Examining Biased Assimilation of Brand-related Online Reviews

This paper examines the impact of pre-existing brand attitudes on consumer processing of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This topic is particularly important for brands that simultaneously possess strongly pronounced proponents as well as opponents. Two experimental studies using univalent (study 1, N = 538) and mixed (study 2, N = 262) sets of online reviews find indications for biased assimilation effects of eWOM processing. Consumers perceive positive (negative) arguments in online reviews as more (less) persuasive when having a positive (negative) attitude towards the brand. Perceived persuasiveness in turn influences behavioral intentions and acts as a mediator on the relationship between attitude and behavioral intentions. We examine two moderators of this effect. When priming individuals to focus on other consumers (vs. a self-focus prime), the biased assimilation effect is weaker (study 3a, N = 131). In contrast, we show that biased assimilation becomes stronger under conditions of high (vs. low) cognitive impairment (study 3b, N = 124). Our findings contribute to the literature on the relationship between eWOM and brands and advance our understanding of potential outcomes of brand polarization.     

The characteristics and business impact of children’s electronic word of mouth in marketing communications

Abstract

Leading digital technology companies have shown a strong interest in enabling children to send electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Recasting children from passive to active participants in marketing communications, this shift expands children’s marketing practices from how companies influence children via traditional marketing communications, to how children influence companies’ marketing practices through eWOM. We apply the value-capacity-vulnerability framework for children’s expressive rights to the context of children’s eWOM. Using a dataset of Amazon customer reviews written by children under the age of 13, we examine the characteristics and business impact of children’s eWOM. We find that the volume and variance of children’s eWOM are smaller than that of adults’. Children’s eWOM increase the overall diversity of opinions. Although receivers perceive children’s eWOM as less helpful, children’s eWOM valence (i.e. average rating) correlates with that of adults’. Children’s eWOM volume has a product-category-dependent association with product sales: positively in children’s product categories, while negatively in general categories. Children’s eWOM valence and variance are positively associated with product sales in both product categories. Receivers are less likely to criticize children’s eWOM compared to that of adults’, suggesting an underlying protective behaviour towards children among eWOM receivers. These results show that children have the capacity to engage in eWOM of social and business value, with receivers typically mindful of children’s vulnerability in social interactions.     

In eWOM We Trust

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.     

Turning dissatisfied into satisfied customers: How referral reward programs affect the referrer׳s attitude and loyalty toward the recommended service provider

Referral reward programs are becoming a popular tool for acquiring new customers and bonding existing ones. Yet their benefits are contentious, since such campaigns are prone to the opportunistic behaviour of customers who merely want to reap the reward. This paper examines how participating in a referral campaign affects opportunistic recommenders. By conducting two experimental studies, this article shows that giving counterattitudinal referrals enhances the communicator׳s attitude and loyalty toward the recommended provider. However, the positive effect depends on the reward size. While referral reward programs with small incentives strengthen the recommender׳s attitude and loyalty, no impact was found for referrals with large rewards. The results show that a stronger focus on reward programs is worth considering, since service providers can benefit from opportunistic customers with regards to the bonding effect.     

How Dispersive Opinions Affect Consumer Decisions: Endowment Effect Guides Attributional Inferences

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) dispersion, reflecting the extent of reviewers’ opinion divergence regarding a product, determines consumer decisions. Drawing upon the endowment effect and attribution literature, this research proposes that the endowment effect mediates the influence of eWOM dispersion on attributional inferences, and the display formats of eWOM dispersion (“horizontal bar chart” vs. “eWOM content”) moderate the mediating influence of endowment effect on attributional inferences of eWOM dispersion. Three complementary studies reveal three key insights in this setting. First, when consumers already having an emotional attachment to a product and subsequently encountering dispersive eWOM, the higher the level of eWOM dispersion, the stronger the endowment effect. Secondly, In such circumstance, the stronger endowment effect promotes more reviewer-related attribution inference of high-dispersion eWOM, and the weaker endowment effect promotes more product-related attribution inference of low-dispersion eWOM. Third, the positive influence of eWOM dispersion on endowment effect is stronger for eWOM dispersion in the complexity or disfluency display format (i.e. “reviewers’ impression of product”) than for eWOM dispersion in the simply of fluency display format (i.e. “horizontal bar chart”), more importantly, the mediating influence of endowment effect on attributional inferences is moderated by the display formats of eWOM dispersion, and this findings persists even when product category (hedonic vs. utilitarian) is taken into consideration. The theoretical implications for the eWOM dispersion and attribution literature and practical implications for online retailers are discussed.     

Trust in online recommendations: an evolutionary psychology perspective

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is playing an increasingly important role in influencing consumer behavior, and it represents another opportunity for marketers to build support for their brands. This study explores how the gender of the reader influences how eWOM is perceived. An experiment grounded in evolutionary psychology examines how males and females differ in their perceived trust of eWOM of positive, negative, or mixed valence. The results indicate that females place greater trust than males in eWOM messages. But both genders find eWOM of mixed valence more trustworthy than entirely positive or negative eWOM. A follow-up phenomenological study of male and female consumers who had experienced eWOM shed more light on the experimental findings and offers additional support for their evolutionary basis. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as recommendations for further research.     

Social media or shopping websites? The influence of eWOM on consumers’ online purchase intentions

This study empirically tests and compares the influence of friends’ recommendations on social media and anonymous reviews on shopping websites in the context of online purchase intention. For this purpose, we analyse the impacts of these two platforms based on the components of information adoption model (IAM) which are borrowed as information quality, information credibility, information usefulness and information adoption. We conduct a survey and find anonymous reviews as more influential on consumer’ online purchase intentions than friends’ recommendations on social media. However, as this result was contrary to that expected, we conduct another study through in-depth interviews in order to enlighten our results found in the first study. In Study 2, we find the reasons why consumers prefer anonymous reviews rather than friends’ recommendations. Information quantity, information readiness, detailed information and dedicated information are factors which make shopping websites superior than social media in terms of the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Academic and managerial implications are discussed.     

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on WeChat: examining the influence of sense of belonging,need for self-enhancement,and consumer engagement on Chinese travellers’ eWOM

‘Friends’ circles’ on WeChat have helped make eWOM more easily accessible and influential than ever. Drawing from the social identity theory, literature on consumer engagement and eWOM, this study presents the first research that examines the influence of two personality traits, sense of belonging and need for self-enhancement, on consumer engagement and in turn leads to eWOM intention. The results suggest that the need for self-enhancement positively influences Chinese travellers’ engagement with WeChat. In addition, a partial positive relationship between consumer engagement and eWOM intention was identified: only dedication towards WeChat is directly related to travellers’ intention to engage in eWOM on WeChat. Dedication was found to mediate the influence of need for self-enhancement on eWOM intentions. Sense of belonging, however, does not have a significant impact on consumer engagement. These mixed results demonstrate changing cultural values of contemporary Chinese society. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

eWOM processing from receiver perspective: Conceptualising the relationships

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication is considered an important source of information for consumers. In existing frameworks and empirical studies, factors that lead to eWOM influence have been categorised into three essential elements equivalent to the three elements of communication processing: source, receiver and message. eWOM requires a more elaborate form of information processing, given the many-to-many nature of such communications and that the types of information processing differ between novice and experienced consumers. However, there is no conceptualisation that demonstrates the relationships among the factors of eWOM from this critical information processing perspective. Further, there is limited discourse on the situation and communication channel, although the situation and platform characteristics shape the nature of communication in the digital age. This paper reports insights obtained from an extensive literature review and presents a broader categorisation encompassing the factors of source, receiver, message, situation, task involvement and channel. Research propositions and recommendations for further research into eWOM processing are offered.     

Extending Our Understanding of eWOM Impact: The Role of Source Credibility and Message Relevance

Using qualitative data from consumers who have previously purchased online and who read online product reviews, this work expands current thinking on determinants of the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communications on consumer decision making. Specifically, beyond source credibility, findings suggest that consumers also assess how similar the source of eWOM is to them in terms of personality and product usage. In addition to source credibility, the notion of message relevance is introduced as the second first-order factor of eWOM impact. In turn, the underlying dimensions of source credibility (expertise and trustworthiness) and message relevance (persona similarity and usage similarity) constitute four second-order determinants of eWOM impact; providing a comprehensive view of the determinants of eWOM impact. Additionally, a conceptual framework depicting the sequential and cumulative effect of the four assessment dimensions along with possible gender differences in the processes used to assess eWOM credibility and message relevance are discussed.     

A Low-Effort Recommendation System with High Accuracy

In recent studies on recommendation systems, the choice-based conjoint analysis has been suggested as a method for measuring consumer preferences. This approach achieves high recommendation accuracy and does not suffer from the start-up problem because it is also applicable for recommendations for new consumers or of new products. However, this method requires massive consumer input, which causes consumer reluctance. In a simulation study, we demonstrate the high accuracy, but also the high user’s effort for using a utility-based recommendation system using a choice-based conjoint analysis with hierarchical Bayes estimation. In order to reduce the conflict between consumer effort and recommendation accuracy, we develop a novel approach that only shows Pareto-efficient alternatives and ranks them according to the number of dominated attributes. We demonstrate that, in terms of the decision accuracy of the recommended products, the ranked Pareto-front approach performs better than a recommendation system that employs choice-based conjoint analysis. Furthermore, the consumer’s effort is kept low and comparable to that of simple systems that require little consumer input.     

How differences in eWOM platforms impact consumers’ perceptions and decision-making

ABSTRACT

This article aims to examine the effects of different features of various eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) platforms on consumers’ perceived credibility of eWOM regarding the product-related risks. Based on the stimuli–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, this study establishes a model to explore the relationships among eWOM platforms, tie strength, social cues, and perceived eWOM credibility. A mixed design of 2 (eWOM platforms) × 2 (product-related risks) conditions experiment and a survey method is applied to verify the model. The results show that tie strength between eWOM publishers and recipients positively influences the perceived eWOM credibility. The volume of social cues in eWOM platforms positively influences the perceived credibility of a female, while the opposite is true for a male. Both tie strength and volume of social cues in social media are greater than those in e-commerce websites. For products with low risks, eWOM in e-commerce websites is perceived to be more credible. Findings implicate that interactive functions should be added to the product comment area to enhance communications between the reviewers and potential consumers. Findings also encourage the cooperation between e-commerce websites and social media and suggest that managers should develop proper strategies in different situations.     

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) generation in new media platforms: The role of regulatory focus and collective dissonance

In this research, we examine the role of two motivational forces associated with creation of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM): regulatory focus and collective dissonance. Our studies show that generation of eWOM is enhanced by regulatory fit, while traditional WOM is dominated by the negativity effect. In study 1A, we show that prevention-focused consumers produce stronger intentions to post eWOM when they undergo a negative compared to a positive service experience. In study 1B, we find that promotion-focused consumers are more likely to post eWOM in reaction to a positive service experience when one's self-construal is independent. The final study shows that due to collective dissonance, consumers have greater intentions to create eWOM when their experiences are inconsistent with others' postings. We discuss the implications of these results for the development and management of eWOM communication in virtual communities.     

Investigating the impact of social media images’ value,consumer engagement,and involvement on eWOM of a tourism destination: A transmittal mediation approach

Tourism organizations use social media to promote their destinations and attract new customers. However, there is a challenge in how tourism organizations can choose or create social media images to successfully attract consumers' attention, induce their engagement with the destination, and motivate their eWOM behavior. This study aims to identify and test the direct and indirect factors related to social media images of tourism destinations that could predict eWOM. Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O-R) as an umbrella framework, we integrated Ducoffe's model and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), to study the role of social media destination images' features (entertainment, informativeness, irritation, credibility, personalization, and incentives) on consumer's perceived value and eWOM through consumer engagement and involvement. Using a survey research method, we collected data from 307 individuals and tested the proposed structural model using the PLS-SEM-based transmittal mediation approach. The findings supported the proposed relationships providing valuable theoretical and practical implications.     

On electronic word-of-mouth diffusion in social networks: curiosity and influence

The rapid proliferation of social networking sites (SNSs) provides marketers with ample opportunities to explore advertising strategies based on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). With that in mind, this study aims to understand the influence of the eWOM diffusion process on SNSs. We propose a theoretical framework to investigate the roles of curiosity and influence in SNS users’ decisions to adopt eWOM and to pass it along to their contact groups. Two forms of curiosity, specific and diversive, are proposed to initiate specific exploration (consistency checking and knowledge-based validation) and diversive exploration (referral visit behavior), and eventually, adoption and pass-along behavior. In addition, SNS influence, formed by maven, persuasiveness, and connectivity, is proposed as a moderator affecting information diffusion. The proposed framework is empirically validated using the data collected from online surveys of 590 Facebook users. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.     

Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet?

Through Web-based consumer opinion platforms (e.g., epinions.com), the Internet enables customers to share their opinions on, and experiences with, goods and services with a multitude of other consumers; that is, to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. Drawing on findings from research on virtual communities and traditional word-of-mouth literature, a typology for motives of consumer online articulation is developed. Using an online sample of some 2,000 consumers, information on the structure and relevance of the motives of consumers’ online articulations is generated. The resulting analysis suggests that consumers’ desire for social interaction, desire for economic incentives, their concern for other consumers, and the potential to enhance their own self-worth are the primary factors leading to eWOM behavior. Further, eWOM providers can be grouped based on what motivates their behavior, suggesting that firms may need to develop different strategies for encouraging eWOM behavior among their users.     

How do electronic word of mouth practices contribute to mobile banking adoption?

Mobile banking (m-banking) is the fastest growing and most cost-effective channel for delivering banking services. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) plays a crucial role in the success of e-commerce. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate a comprehensive moderated mediated mechanism for enhancing m-banking adoption behavior through positive eWOM triggers using the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Argument Quality, valence, consistency and volume were considered eWOM triggers, and the conceptual model also included initial trust in m-banking as a mediator and consumer involvement in m-banking as a moderator. A total of 1153 useable surveys completed by the Indian users of social networking websites were used for analysis. The findings showed that of the triggers, argument quality, valence, and consistency enhance intention to adopt m-banking. These effects were mediated by initial trust in m-banking. The mediation effects of initial trust between valence – Intention varied between high and low consumer involvement in m-banking. These findings make several contributions to the literature on marketing communication, particularly to eWOM research and ELM theory. Practically, this study provides several recommendations to banks about how to use positive eWOM for motivating consumers to adopt m-banking.     

Consumers’ response to weak unique selling propositions: Implications for optimal product recommendation strategy

We use a multi-method approach (analytical model and behavioral experiment) to investigate product recommendations based on less-important attributes (weak unique selling proposition, USP). We consider multiple scenarios in which a recommender’s level of expertise (knowledge about product attributes and their importance) and bias (preference for the firm as opposed to consumers) operate as cues for consumers to evaluate the recommender’s message.Results show that optimal messaging behavior is a function of an interactive process involving recommender characteristics and the relative importance of product attributes to consumers. The results identify conditions that determine when weak USPs are likely to increase or decrease a consumer’s propensity to buy the recommended product and when a recommender might optimally communicate weak USPs or avoid sending such a recommendation.     

农户介入农产品流通中高附加值活动的影响因素分析——基于赣南果农的实证研究

介入农产品流通中的高附加值活动是农户分享农产品流通中增值收益的重要途径。文章以赣南脐橙种植户为例,分析了影响农户介入农产品流通价值链中高附加值活动的决定因素。研究表明,农户介入高附加值活动的行为受到户主的风险态度、种植规模、收获期农产品销售情况、户主所拥有的贮藏技术水平、政府是否提供免费的贮藏技术培训以及农户所处地区的交通状况等多方面因素的影响,并随着这些因素的变化而不断变化。在此基础上,提出了促进农户主动介入流通增值活动,分享流通增值收益的政策建议。     

The role of product history in consumer response to online second-hand clothing retail service based on circular fashion

The circular fashion system (CFS) posits that clothes not only need to be designed and produced sustainably but also need to circulate among consumers for as long as possible to minimize waste. Fashion industry experts believe that circular fashion will be the dominating future trend of the industry, and many brands and start-ups have launched platforms following the CFS where consumers can exchange or donate their used clothes. However, circular fashion still needs to overcome the negative images associated with second-hand clothes, such as contamination. What can decrease consumers' concerns with used clothes as well as promote circular fashion effectively among consumers? Based on the narrative competence theory, this study examines the effects of providing the product history of clothes on enhancing consumers' trust, perceived benefits, attitude, and usage intentions toward circular fashion service. An online experiment was conducted with 238 U.S. consumers. Results revealed that providing product history enhances consumers' trust toward the service and the perceived hedonic, social, and economic benefits of the service. Greater trust and hedonic benefits of the service enhance consumers’ attitude toward the service, which consequently increase their intentions to use the service. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed in this paper.