Abstract

Social Media has become one of the most influential tools today. Advertisements, elections, natural disaster updates, and any issue happening during a particular time period have all become “hot” discussion topics among micro bloggers. These discussions have impacts on the events, policies, and the communities at large. In the social commerce environment, such discussion is bound to have impact on readers’ intention to purchase a product or services online and ultimately the sales figure.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a statistical technique for testing and estimating causal relations using a combination of statistical data and qualitative causal assumptions. Structural equation models (SEM) allow both confirmatory and exploratory modeling, meaning they are suited to both theory testing and theory development. Confirmatory modeling usually starts out with a hypothesis that gets represented in a causal model.

It is essential to understand the dynamics of Social Networking Sites (SNS) information sharing and the subsequent impact on intention to purchase online. With SEM, exploratory modelling will be used in the confirmatory and exploratory of this theory development.