1,649 research outputs found

    In eWOM We Trust - A Framework of Factors that Determine the eWOM Credibility

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    Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is an important factor in marketing communication. As more people use eWOM to assist them in making purchase decisions, the process by which they evaluate the credibility of these online recommendations becomes increasingly relevant. Although previous studies have recognized that credibility is one of the most important antecedents of eWOM adoption, little is known about the drivers of this credibility. Thus, this paper examines factors that influence the perceived credibility of consumer online recommendations. Drawing on dual process theory and source models, hypotheses were derived and tested with structural equation modeling on a basis of 643 consumers. Generally, the paper provides evidence that expertise, trustworthiness, and aggregate rating are the most significant factors of the perceived eWOM credibility. The study also demonstrates that involvement could moderate these relationships

    The influence of culture on the use of anonymous electronic word-of-mouth : Examining online consumers' credibility perceptions

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    Across the world, the importance of e-commerce is constantly growing. Online shopping has become a part of consumers’ daily life, as buying from the virtual marketplace is considered vastly convenient. Consumers are now able to read the opinions of other consumers, as well as write their own experiences on various websites. Today this information exchange, called electronic word-of-mouth, is one of the most important factors affecting consumers’ purchase decisions. However, as Internet allows eWOM to spread anonymously, it raises concerns in terms of credibility. As national culture has been shown to impact on individuals’ tendency to trust and be influenced by others, it is essential to take these cultural differences into consideration when studying anonymous eWOM. The objective of this thesis was to find out how national culture might influence online consumers’ perceptions and usage of anonymous eWOM. More closely, the study aimed to analyze differences in consumers’ credibility perceptions, to understand which type of eWOM they prefer to utilize when shopping online. The selected research approach was qualitative, and the data was collected by theme interviews. In addition, stimulus techniques were used through different assignments, by showing the interviewees real eWOM-messages. All the interviewees were university students, representing various nationalities. Based on their cultural background, they were divided into different groups with the help of national culture dimensions. The findings of the research recognized that all consumers, regardless of their national culture, do utilize anonymous eWOM. The use of name may increase the effectiveness of the message, but whether the message is perceived as credible, is determined by the content. Individualistic consumers mainly evaluate messages based on the argument strength and language, while collectivistic consumers aim to find cues of the source’s credibility. Additionally, collectivistic consumers seem to perceive completely positive, anonymous messages as the most unreliable type of eWOM. Nevertheless, all consumers prefer to read eWOM on shopping websites or independent review sites. Chinese and Taiwanese consumers even consider eWOM in social media as unreliable and utilize mobile review apps instead. These findings indicate that the social relationship with the source, or the use of identity cues, may not be as important in terms of credibility as was expected. All in all, national culture seems to explain differences in consumers’ eWOM use and perceptions only limitedly.Verkkokaupan merkitys kasvaa jatkuvasti. Nettishoppailusta onkin tullut osa kuluttajien arkea kaikkialla maailmassa, erityisesti sen helppokäyttöisyyden ansiosta. Kuluttajat voivat lukea toisten kuluttajien mielipiteitä sekä kirjoittaa omia kokemuksiaan useille eri sivustoille. Tätä ilmiötä kutsutaan termillä eWOM, joka tarkoittaa sähköistä suusanallista viestintää. Siitä on tullut yksi tärkeimmistä kuluttajien ostopäätöksiin vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Viestintä Internetissä on kuitenkin usein nimetöntä, mikä saattaa vähentää tiedon uskottavuutta. Kulttuuritausta vaikuttaa siihen, miten yksilöt luottavat viestintään ja kuinka alttiita he ovat toisten vaikutukselle. Tutkittaessa nimetöntä sähköistä suusanallista viestintää onkin olennaista ottaa kulttuurierot huomioon. Tämän tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää kansallisen kulttuurin vaikutusta kuluttajien nimettömän suusanallisen viestinnän käyttöön ja kokemukseen verkossa. Erityisen mielenkiinnonkohteena olivat erot kuluttajien kokemuksista viestinnän uskottavuudessa – nämä selvittämällä olisi mahdollista ymmärtää paremmin, millaista viestintää he mieluiten hyödyntävät ostopäätöstensä tukena. Tutkielma oli luonteeltaan laadullinen ja aineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluin. Haastatteluiden apuna käytettiin myös stimulointitekniikoita erilaisten tehtävien kautta, esittämällä haastateltaville todellisia eWOM-viestejä. Kaikki haastateltavat olivat yliopisto-opiskelijoita ja he edustivat useita eri kansallisuuksia. Heidät jaettiin kulttuuritaustan mukaan eri ryhmiin kulttuuridimensioiden avulla. Kaikki tutkimukseen osallistuneet kuluttajat hyödynsivät nimetöntä sähköistä suusanallista viestintää asioidessaan verkossa. Tulosten perusteella nimen käyttö saattaa silti lisätä viestin vaikuttavuutta. Se kuinka uskottavaksi viesti koetaan, määräytyy kuitenkin täysin sisällön perusteella. Individualistiset kuluttajat arvioivat pääasiassa argumenttien vahvuutta ja kirjoitustyyliä, kun taas kollektivistiset kuluttajat pyrkivät löytämään vihjeitä kirjoittajan uskottavuudesta. Tulosten perusteella kollektivistiset kuluttajat lisäksi kokevat täysin positiiviset, anonyymit viestit kaikkein epäluotettavammaksi eWOMin muodoksi. Eroista huolimatta kaikki kuluttajat lukevat eWOMia mieluiten shoppailusivustoilla tai itsenäisillä arviointisivustoilla. Kuluttajat Kiinasta ja Taiwanista jopa kokevat sosiaalisessa mediassa ilmenevän eWOMin olevan epäuskottavaa ja hyödyntävät useimmiten mobiiliarviointisovelluksia. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että eWOMin kirjoittajan ja lukijan välinen suhde, tai identiteettivihjeet, eivät ole yhtä tärkeitä elementtejä uskottavuuden kannalta kuin olisi voitu olettaa. Yleisesti voidaan todeta, että kulttuurierot selittävät vain osittain sähköisen suusanallisen viestinnän käyttöä ja kokemusta

    How do People Evaluate Electronic Word-Of-Mouth? Informational and Normative Based Determinants of Perceived Credibility of Online Consumer Recommendations in China

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    This study empirically examined the informational and normative based determinants of perceived credibility of online consumer recommendations in China. Past literature demonstrated that informational influence is important in affecting reader’s evaluation of incoming information and the effectiveness of a communication. This study extends from the previous Word-of-Mouth studies by including the normative factors. Since online consumer discussion is characterized by its social aggregation, we argue that several normative cues could be salient and play significant roles in shaping a reader’s credibility evaluation towards the eWOM recommendation. The informational determinants (argument strength, source credibility and confirmation with receiver’s prior belief) and the normative determinants (recommendation consistency and rating) are investigated via an online survey to users of a famous online consumer discussion site in China (myetone.com). Results supported our proposed research model which substantiates the effects of perceived eWOM review credibility from both informational-based and normative-based determinants. This research provides researcher and practitioners with insights on receiver’s eWOM evaluation

    Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

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    Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

    The application of social media for marketing strategies in pharma healthcare

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    Digital is transforming the way the world does business, and healthcare is no exception. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on internet use and accelerated the digital transition worldwide as well as in Portugal. Social media is the fastest communication network among worldwide people. During the outbreak, the usage of social media platforms increased two times more compared with normal days. With increasing health literacy and access to technology, consumers are becoming more informed and proactive towards health issues and selfmedication, 67% of them are researching health problems and symptoms tracking and 81% conduct online research before making a purchase. This change has expanded communication from offline to the internet. Electronic word-of-mouth communication (eWOM), based on social media, brought more variables to marketing communication and became an interesting field for research considering its communication potential. Indeed, several studies have shown the ability to influence interpersonal communications on products or services in the purchase intention of consumers. As so, in recent years, some authors discussed the impact of eWOM on consumer online purchasing decisions; however, the literature is still relatively nascent regarding the Pharmaceutical Industry and the self-medication segment market of Over-the-Counter medicines (OTC). Pharmaceutical companies must be aware of this paradigm change: the patient is an indispensable and active stakeholder in the present and future of healthcare, besides the physician and the payer. Pharma marketing may be moving into a more digitalized space, but there is still room for improvement, especially when it comes to social media there is an unexploited territory for pharma marketers as most pharmaceutical companies are not yet to answer these consumers habits with an effective digital presence. The current research aims to study the application of Social Media platforms for marketing or communication purposes in pharma healthcare in Portugal.digital está a transformar a forma como os negócios se fazem no mundo, e a saúde não é exceção. A pandemia de COVID-19 teve um impacto significativo na utilização da Internet e acelerou a transição digital a nível mundial, incluindo Portugal. Com o aumento da literacia em saúde e o acesso à tecnologia, os consumidores estão a tornar-se mais informados e proativos em relação aos seus cuidados com a saúde e à automedicação, 67% destes pesquisam problemas de saúde e sintomas e 81% realizam pesquisas online antes de fazer uma compra. Esta mudança de comportamento expandiu a comunicação do offline para a Internet. A comunicação electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), baseada nos media sociais, envolve mais variáveis para a comunicação de marketing; nos últimos anos, alguns autores discutiram o impacto do eWOM nas decisões de compra do consumidor online; entretanto, a literatura ainda é relativamente incipiente no que diz respeito à Indústria Farmacêutica e ao segmento de automedicação do mercado de medicamentos de venda livre (OTC). As empresas farmacêuticas devem estar atentas a esta mudança de paradigma: o paciente é uma parte indispensável e ativa no presente e no futuro da área da saúde, além do médico e do pagador. O marketing farmacêutico está a evoluir para a digitalização, mas ainda há espaço para melhorias, especialmente no âmbito das redes sociais que ainda são um território pouco explorado pelos profissionais de marketing farmacêutico. A maioria das empresas farmacêuticas ainda não se adaptou a estes hábitos de consumo com uma presença digital eficaz. A presente investigação pretende identificar a aplicação de plataformas de redes sociais para efeitos de marketing ou comunicação na área da indústria farmacêutica em Portugal

    EWOM CREDIBILITY, TRUST, PERCEIVED RISK, AND PURCHASE INTENTION IN THE CONTEXT OF E-COMMERCE: MODERATING ROLE OF ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

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    This study aimed to investigate the impact of eWOM credibility on trust and perceived risk and its effect on purchase intention with the online shopping experience as a moderator. The empirical data were collected from 247 e-commerce consumers in Indonesia through the distribution of online questionnaires. The PLS-SEM technique was applied to perform hypothesis testing. The results of this study showed that eWOM credibility has a positive and significant effect on consumer trust toward e-retailers and purchase intentions, but not on perceived risk. In addition, the results showed that consumer trust toward e-retailers has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention. Meanwhile, perceived risk has a negative and significant effect on purchase intention. Moreover, while online shopping experience positively moderated the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intention, online shopping experience did not moderate the relationship between consumer trust toward e-retailers and purchase intention. The findings of this study make a significant contribution both to business actors in e-commerce and to policymakers.JEL: M31

    WOM Or eWOM, Is There A Difference?: An Extension of the Social Communication Theory to Consumer Purchase Related Attitudes

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    While traditional word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) have both been shown to highly impact consumer behavior, there is a deficit in our knowledge of how they compare to one another. My dissertation research addresses the lack of empirical studies that compare WOM promotion in the form of face-to-face interaction to eWOM promotion in the form of computer-mediated communication, especially using Web 2.0 technologies. This research tests the assumption that WOM is superior to eWOM and, if so, how to extend eWOM to improve its performance against WOM. Essay One introduces a proposed conceptual framework to differentiate WOM and eWOM based on Social Communication Theory. The overall conceptual model was derived from a qualitative research study that was used to explore and define the concepts, media types, and application of WOM and eWOM using a diverse panel of consumers. Essay Two describes an experiment that was conducted to empirically test whether WOM impacts important marketing outcomes differently than eWOM using an ecologically valid research procedure. Essay Two further explores mediation using social communication elements as the underlying explanatory mechanism for the relative impact of WOM and eWOM on consumers’ attitude toward a message, attitude toward a product, and purchase intention. The results revealed that WOM has a significantly higher impact than eWOM on consumer purchase-related attitudes. The posited social communication framework did mediate or explain the relative difference between WOM and eWOM on the outcomes variables. Essay Three investigates the robustness of the findings through a set of replication studies that test the effects across small and large sample sizes and across different methods of analysis. The results indicated that WOM showed a significant and consistently higher impact than eWOM across both replication studies. The third essay also examines factors that were influential in closing the relative gap between WOM and eWOM by introducing a third concept based on the Hyperpersonal Model of Communication Theory. This research is important as it seeks to understand how consumers communicate in this digital age and why there is an evolution of the sharing of product information that leads to key managerial, theoretical, and methodological implications

    Word of Mouth, the Importance of Reviews and Ratings in Tourism Marketing

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    The Internet and social media have given place to what is commonly known as the democratization of content and this phenomenon is changing the way that consumers and companies interact. Business strategies are shifting from influencing consumers directly and induce sales to mediating the influence that Internet users have on each other. A consumer review is “a mixture of fact and opinion, impression and sentiment, found and unfound tidbits, experiences, and even rumor” (Blackshaw & Nazarro, 2006). Consumers' comments are seen as honest and transparent, but it is their subjective perception what shapes the behavior of other potential consumers. With the emergence of the Internet, tourists search for information and reviews of destinations, hotels or services. Several studies have highlighted the great influence of online reputation through reviews and ratings and how it affects purchasing decisions by others (Schuckert, Liu, & Law, 2015). These reviews are seen as unbiased and trustworthy, and considered to reduce uncertainty and perceived risks (Gretzel & Yoo, 2008; Park & Nicolau, 2015). Before choosing a destination, tourists are likely to spend a significant amount of time searching for information including reviews of other tourists posted on the Internet. The average traveler browses 38 websites prior to purchasing vacation packages (Schaal, 2013), which may include tourism forums, online reviews in booking sites and other generic social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

    Persuasiveness of eWOM communications: Literature review and suggestions for future research

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    YesElectronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) plays an important part in consumer purchase decision. The way consumers perceive the persuasiveness of eWOM message can affect their attitude, and purchase intention, and hence sales. Thus, the topic of persuasiveness of eWOM communications has received much attention from scholars. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief review of the existing literature related to the effectiveness of eWOM communications and offer an overview of the determinants of eWOM persuasiveness. This paper contributes to the existing eWOM literature by reviewing the existing studies on eWOM communications, identifying gaps in the current research and providing directions for future research

    The Influence of Consumers Tie Strength, Homophily and Source Credibility Toward Electronic Word-of-mouth (Ewom) Behavior

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    Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the form of online product reviews can influence the sales of a product and/or service, and that informationalbased determinants are very important to consumers when evaluating reviews. The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of consumers tie strength, homophily, and source credibility toward electronic word-of-mouth behavior (eWOM). This research used quantitative analyze. The method used to analyze the data is the Multiple Regression Analysis. The population observed is the consumer who ever buy outfit product through online services and give publication via electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) located in Manado, North Sulawesi with sample size as many as 100 respondents. The result from this research is tie strength and source credibility influences the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior both simultaneously and partially. While homophily has no significant influence to the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior partially. This research suggests that tie strength is the dominant influence variable toward electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior. It means that the consumers of outfit product in Manado considered closeness is the important factor that influenced consumer to exchange information online. Keywords: tie-strength, homophily, source credibilit
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