Visual sources and information usefulness in the second-hand market: User-generated, firm-generated, and mixed photos across price conditions.

Authors

Xin Cao, Aqilah Yaacob, Kim Mee Chong

Published in

PloS one. Volume 21. Issue 8. Pages e0356763. Epub Aug 21, 2026.

Abstract

This study examines how photo source configurations are associated with perceived information usefulness in second-hand e-commerce and whether these relationships vary across displayed-price conditions. Drawing on the Information Adoption Model (IAM) and Signaling Theory, the study conceptualizes product photos as both visual evidence about product condition and seller-related market signals. A 3 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted using simulated iPhone product pages on Xianyu (n = 660). The experiment compared User-Generated Photos (UGPs), Firm-Generated Photos (FGPs), and Mixed Photos across higher and lower displayed-price conditions. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, multi-group analysis, and supplementary interaction tests. The results show that both information quality and source credibility were positively associated with information usefulness. At the overall photo-source level, the information quality-information usefulness relationship was stronger for Mixed Photos and FGPs than for UGPs, whereas the source credibility-information usefulness relationship was strongest for FGPs. Differences across displayed-price conditions were limited and configuration-specific. The information quality relationship was stronger under the higher displayed-price condition, with the clearest difference observed for Mixed Photos, whereas no consistent price-related difference emerged for the source credibility relationship. These findings extend the application of IAM to visual information evaluation in second-hand markets by showing that photo source configurations correspond to distinct evaluative routes and that these relationships can vary across displayed-price contexts.

PMID:
42627792
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Aug 2026.

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