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

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

Electronic word-of-mouth in online brand communities: drivers and outcomes

Current study advances the understanding of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of online brand communities (OBC) embedded in social media. The focal concept of this thesis is OBCeWOM, which represents a behavioural manifestation of OBC engagement – a growing stream of research in the brand community literature. By connecting the two key streams of research on online consumer-to-consumer and consumer-brand interactions, the current thesis addresses the nature, drivers and outcomes of OBCeWOM in the social media setting. The study follows a sequential mixed-methods research design, where the data was first collected via 22 semi-structured interviews, followed by a survey of 652 members of social media-based OBCs. The research was divided into three studies in line with the stated research questions. Consistent with the RQ2 and RQ3, Study 1 utilised semi-structured interviews to identify the key motivations for and outcomes of OBCeWOM in the social media setting which were consequently included in the finalised conceptual framework. Following this, Study 2 relied on interview and survey data to answer the RQ1 by clarifying the dimensionality of and developing a new measurement scale for OBCeWOM. Finally, Study 3 utilised the survey data to confirm the relationships hypothesised in the conceptual model and answer the RQ2 and RQ3. Findings of this thesis confirm the multi-dimensional nature of OBCeWOM, consisting of reading, posting and sharing components and offer a new reliable measurement for eWOM in the OBC context. Results of the study further identify four key motivations of OBCeWOM in the social media setting, including getting assistance from the brand, social interaction, social expression of opinions and expressing positive emotions. Concurrently, self-expression motivation has a negative effect on OBCeWOM. Finally, this thesis confirms the role of OBCeWOM in brand trust, brand loyalty, and oppositional brand loyalty. Current research offers several theoretical, methodological and managerial implications

Impact of eWOM Source Characteristics on The Purchasing Intention.

The use of e-mail communication between consumers has been growing and companies are seeking to increase their understanding of this type of private communication medium between consumers. The privacy and cost-effectiveness characteristics of e-mail make it an important communication medium for consumers. Consumers use e-mail to exchange a variety of information including electronic word of mouth (eWOM) about products, services and organisations. The travel industry, the context of this study, is increasingly being delivered online. Understanding what influences consumers and how consumers evaluate eWOM will increase the travel industry’s knowledge about its consumer base. This study aims to contribute to existing knowledge on the impact of eWOM on consumer purchase intention. Its focus is on an interpersonal context where eWOM is sent from the source to the receiver in an e-mail about holiday destination. The study, which was undertaken from a positivist perspective, used qualitative and quantitative research techniques to better understand the influence of eWOM on purchase intention. The literature on word of mouth (WOM) and eWOM was initially examined to identify the major factors that have an influence on the receiver of eWOM. Consistent with previous studies, both perceived expertise and similarity were identified as source characteristics that have an influence on the receiver’s purchase intention. The literature also indicated that trustworthiness belief would have a key effect on the influence of eWOM on the attitude of the receiver. Consequently, this study examined each trustworthiness dimension – ability, benevolence, and integrity – with respect to its role in the influence of eWOM on purchase intention. The literature review also revealed that certain receiver characteristics were important in the process of influence, especially consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence. The relationships between the variables identified were further developed into the research model, which has its roots in the theory of reasoned-action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) and the dual process theory of influence (Deutsch and Gerard, 1955). Methodologically, a scenario-building approach to developing authentic e-mail was used. The qualitative data gathered from eight focus group discussions were analysed using “framework analysis” (Ritchie and Spencer, 1994) to develop eight scenarios. This was then used to manipulate the moderating variables in the scenario. Three manipulations, each with two levels, were included: eWOM direction “positive and negative”; source characteristic of “expert/non-expert”; and source characteristic of “similar/non-similar”. These scenarios formed part of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of University of Bradford students. The final number of usable questionnaires was 477. Structural equation modelling was used to determine the validity of the conceptual model and test the hypotheses. In particular, multiple group analysis was used to assess both the measurement and structural models, and to identify the impact of the eWOM direction. The theoretical model that describes the relationships between the exogenous variables (source’s and receiver’s characteristics) and the endogenous variables (trustworthiness dimensions, interpersonal influence and purchase intention) was accepted. The research findings provided empirical evidence on the difference in the impact of positive and negative eWOM on purchase intention. The source’s and receiver’s characteristics and related trustworthiness beliefs, (i.e. ability, benevolence, and integrity) are influenced by the direction of eWOM. The findings show that positive and negative eWOM differ with respect to how they impact on consumers’ attitudes and intentions. For instance, consumers have more belief in the credibility of a source who provides negative eWOM. However, the overall influence of the source’s characteristics tends to be stronger with positive than with negative eWOM. The findings of this study provide insights for both academics and practitioners to understand the potential of eWOM. This might be tailored to help develop more private relationships with customers through e-mail marketing strategies that incorporate eWOM. Negative eWOM is more credible but less directly useful to marketers. Nevertheless, it is important for marketers to realise the significance of managing dissatisfaction and to harness the power of negative eWOM. Similarly, positive eWOM is effective especially when the source is both expert and similar. This might be translated into online marketing campaigns that use consumer-to-consumer discussions in addition to viral marketing. Future research might test the model in different contexts, (e.g. financial services), to provide a more comprehensive picture of the influence of eWOM on purchase intention