doi: 10.18178/joebm.2026.14.4.960
When Wanting Beats Verifying: FOMO Shifts the Risk Threshold in Peer-to-Peer Ticket Purchases on Chinese Social Media
Yijie Zhao
- Beijing Middle School, Beijing, China
- Manuscript received August 21, 2026
- accepted October 11, 2026
- published October 27, 2026
Abstract
Concerts and other live performances attract many young people from Generation Z in China. When tickets are difficult to obtain through official channels, they turn to social media to find second-hand tickets. However, these transactions often lack platform protection, and buyers face difficulties in verifying sellers’ identities and ticket information. Based on 108 scenario-based questionnaire responses, primarily from Generation Z respondents, this study compares social endorsement and physical evidence cues and further examines the relationships among Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)/scarcity pressure, cognitive trust, and risky transaction intention. No significant differences in cognitive trust or risky transaction intention were found between the two groups. Higher FOMO/scarcity pressure was associated with greater cognitive trust and stronger risky transaction intention, including willingness to pay even after receiving an anti-fraud warning. Cognitive trust accounted for part of this association in the statistical model. The study proposes a “risk threshold shift” explanation: buyers who fear missing an opportunity to purchase tickets may be more willing to accept transaction risks. This study contributes to scholarly understanding of the purchasing psychology and risk judgments of Generation Z consumers in the context of Chinese social media.
Keywords
- informal ticket transactions
- Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
- scarcity pressure
- trust cues
- risk threshold shift
- platform governance
How to Cite
Yijie Zhao, "When Wanting Beats Verifying: FOMO Shifts the Risk Threshold in Peer-to-Peer Ticket Purchases on Chinese Social Media," Journal of Economics, Business and Management, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 296-305, 2026. https://doi.org/10.18178/joebm.2026.14.4.960
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).