Consumer behavior in the online context

The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context.

To conduct the review, the authors draw on a sample of 942 articles published from 1993 to 2012 addressing consumer behavior or social network issues in the online or social media context. The sample is analyzed by both era (incubation, expansion and explosion) and primary topic.

Eight categories of online consumer behavior research are described. In the order from largest to smallest, these are: cognitive issues, user-generated content, Internet demographics and segmentation, online usage, cross cultural, online communities and networks, strategic use and outcomes and consumer Internet search.

The literature has been summarized in each category and research opportunities have been offered for consumer behavior and social network scholars interested in exploring the online context.