From Cognition to Emotion and Guanxi: Explaining Virtual Product Purchase Intention Among Chinese Gen Z Consumers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/asi.2027.35Keywords:
Virtual products, Digital product acceptance, Brand attachment, Swift Guanxi, Purchase intentionAbstract
The rapid growth of virtual economies has changed how Generation Z interacts with digital products, fulfilling symbolic, emotional, and social roles. Existing research is fragmented and does not provide a comprehensive explanation of how cognitive acceptance beliefs affect purchase intention through emotional and relational pathways, particularly within culturally embedded digital environments. This study creates and tests a framework explaining Chinese Gen Z consumers' virtual product purchase intention, integrating Digital Product Acceptance Factors (DPAFs), attitude toward virtual products, brand attachment, perceived trust, and Swift Guanxi. Using survey data from 524 Chinese Gen Z consumers and a two-stage PLS-SEM approach, DPAFs are modeled as a second-order construct comprising perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, emotional value, and social influence. The impact of DPAFs on purchase intention is mediated by attitude, brand attachment, and perceived trust. Serial mediation applies to the basic model and is moderated by Swift Guanxi. High levels of Swift Guanxi directly influence acceptance beliefs and attitudes, thereby eliminating the mediating effect of trust on purchase intention. The results expand technology acceptance and virtual consumption studies by showing that purchase intention in virtual markets is a context-specific psychological event rooted in emotional bonds and cultural immediacy with other users.
Highlights
• This study examines the social mechanisms underlying virtual product consumption in digital environments.
• The research proposes a serial mediation model linking brand attachment, trust, and swift guanxi to purchase intention.
• The findings reveal how relational factors shape consumer behavior in emerging digital markets.
• The study contributes to understanding digital consumption as a growing social phenomenon in Asia.
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