eWOM: the effects of online consumer reviews on purchasing decision of electronic goods

Internet has become the primary source of information for a large number of consumers and it has dramatically changed the consumer behaviour. One of the main changes in modern consumer behaviour has been the transition from a passive to an active and informed consumer. Internet enables customers to share their opinions on, and experiences with, goods and services with a multitude of other consumers. Online consumer reviews are used by prospective buyers of related products who are interested in obtaining more information from people who have purchased and used a product of interest. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is one of the most important information sources when a consumer is making a purchase decision. The arrival and expansion of the Internet has extended consumers' options for gathering product information by including other consumers' comments, posted on the Internet, and has provided consumers opportunities to offer their own consumption-related advice by engaging in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM can be defined as all informal communications directed at consumers through Internet-based technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services, or their sellers. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of, one type of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), the online consumer review, on purchasing decision of electronic products. This empirical study also focuses on the relationship between reviews and purchasing behaviour. An instrument was prepared to measure the proposed constructs, with questionnaire items taken from prior studies but adapted to fit the context of e-commerce. The survey was applied to academicians in Turkey through internet. The data was analyzed using the SPSS package. The results show that consumer reviews have a causal impact on consumer purchasing behaviour and they have an effect on choosing the products by consumer. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed

The influence of electronic word-of-mouth valence towards customers' purchase intentions - role of customer-firm relationships

Objectives With the emergence of the Internet, customers can discuss about products and services on online platforms. This way of communication is called electronic word of mouth (eWOM). EWOM has offered customers many benefits such as large audience, fast transmission, custom-made conversations, visual aids, etc. Significantly, the quality of being positive or negative of eWOM, known as eWOM valence, interprets contradicting opinions and experiences, showing whether particular products or services are favourable or unfavourable. Hence, eWOM valence may influence customers’ purchase intentions. In addition, during eWOM conversations, the strength of customer-firm relationships is among the potential factors in influencing the transmission of positive eWOM and the adoption of negative eWOM. Thus, the following objectives of this thesis are declared: • To analyze the influence of positive and negative eWOM on customers’ purchase intentions. • To compare the degree of influence between positive and negative eWOM on customers’ purchase intentions. • To analyze the impact of strong customer-firm relationships on the transmission of positive eWOM information. • To analyze the impact of strong customer-firm relationships on customers’ resilience of negative eWOM information. Summary The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of eWOM valence towards customers’ purchase intentions. Further, the role of customer-firm relationships is examined on positive eWOM transmission and negative eWOM adoption. Thus, four hypotheses are proposed and tested by analyzing the collected data from 185 responses gathered from online self-administered survey. Finally, the results support all four hypotheses and provide valuable insights for marketers. Conclusions While positive eWOM information is found to motivate people to make purchases, negative eWOM information discourages customers from acquiring products and services. Between the two sides of eWOM valence, negative eWOM has higher impact on customers than does positive eWOM. Based on the strength of customer-firm relationships, if customers feel emotionally connected to firms, they are more likely to generate positive eWOM and tolerate negative eWOM towards products and services related to those firms. However, if the unfavorable information is among social, ethical, or environmental issues, strong customer-firm relationships can’t prevent customers from showing disapproval

Understanding electronic word-of-mouth in tourism in the social media era

In recent decades, social media has fundamentally changed how communication takes place in business. It has contributed to the evolution of the Internet from a broadcasting medium to a participatory and interactive platform which allows users to generate and share information and become part of the media. For instance, social media has enabled the creation and exchange of electronic word-ofmouth (eWOM). We have witnessed the popularity of eWOM in travel and tourism industry. EWOM behaviour among individuals and the impact of eWOM on organizations have become important research focuses in eWOM research. However, the extant research has ignored the important function of social media platforms as both hedonic and social-oriented information systems (IS) for users, and few researchers have tried to explain eWOM use from the social, hedonic, and technology perspectives. eWOM application from the organizational perspective has also attracted the attention of researchers. Most prior studies in this field have focused primarily on the impact of eWOM on business performance and organizations’ eWOM strategy. However, the understanding of how social media platforms can be used to co-create value with customers and how eWOM can help organizations to engage customers is still fragmented. What is more, the understanding of the interplay between an organization’s activity and social media technology remains obscure. The objective of this study is threefold: 1) to explore eWOM use and generation behaviours among individuals by taking eWOM content, as well as the social media platform—that is, the channel of eWOM generation and use—into consideration; 2) to explore the value creation of social media and eWOM in organizations; and 3) to examine how social media and eWOM connect individuals and organizations and uncover the myth of how eWOM benefits both individuals and travel organizations. A combination of quantitative survey research and qualitative case study is used in this study. In particular, quantitative survey research method was used to explore the eWOM use among individual user’s to solve the research questions regarding the determinants of travellers’ eWOM use and generation behaviours. Qualitative case study method was used to solve the questions regarding how can tourism organizations use social media to co-create value with customers and to engage with customers via eWOM communication. This research includes empirical data collected from individual tourists in China and tourism organizations from both China and Finland. This study contributes to the understanding of eWOM in tourism context. Specifically, it contributes to the understanding of customers’ eWOM behavior by taking the social and hedonic functions into consideration, and sheds light on the understanding of eWOM application in organizations. This study also integrates eWOM research from both individual and organization perspectives and helps to explain the eWOM interplay between them. From practical view, the results of this study have important implications for tourism e-service practitioners in their understanding of customers’ decision making process, and the strategy to facilitate customers’ propensity of eWOM generation behavior. It also helps eWOM website designers to make successful eWOM websites. The findings also shed lights on e-service providers on how to co-create value with customers via social media platform and how to engage customer via eWOM communication.Sosiaalinen media on ratkaisevasti muuttanut tapaa jolla liikeviestintää hoidetaan nykyvuosikymmenellä. Se on muuttanut Internetin yksisuuntaisesta julkaisukanavasta yhteisölliseksi ja interaktiiviseksi alustaksi joka mahdollistaa käyttäjien informaation tuottamisen ja jakamisen, heidän tulemisensa osaksi mediaa. Esimerkiksi, sosiaalinen media on mahdollistanut eWOM-ilmiön, jolla tarkoitetaan asiakkaiden ja käyttäjien jostain kohteesta tekemien arvioiden antamista ja jakamista sähköisillä alustoilla. eWOM on osoittautunut erittäin suosituksi matkailun ja turismin alalla viime vuosina. eWOM-yksilökäyttäytyminen sekä se miten eWOM vaikuttaa organisaatioihin ovat tulleet tärkeiksi tutkimuskohteiksi eWOM-tutkimuksessa. Kuitenkin nykyinen tutkimus on jättänyt ottamatta huomioon sen että sosiaalisen median alustat toimivat myös mielihyvää tuottavina ja sosiaalisesti orientoituneina tietojärjestelminä käyttäjille, ja vain vähäinen tutkimus on yrittänyt selvittää eWOMkäyttöä sosiaalisesta, hedonisesta ja teknologisesta näkökulmasta. eWOM tutkimus organisatorisesta näkökulmasta keskittyy pääosin siihen miten eWOM vaikuttaa liiketoimintaan ja organisaation eWOM-strategiaan. Kuitenkin sen ymmärtäminen miten sosiaalisen median alustoja voidaan käyttää arvon yhteiseen tuottamiseen ja kuinka eWOM voi auttaa organisaatioita sitouttamaan asiakkaan on yhä sirpaleista. Lisäksi, organisaation toiminnan ja sosiaalisen median teknologian vuorovaikutuksen ymmärtäminen on yhä häilyvää. Tällä tutkimuksella on kolme tavoitetta: 1) tutkia eWOM-käyttöä ja tiedon tuottamista yksilötasolla ottamalla eWOM-sisältö samoin kuin sosiaalisen median alusta – kanava eWOMin tuottamiseen ja jakamiseen – huomioon; 2) tutkia eWOMin sosiaalisen median arvontuottoa organisaatiossa; 3) tutkia miten sosiaalinen media ja eWOM yhdistävät yksilöitä ja organisaatioita, jotta voitaisiin selvittää myytti siitä miten eWOM hyödyntää sekä yksilöitä että organisaatioita. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin kvantitatiivisen kyselytutkimuksen ja kvalitatiivisen tapaustutkimuksen yhdistelmää. Erityisesti, kvantitatiivista kyselytutkimusta käytettiin tutkimusmenetelmänä tutkittaessa yksilöiden eWOM-käyttöä, jotta voitiin vastata tutkimuskysymykseen koskien matkustajien eWOMgeneroinnin ja –käytön keskeisiä suureita. Laadullista tapaustutkimusta käytettiin tutkimusmenetelmänä selvitettäessä sitä miten organisaatiot käyttävät sosiaalista mediaa tuottaakseen lisäarvoa asiakkaiden kanssa ja miten ne sitouttavat asiakkaat eWOM-viestinnän keinoin. Tämä tutkimus sisältää empiiristä dataa jota on kerätty sekä yksittäisiltä matkustajilta Kiinassa sekä matkailualan yrityksiltä sekä Kiinassa että Suomessa. Tämä tutkimus lisää ymmärrystä eWOM-ilmiöstä matkailussa. Erityisesti se tuottaa tietoa asiakkaiden eWOM-käyttäytymisestä ottamalla eWOMin sosiaaliset ja hedoniset aspektit huomioon, ja tuottaa tietoa eWOMin käytön ymmärtämiseksi organisaatioissa. Tämä tutkimus integroi eWOM-tutkimuksen sekä yksilön että organisaation näkökulmasta ja auttaa ymmärtämään näkökulmien yhteydet. Käytännön näkökulmasta tämän tutkimuksen tuloksilla on tärkeitä viestejä sähköisen palvelutuotannon toteuttajille kun he pyrkivät ymmärtämään asiakkaan päätöksentekoa. Se myös auttaa eWOM-suunnittelijoita tekemään onnistuneita eWOM-verkkopalveluita. Tutkimustulokset myös kertovat verkkopalveluiden tuottajille miten tuottaa lisäarvoa yhdessä asiakkaiden kanssa sosiaalisessa mediassa ja miten sitouttaa asiakkaat eWOM-kommunikaation avulla

Perceived derived attributes of online customer reviews

The influence of online customer reviews (OCRs) on customers' purchase intention has recently gained considerable attention, in both academic and business communities. Technology allows customers to freely and easily post their comments and opinions online about any product or service; this type of customer review can have a significant effect on customers' purchase decisions. Previous studies, however, have mainly focused on the influence of the virtual attributes of OCRs such as volume and valence on consumers' intentions, while limited attention has been paid to understanding the effects of the derived attributes. This study, thus, aims to understand the impact of the perceived derived attributes of OCRs on customer trust and intention. This study develops a – Perceived Derived Attributes (PDA) - model, based on the inclusion of perceived control from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), in order to investigate the effects of OCRs on customers’ purchasing intention. A total of 489 responses to a survey were collected from users of amazon.com. The findings from this study suggest that customer trust in an e-vendor and their intention to shop online are significantly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment of OCRs. Furthermore, the sense of control derived from OCRs significantly affects customer intention and significantly affects customer trust in e-vendors, particularly for customers who frequently check OCRs before making a purchase. Clearly, those attributes of OCRs are linked to the development of the shopping environment, which consequently can affect sales

A Framework for Assessing E-Commerce Customers’ Satisfaction based on Electronic Words of Mouth

Electronic commerce, though highly beneficial, is usually perceived by people to be riskier than its brick and mortal counterpart. The confirmation or disconfirmation of customers’ perceived risk ultimately results in their dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the service. A lot of studies have been carried out on e-commerce customer satisfaction; investigation of this subject based on customers’ electronic words of mouth (eWOM), is however, sparse. There is also a dearth of models or frameworks that can be used for assessing customer satisfaction, based on their eWOM. Building on the foundation of relevant empirical findings and the DeLone and McLean’s IS Model for e-commerce, the present study proposed and developed a framework for assessing e-commerce customers’ satisfaction based on their eWOM.  The study also demonstrated the use of the model with the eWOM of customers of one of the most popular e-commerce sites in Nigeria, Jumia. These customers’ e-commerce service-related communications (eWOM) were retrieved from Twitter. Tweets were analysed based on the proposed framework. It was found that customers of the examined e-commerce site expressed more dissatisfaction than satisfaction through their eWOM. The overall satisfaction index was -0.84 and all indicators, except only one, had negative satisfaction indices. It is recommended that the framework can be further tested and used to assess the performance of more e-commerce sites. It is also recommended that e-commerce service providers should be intentional about examining their customers’ eWOM and improving their services by addressing the loop holes identified from the examination of the eWOM

How old is your soul? Differences in the impact of eWOM on Generation X and millennials

Online reviews have received research attention in recent years, as they work as precursors of consumer behaviors. Previous studies have suggested that the influence of online reviews may vary across generations. However, the previous literature has not analyzed yet whether millennials and Generation X react differently to online reviews. This study aims to shed light on this by analyzing whether the attitudes and behavioral intentions generated by online reviews are different for these two generational cohorts. Design/methodology/approach An experimental procedure was designed to manipulate online review valence; data were collected from 351 respondents in two samples, Generation X and millennial participants. Findings Results suggested that positive online reviews generate more positive customer attitudes and booking intentions than negative online reviews. In addition, Generation X vs millennials moderates the link among online review valence, attitudes and booking intentions. The resultant behaviors from online reviews are more intense among Generation X than for millennials. Practical implications Managers should be aware of online review valence and their customers'' generational cohort, that is, whether they are millennials or Generation X, as they react differently to online reviews. Originality/value This research examines the moderating role of millennials and Generation X in the relationship between online reviews, consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. The aim is to explain how millennial and Generation X consumers react to eWOM, that is, whether generational cohort mitigates or enhances the effects of positive vs negative online reviews on consumer reactions

Quality versus Quantity: An Investigation into Electronic Word of Mouth’s Influence on Consumer Buying Intention

Online consumer reviews play an increasingly crucial role in shaping purchasing intention. With the wide-spread reviews available around the world on sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp, companies’ reputation and hence survival are potentially at risk. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on the individual’s attitudes towards the quantity and quality of online store reviews and consider how it impacts their behavior. We incorporate brand trust as a mediator in the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention. Using a vignette survey experiment centered on coffee shop reviews in Hanoi, Vietnam, we test our hypothesis with 223 respondents. Results showed that the number and quality of review does significantly affect purchase intention. Findings also show that brand trust has a mediating effect on the relationship between online reviews and buying intention. This study assists practitioners to develop user-oriented information review format in order to manage online consumer reviews properly and effectively

The relationship between brand trust, online customer reviews and willingness to purchase

This research investigates how online customer reviews, a particular form of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), affect consumer decision-making (willingness to purchase) during a first time purchase of services or products. Using brand trust as a mediating variable in the relationship between online customers reviews and the consumer’s willingness to buy, data was collected through a quasi-experiment approach and then analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. The findings demonstrated that the reliable dimension of brand trust has a mediating effect on online customer reviews valance to willingness to buy while the intentionality dimension had little effect

Hedonic and utilitarian search for electronic word-of-mouth and implications on purchase value

Online information search is often seen as a highly utilitarian task but consumers' increasingly diverse ways of using the Web have brought forth more hedonic information search patterns. At the same time, the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on consumer purchase decisions is increasing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences between hedonic and utilitarian eWOM search patterns in the light of purchase value. Using survey data from 1660 customers of two travel agencies and structural equation modeling, the study finds that hedonic information search promotes the utilization of eWOM in buying decisions and that eWOM has a greater influence on buying among high-spenders. The findings suggest that hedonic information seekers form an important and valuable customer group and, thus, should be at the focus of online marketing and selling. Companies should encourage customers to search for valuable and experiential eWOM content and create metrics to identify consumers that do so based on their online information search behavior

THE ROLE OF TRUST AND GENDER ON THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND EWOM ON MILLENIALS' LOYALTY TO ONLINE TRAVEL AGENT: A MODERATED MEDIATION ANALYSIS

AbstractPurpose - study aims to analyze the role of trust and gender on the indirect effect of social media and EWOM on millennials' loyalty to OTA.Design/Methodology/Approach - The research method used was a survey with the google form as its research instrument - a total sample of 465 millennials selected through the purposive sampling technique. The collected data were then analyzed using the macro process for SPSS model 14.Findings-results show a direct effect of social media, EWOM, and trust on millennials' loyalty to OTA. Likewise, there is a direct influence of social media and EWOM on trust. Furthermore, the indirect effect of social media and EWOM on millennials' loyalty to OTA was mediated by trust. Finally, gender didn't moderate the indirect influence of social media and EWOM on millennials' loyalty to OTA through trust.Novelty/Value-Previous studies have analyzed the effect of indirect social media and EWOM on customer loyalty and purchase-decision involvement through trust. The current research seeks to deepen the analysis of these studies by including gender as a moderator of the indirect effect of social media and EWOM on customer loyalty through trust, so this research tries to integrate moderation analysis and mediation analysis into one research model.  AbstractTujuan - penelitian bertujuan untuk menganalisis peran kepercayaan dan gender pada pengaruh tidak langsung media sosial dan EWOM terhadap loyalitas milenial terhadap OTA.Desain/Metodologi/Pendekatan - penelitian yang digunakan adalah survei dengan instrumen penelitian google form - total sampel 465 milenial yang dipilih melalui teknik purposive sampling. Data yang terkumpul kemudian dianalisis menggunakan proses makro untuk SPSS model 14.Hasil temuan - menunjukkan pengaruh langsung media sosial, EWOM, dan kepercayaan terhadap loyalitas milenial terhadap OTA. Demikian juga, ada pengaruh langsung media sosial dan EWOM terhadap kepercayaan. Selanjutnya, pengaruh tidak langsung media sosial dan EWOM terhadap loyalitas milenial terhadap OTA dimediasi oleh kepercayaan. Terakhir, gender tidak memoderasi pengaruh tidak langsung media sosial dan EWOM terhadap loyalitas milenial terhadap OTA melalui kepercayaan.Novelty/Value - Penelitian-penelitian terdahulu telah menganalisis pengaruh tidak langsung social media dan EWOM terhadap customer loyalty dan purchase-decision involvement melalui trust. Penelitian saat ini berusaha memperdalam analisis penelitian-penelitian tersebut dengan memasukan variabel gender sebagai moderator pada pengaruh tidak langsung penggunaan social media dan EWOM terhadap customer loyalty melalui trust, sehingga penelitian ini mencoba untuk mengintegrasikan analisis moderasi dan analisis mediasi ke dalam satu model penelitian