The Effects of Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Consumer Purchase Decisions : The Social Capital Perspective
| Autor: | Shu-Chuan Wu, 吳淑娟 |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 103 Owing to various forms of development in technology and mass media communication, well-developed Internet platforms, and widespread use of mobile devices, the traditional word-of-mouth approach has evolved into the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) with the progress of time. With the rise of the virtual community, eWOM has turned into a source of reference for consumers and has influenced both virtual- and real-world consumer behaviors. However, it remains unclear as to why members of the virtual community are willing to share knowledge and information with one another in a virtual world where they barely know each other. Why would they place their trust in information or feedback shared by an anonymous person? Do the social capital and the social network of the virtual community help community members to relate to eWOM material? Based on social capital theories, this study explores how eWOM influences the purchase decisions of members in the virtual community. This study investigates consumer attitudes toward eWOM material collected in the process of searching for product information online prior to making purchase decisions. The study then seeks to determine whether the consumer’s purchase decision is influenced by connections between eWOM and the consumer’s social capital; the consumer’s strength of interpersonal relationship; and the degree of trust consumers place in eWOM material. The outline and methodology of this research are formulated based on research topic, research purpose and review of academic literature. Using qualitative research methods, this study conducts in-depth interviews to examine six compulsive online shoppers’ consumer behavior and the effect of eWOM information on them. The results show that social capital and the nature of the Internet community will affect network members’ consumption behavior and intention. Consumers trusting each other have the impact on eWOM searching attitude directly, especially when the consumers think the product or service uncertain and unreliable. When consumers search eWOM proactively on the internet, eWOM will has the higher degree of influence on their purchase decisions. People's "relationship" is not only the link of the WOM, but also a symbol of the influence of WOM. "Relationship" strengthens the force and influence of WOM potentially, and WOM has the synergistic effect through the "network". In addition, the lower frequency of interaction and more alienated relationship between members will reduce the trust of members of the Internet community, thereby reducing the impact on the purchase decisions. In eWOM marketing, the commercial placement messages often packed into the general shared articles or eWOM in recent years. From doing so, consumers begin to guard against eWOM, so that it will reduce the recipient's WOM trust evaluation. In this study, it has a significant effect. Consumers no longer accept eWOM positive message, and consumers’ purchase decisions depending on the eWOM are also reduced. On the other hand, consumers believed the negative eWOM having the higher truth, so it will get more trust and attention. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
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