Examining the effect of social media on purchasing behavior as an e-commerce tool: A research on Instagram users

This study done to examine the factors affecting the purchase intent and behaviour of users shopping on instagram is discussed under UTAUT2, one of the technology acceptance models. Because the application area of the subject is social media, the model is expanded by including the influence of social media and perceived risk factors to the model. The survey method, one of the quantitative data collection methods, was used in the research. In the analysis of the data obtained from the applied questionnaires, The Partial Least Sguare Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), one of the structural equation model approaches, is used. The analysis of the research is made by using Smart PLS 3.2.8 software program. And also, it is concluded that Behavioral Intention, Facilitating Conditions and Habit factors are affecting the buying behaviours of users shopping on instagram. The factors that affect the purchasing intentions of users shopping on instagram are Effort Expectancy, Habit, Performance Expectancy, Price Value, Social Influence and Influence of Social Media. Another result of the research is that Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivations and Perceived Risk factors have no influence on the intentions of the users shopping on instagram. Keywords: Instagram, UTAUT2, Influence of Social Media, Perceived Risk, The Structual Eauation Model.