Social Commerce and the Compliance Mechanism in the Food and Beverage Industry: Integrating TRA and TAM

Abstract

This study examines how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) shapes consumer behavior in Vietnam’s urban Food and Beverage (F&B) sector through two complementary psychological mechanisms. Drawing on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study moves beyond single-path adoption perspectives by distinguishing between an internalization mechanism driven by attitude towards the SNS and a compliance mechanism driven by normative influence. Data collected from 287 social media users in Ho Chi Minh City revealed two parallel behavioral routes. First, source credibility and platform tie strength contribute to the formation of positive attitudes toward social networking platforms, which in turn encourage engagement with and dissemination of food and beverage-related information. Second, normative influence exerts a direct effect on behavioral intention, indicating that users may engage with eWOM not only because of personal evaluation but also because of perceived social expectations and the desire to align with ongoing trends. These findings highlight the importance of social conformity in shaping digital consumption behavior in collectivist urban settings. In algorithm-driven social media environments, compliance with peer norms can operate alongside attitudinal processes and, in some cases, become an immediate driver of actions. This study contributes to the eWOM literature by clarifying the coexistence of internalization and compliance mechanisms and providing empirical evidence from an emerging market context where social commerce is rapidly evolving