust in a social network community is conditional on culture. The findings also suggest that trust in a social network community may be attributed to the closeness and familiarity developed among its members resulting from social interactions. The results presented herein are in line with the trust transference theory. The empirical study results also suggest that social commerce market penetration in East Asia may have relatively fewer barriers to overcome and be more likely to succeed than in the Latin America region.