The Effect of Purchase Intention its Antecedents on Fake News by Moderating Brand ‎Trust: A SOBC Approach

Consumers are more willing to use natural personal care products, but fake news has made them wary of purchasing these products. This research used the SOBC approach to investigate the effects of perceived risks and perceived benefits on consumer purchase intention, which is stimulated by openness to change. It also aims to examine the behavior of consumers who intend to purchase by believing and acting on fake news. The research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of data collection. The statistical population of the research is all the customers of personal care products in the city of Isfahan who were selected using the convenience sampling method. To measure the openness to change, Claudy et al. (2015) and Wang et al.’s (2008) questionnaire was used. To measure the perceived benefits and risks, purchase intention, and brand trust, Westaby’s (2005) questionnaire, Shaharudin et al.’s (2010) questionnaire, and Chaudhuri and Holbrook’s (2001) questionnaire were used. An online survey was used with 384 respondents. The reliability of the questionnaires was checked through Cronbach's alpha and CR index. Divergent and convergent methods were used to check their validity. Structural equation modeling and SMART-PLS4 software were used to test the hypotheses. Findings showed that openness to change is related to perceived benefits and risks. Furthermore, the association of perceived benefits and risks with purchase intention, which in turn is related to the tendency to believe and act on fake news, was confirmed. Also, the moderating effect of brand trust on the relationship between purchase intention and acting on fake news was confirmed.