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

An Extended Model Of Review Helpfulness: Exploring The Role Of Tie Strength, Perceived Similarity, And Normative Susceptibility

Previous studies on review information evaluation focus on the important roles of two key factors namely argument strength and source credibility but pay less attention to how social influence and social relationship exert impact on this information evaluation behavior. To fill this research gap, based on the similarity – attraction theory and social capital theory, we articulate how source credibility is determined by two social relationship factors: tie strength and perceived similarity. Further, drawing upon the social influence model, we propose that the susceptibility to normative influence intensifies the impact exerted on source credibility by tie strength and perceived similarity. Also, relationships between argument strength and review helpfulness and between source credibility and review helpfulness are both moderated by normative susceptibility. A survey is conducted to test the proposed research model and the results suggest that hypotheses are supported. The results offer important and interesting insights to information systems research and practice

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

Determinants of online review helpfulness that steer consumer purchase decision and their willingness to give review:an extended study in a cross-cultural context

Abstract. The increased use of social media and other online platforms have enabled consumers to communicate and discuss the products and services of brands with others. Consumers’ look for information in online reviews that assist them in informed purchase decisions. Previous literature has identified factors that influence consumers in adopting those online reviews, but whether consumers are willing to provide an online review after the purchase decision is not yet been studied previously. Another gap in the literate that is addressed is to base this study on output obtained from two countries. Therefore, our study is aimed at identifying factors that contribute to a consumer purchase decision and their willingness to give a review in a cross-cultural context. Our study aimed at restaurant reviews in Finland and Pakistan. Adopting and extending the Information Acceptance Model (IACM) proposed by Erkan and Evans (2016), that is developed by integrating Information Adoption Model (IAM) and related aspects of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). This study examines the influence of online review helpfulness factors on consumer purchase decision, consequently influencing them to give a review to others. We also aim to identify if review adoption directly influences consumers in providing online review without purchasing the product or service. The proposed model of our study was validated through Structural Equation Modelling by using Smart Partial Least Squares software. A questionnaire was adopted from earlier studies. The questionnaire was measured on a sample size of 104 from Finland and 141 from Pakistan. This study identified review adoption leading towards consumer purchase decision, whereas, onsumers’ willingness to give is not directly linked with their adoption of information, but it is a post-purchase process. The commonalities between the two countries depict the needs of information behind seeking online review information. If the required information is being provided to the customer through online reviews, it will lead to review adoption. Generally, review positiveness, review perceived informativeness and review quality were identified most important factors in consumers review adoption that leads consumers in choosing a restaurant and try the food there. Whereas, the general attitude of consumers towards online reviews was found to be the most exciting factors identified in Pakistan output. Consumers’ perception of online reviews encourages them to read online reviews, and they think that it is always a risk to try a restaurant without referring to online reviews. Pakistani consumers find online reviews useful, providing relevant information about the restaurants that help them in choosing the best restaurant

A meta-analysis of the factors affecting eWOM providing behaviour

Purpose- Numerous studies have examined factors influencing eWOM providing behaviour. The volume of extant research and inconsistency in some of the findings makes it useful to develop an all-encompassing model synthesising results. Therefore, the aim of this study is to synthesise findings from existing studies on eWOM by employing meta-analysis, which will help to reconcile conflicting findings of factors affecting consumers’ intention to engage in eWOM communications.Design/methodology/approach- The findings from 51 studies were used for meta-analysis, which was undertaken using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software.Findings- Factors affecting eWOM providing behaviour were divided into four groups: personal conditions, social conditions, perceptual conditions, and consumption-based conditions. The results of meta-analysis showed that out of 20 identified relationships, 16 were found to be significant (opinion seeking, information usefulness, trust in web eWOM services, economic incentive, customer satisfaction, loyalty, brand attitude, altruism, affective commitment, normative commitment, opinion leadership, self-enhancement, information influence, tie strength, homophily, and community identity).Originality/value- Applying meta-analysis helped reconciliation of conflicting findings, enabled investigation of the strengths of the relationships between motivations and eWOM providing behaviour, and offered a consolidated view. The results of this study facilitate the advancement of current knowledge of information dissemination on the Internet, which can influence consumer purchase intention and loyalty

Disentangling the effects of efficacy-facilitating informational support on health resilience in online health communities based on phrase-level text analysis

This study examines the different types of supportive messages posted on a forum at online Healthcare communities (OHCs), which facilitate user self-efficacy and response-efficacy and an issue of how such informational messages encourage users to enhance their health resilience via goal-setting for health improvement. We theorize that self-efficacy-oriented messages affect helpfulness, focusing on the efficiency of the implementation, while response-efficacy-oriented messages influence the relationships among helpfulness, goal-settings, and health resilience based on the outcome expectancy. Using a computer assisted approach which allows for the directed content analysis, we test a conceptual model with the text-data collected from an OHC

Impact of the virtual assistant's interactive dimensions in the Portuguese young adults' customer experience expectations and patronage intentions, in the retail context

Throughout the times it has been witnessed a continuous evolution in the way people make business transactions, across sectors. This has been highly influenced by technological developments and the constant need for companies to adjust to their clients’ needs and expectations. The retail sector has been no exception, evolving alongside innovation, and adapting to new trends. One of its results is the emergence of conversational commerce, a new form of commerce that combines the trend of communicating via instant messages and the use of artificial intelligence, introducing virtual assistants to the retail context. The aim of this study is to better understand the potentialities virtual assistants have in the Portuguese retail context, amongst young adults. By identifying which of the dimensions of the interaction with a retailer virtual assistant - "Cognitive Perception, Affective Engagement, and Communication Quality" - have a significant impact on the expectation users create towards their customer experience and how this is determinant to their patronage intentions towards the retailer. A quantitative methodology was used to perform this investigation, with the development of an introductory chatbot and an online survey, completed by 385 individuals (Portuguese young adults, with ages ranging from 18 to 35, and that had access to the Facebook Messenger app). The Customer Experience Expectation was proven to have a significant impact on the respondent' patronage intentions towards the virtual assistant and the retailer. However, only the cognitive dimension of the virtual assistant was confirmed to significantly impact the expectations on the customer experienceAo longo dos tempos, tem-se vindo a testemunhar uma evolução na forma como o comércio é feito nos vários setores de atividade. As empresas têm de se reinventar constantemente para satisfazer as necessidades e expectativas dos consumidores, que resultam dos avanços tecnológicos. O mesmo acontece no setor do Retalho, que tem vindo a inovar, acompanhando a tecnologia e as tendências dos consumidores. Um exemplo disto é o aparecimento da uma nova forma de comércio, o comércio conversacional. Este combina a tendência de comunicação via mensagens instantâneas com o desenvolvimento da inteligência artificial, introduzindo assistentes virtuais neste setor. O principal objetivo deste estudo prende-se com a investigação do impacto que a inclusão de um assistente virtual teria no setor do retalho interagindo com os jovens adultos portugueses. Para tal, procurou identificar-se quais as dimensões da interação com um assistente virtual - cognitiva, afetiva e comunicativa - que influenciariam as expectativas relativas à experiência de compra e consequentemente as intenções de uso e compra dos consumidores. Para a investigação foi utilizada uma metodologia quantitativa, com a criação de um "chatbot" informativo e de um questionário "online", ao qual responderam 385 portugueses com idades desde os 18 até aos 35 anos, com acesso ao Facebook Messenger. Neste estudo foi provado que as expectativas dos consumidores em relação à experiência de compra influenciam as suas intenções de uso (assistente virtual) e compra (retalhista). No entanto, apenas a dimensão cognitiva mostrou ter um impacto significativo na criação de expectativas relativas à experiência de compra