An Analysis Of Online Consumers’ Psychology Reactance To Proactive Recommendation Promotions:the Influences Of Reference Groups And Time Pressure

Proactive recommendation promotions in e-commerce may interfere with the consumers’ shopping process. According to the reactance theory, inappropriate proactive recommendation promotions may threaten the perceived freedom of consumers, and cause the psychological reactance, which affect the consumers’acceptance to recommendations and even the satisfaction to the whole website. In combination with the theory of forced exposure and manipulative intent, we performed an experimental study to analyze the psychological reactance to proactive recommendation promotions as well as the influences of reference groups and time pressure. The result of our empirical research reveals that reference groups and time pressure may influence the forced exposure and manipulative intent, and further the acceptance of recommendations. Our findings have implications to the online shops about how to plan proactive recommendation services in an appropriate way, to reduce the customers’reactance and eventually to achieve a win-win result of improving both shopping experience and business performance.