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

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

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

Realizing Your Wishes: Alleviating Online Shopping Hesitation via Peer Consumer Review in Social Shopping Context

A large proportion of online consumers tend to abandon their virtual shopping carts instead of finalizing their purchases. In this research in progress paper, we investigate how online shopping hesitation can be alleviated to promote product sales in the context of social shopping. Particularly, we attempt to address the research gap by exploring how online review characteristics (i.e., review credibility, review volume, and review timeliness) mitigate online shopping hesitation and encourage consumers to purchase from their wish-lists. We also explore the potential moderating role of consumer engagement and consumer expertise. In order to validate our research model, we obtained panel data from an online social shopping community and conducted some preliminary analyses. We believe that the results of this study will provide notable insights for both academic researchers and practitioners

Does Product Type Affect Electronic Word-of-Mouth Richness Effectiveness? Influences of Message Valence and Consumer Knowledge

Drawing on the information richness theory, this study attempts to address how valence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), product type and consumer knowledge will yield different levels of eWOM richness. The results based on an experimental study suggest that negative eWOM has a stronger effect in producing eWOM information richness than does positive eWOM, and such effect is more pronounced for a leisure farm tour (experience goods) than for digital camera (search goods). The tendency that negative eWOM will provide richer information for the leisure farm tour is more evident for high-knowledge consumers than for low-knowledge consumers. The study’s results caution against the aggravated harm of negative eWOM incurred from the dissatisfactory experience of a leisure farm tour

The Effectiveness of Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication: A Literature Analysis

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication has been one of the most exciting research areas of inquiry. There is an emerging attention on the effectiveness of eWOM communication. The scope of published studies on the impact of eWOM communication is rather broad and the studies appear relatively fragmented and inconclusive. In this study, we focused on the individual-level eWOM research. We conducted a systematic review of eWOM research and identified key factors that are specific to the context of eWOM communication. We believe that this literature analysis not only provides us with an overview of the current status of knowledge within the domain of eWOM communication, but also serves as a salient guideline for future research directions

What Women and Men Want in Online Product Reviews: Gender Effects on Review Helpfulness Perceptions

While academic researchers have studied online product reviews extensively, gender differences have received little attention in the context of online product reviews. This paper identifies important message features in online product reviews and examines which message features female and male consumers value more in evaluating the helpfulness of online product reviews. We collected data from real-world product reviews on Amazon.com and analyzed the data to test the proposed hypotheses. Based on the data analysis results, we find that, in determining helpfulness of online product reviews, female consumers consider more heavily average paragraph length, negative viewpoints, and inclusion of pictures. However, male consumers value positive viewpoints and usage of point format more in evaluating online product reviews. Based on the findings, important contributions to the literature are discussed