642 research outputs found

    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

    Self-presentation, privacy and electronic word-of-mouth in social media

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    Purpose: Focusing on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of social media communications, the study explores the nature of eWOM and the key drivers of this consumer-generated brand communication. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs inductive qualitative design, and the data has been collected via 22 semi-structured interviews with individuals who follow brands on Facebook. Findings: Building on interview data, the paper advances a conception of eWOM in the social media context and highlights that eWOM consists of a broad range of brand-related communications, which include such activities as consuming, commenting, posting, and forwarding information. The study also uncovers two major antecedents of eWOM, which are one’s concern for self-presentation and privacy. Research limitations/implications: Further research could examine additional drivers of brand-related eWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages, and investigate eWOM in other social media platforms. Practical implications: The findings have two important implications for brand management. Firstly, considering the importance of self-presentation, brands are advised to develop an in-depth understanding of the types of self-image pursued by their target audience. Secondly, given the concerns about privacy on social media, brands may carefully consider and manage the levels of privacy that should apply when communicating with their followers. Originality/value: The novel insights centre on the individual differences in eWOM activity, and the importance of one’s perceptions of self-image and privacy in explaining these differences. It seems that the propensity to engage in eWOM and the form that this communication takes are the reflections of one’s self-presentation and privacy preferences

    UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER TRUST IN SOCIAL COMMERCE WEBSITES

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    The social commerce represents a new form of electronic commerce mediated by social networking sites. It provides companies with competitive tools for online promotion, and it also assists consumers to make better-informed purchasing decisions based on the sharing of experiences from other consumers. Trust is important in social commerce environment as it serves as a foundation for consumers to evaluate product information from companies as well as from other consumers. However, extant literature still lacks clear understanding of the nature of trust in social commerce. This study sets out to understand trust development in social commerce websites. Specifically, based on trust transference theory, we develop a research model to examine how consumer trust in social commerce impacts their trust in the company and their electronic word of mouth intention. In addition, we also examine how customers’ prior transaction experience with a company could impact their social commerce trust development and serve as a mediator in the trust transfer process. The research model is empirically examined using a survey method consisting of 375 users of a social commerce website. This study contributes to the conceptual and empirical understanding of trust in social commerce. The academic and practical implications of this study are also discussed

    Conceptualizing the Electronic Word-of-Mouth Process: What We Know and Need to Know About eWOM Creation, Exposure, and Evaluation

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    Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a prevalent consumer practice that has undeniable effects on the company bottom line, yet it remains an over-labeled and under-theorized concept. Thus, marketers could benefit from a practical, science-based roadmap to maximize its business value. Building on the consumer motivation–opportunity–ability framework, this study conceptualizes three distinct stages in the eWOM process: eWOM creation, eWOM exposure, and eWOM evaluation. For each stage, we adopt a dual lens—from the perspective of the consumer (who sends and receives eWOM) and that of the marketer (who amplifies and manages eWOM for business results)—to synthesize key research insights and propose a research agenda based on a multidisciplinary systematic review of 1050 academic publications on eWOM published between 1996 and 2019. We conclude with a discussion of the future of eWOM research and practice

    Electronic word of mouth in social media: The common characteristics of retweeted and favourited marketer-generated content posted on Twitter

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    Marketers desire to utilise electronic word of mouth (eWOM) marketing on social media sites. However, not all online content generated by marketers has the same effect on consumers; some of them are effective while others are not. This paper aims to examine different characteristics of marketer-generated content (MGC) that of which one lead users to eWOM. Twitter was chosen as one of the leading social media sites and a content analysis approach was employed to identify the common characteristics of retweeted and favourited tweets. 2,780 tweets from six companies (Booking, Hostelworld, Hotels, Lastminute, Laterooms and Priceline) operating in the tourism sector are analysed. Results indicate that the posts which contain pictures, hyperlinks, product or service information, direct answers to customers and brand centrality are more likely to be retweeted and favourited by users. The findings present the main eWOM drivers for MGC in social media.Abdulaziz Elwalda and Mohammed Alsagga

    Who are Fans of Facebook Fan Pages? An Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication Perspective

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    Given its great business value and popularity, Facebook fan pages have attracted more and more attention in both industry and academia. Fans of Facebook fan pages play an important role in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. This study focused on the population of fans on Facebook fan pages and examined the differences between fans and non-fans in terms of demographics, social network sites (SNS) use, Internet use, and online shopping behaviors. The results indicated that fans used SNS more frequently than non-fans. Additionally, from the eWOM perspective, the researchers moderated product types in the model of people’s word-of-mouth (WOM) preferences and found that people had different preferences for eWOM and traditional WOM for different products. Traditional WOM is still the most important source of information for people when shopping online

    The impact of electronic word-of-mouth in social networking sites on a high-involvement purchase : an empirical study of South African brides' intention to purchase the "once-in-a-lifetime" wedding dress

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    South Africa is home to a bourgeoning wedding industry valued at $3.25 billion. Much of the profit generated in this industry is from the sales of wedding dresses, with 57.1% of South African brides having purchased a new wedding dress from a bridal boutique in 2013. Previous research has looked at the effect of social media, in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), on purchase intention. However, few studies have analysed this effect for high-risk, "once-in-a-lifetime" products such as wedding dresses. In South Africa alone, social media users increased by 20% in 2014, with 29% of the population using social media applications. However, it is uncertain whether this widespread adoption of social media influences the purchase of high-risk, "once-in-alifetime" products like wedding dresses. The "eWOM in SNS's model" is applied to this context, where the influence of eWOM, trust and value co-creation, on the purchase intention of a wedding dress, is compared using an experimental design. One hundred and fifty-two (n=152) engaged South African females, between the age of 18 and 29 years, partook in an experiment. The experiment involved a control group and an experimental group, who viewed eWOM on the Facebook fan page of a wedding dress vendor. The study showed that while the "eWOM in SNS's model" was both valid and reliable in this context, the influence of eWOM on purchase intention was much diminished and fully mediated through value co-creation. The managerial implications of this study's findings, aimed at wedding dress vendors with Facebook fan pages, were all geared towards stimulating value co-creation, given its effect on the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention. The implications involved maximising visual content, appropriately responding to negative comments, publishing posts at suitable times and frequencies, observing the available Facebook reports and posting customer testimonials

    Do firms still need to be social? Firm Generated Content in social media

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    The aim of this paper is to investigate how firm-generated content (FGC) impacts consumer brand awareness, brand loyalty, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and how this, in turn, influences consumer purchase intention. In order to test this conceptual framework, statistical analysis was carried out employing structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that FGC has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand loyalty, eWOM and purchase intention. Furthermore, the results reveal that a link exists between consumer eWOM behaviour and brand awareness and loyalty. This study also demonstrates that company communication through Facebook and Instagram has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Finally, it has been shown that, regarding eWOM and purchase intention, firm-generated content posted on Instagram has a greater impact on its users than that posted on Facebook. Consumer purchase intention is increasingly impacted by the growing use of social media (SM) by companies and marketers. This changing environment has opened up new challenges. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding the full effects of firm-generated content communication, and how this influences consumer brand perception and purchase intention

    The Role of Opinion Leadership Characteristics and Brand Commitment as Drivers of Brand-Related Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) in Social Networking Sites (SNS)

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    Previous studies on the antecedents of Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) have either focused on the opinion leadership characteristics of individuals, or on brand commitment. It is the aim of this study to combine these two separate streams of research by evaluating the impact of opinion leadership characteristics and brand commitment as possible drivers of EWOM on Social Networking Sites (SNS). It is found that brand commitment is indeed a strong driver of brand related EWOM. Brand commitment mediates the motivation to engage in EWOM by those who already exhibit opinion leadership characteristics. In addition, the findings show that those who have opinion leadership characteristics and those who do not have opinion leadership differ in the type of EWOM they engage in. This can be defined as Active EWOM (content creation) and Passive EWOM (forwarding information). Marketers can use this information to design strategies that appeal to the needs of those with opinion leadership characteristics by creating novel experiences, or to enhance commitment by rewarding users who share positive information about the brand

    The effect of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands

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    Researchers and brand managers have limited understanding of the effects social media communication has on how consumers perceive brands. We investigated 504 Facebook users in order to observe the impact of firm-created and user-generated social media communication on brand equity, brand attitude and purchase intention by using a standardized online survey throughout Poland. To test the conceptual model, we analyzed 60 brands across three different industries: non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and mobile network operators. When analyzing the data, we applied the structural equation modeling technique to both investigate the interplay of firm-created and user-generated social media communication and examine industry-specific differences. The results of the empirical studies showed that user-generated social media communication had a positive influence on both brand equity and brand attitude, whereas firm-created social media communication affected only brand attitude. Both brand equity and brand attitude were shown to have a positive influence on purchase intention. In addition, we assessed measurement invariance using a multi-group structural modeling equation. The findings revealed that the proposed measurement model was invariant across the researched industries. However, structural path differences were detected across the models
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