How eWOM Information Characteristics on BookTok Influence Book Purchase Intention in Indonesia

Abstract

BookTok has grown into one of the most influential book discovery communities on TikTok, where short-form video reviews shape what Indonesian readers choose to buy. Yet little is known about the cognitive process that connects BookTok content to actual purchase intention. This study applies the Information Acceptance Model (IACM) within a Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework to examine how four information-related factors, namely information quality, quantity, credibility, and needs of information, influence how useful consumers find BookTok content, and how that information usefulness subsequently drives information adoption and purchase intention. Survey data from 368 Indonesian TikTok users were analysed using PLS-SEM. The results show that information quantity, credibility, and needs of information significantly shape information usefulness, while information quality does not. Information usefulness strongly predicts information adoption, which in turn directly influences purchase intention and fully mediates the IU-PI relationship. These findings confirm that BookTok operates as a structured eWOM channel in which consumers first evaluate, then internalise, and finally act on book recommendations, with implications for publishers and content creators in Indonesia.