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Download fileThe implications of eWOM adoption on the customer journey
journal contribution
posted on 2020-06-29, 11:11 authored by Chananchida Ngarmwongnoi, Joao Oliveira, Majd AbedRabbo, Sahar MousaviSahar MousaviPurpose – This paper aims to investigate customers’ motives to engage with electronic word of mouth (eWOM), as well as the effect of eWOM on customer behavior, both at the purchase and post-purchase stages.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was adopted, consisting of 30 semi-structured interviews with Thai consumers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings – Information validation, product evaluation, purchase and post-purchase validation are key motives for consumers to search for eWOM. Furthermore, eWOM quantity, eWOM credibility and attitudes toward eWOM play a critical role in evaluation of information usefulness and adoption. Moreover, five different types of shoppers were identified according to their purchase behavior after adapting eWOM: prompt shoppers, in-store shoppers, promotion shoppers, conservative shoppers and remedy shoppers.
Originality/value – While the implications of the adoption of eWOM have been explored in previous research, there is limited understanding in terms of the impacts of eWOM on the customer journey. This study addresses this research gap by investigating not only customers’ motives to engage with eWOM but also its effect on their behavior at the purchase and post-purchase stages.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was adopted, consisting of 30 semi-structured interviews with Thai consumers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings – Information validation, product evaluation, purchase and post-purchase validation are key motives for consumers to search for eWOM. Furthermore, eWOM quantity, eWOM credibility and attitudes toward eWOM play a critical role in evaluation of information usefulness and adoption. Moreover, five different types of shoppers were identified according to their purchase behavior after adapting eWOM: prompt shoppers, in-store shoppers, promotion shoppers, conservative shoppers and remedy shoppers.
Originality/value – While the implications of the adoption of eWOM have been explored in previous research, there is limited understanding in terms of the impacts of eWOM on the customer journey. This study addresses this research gap by investigating not only customers’ motives to engage with eWOM but also its effect on their behavior at the purchase and post-purchase stages.
History
School
- Business and Economics
Department
- Business
Published in
Journal of Consumer MarketingVolume
37Issue
7Pages
749 - 759Publisher
Emerald Publishing LimitedVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© Emerald Publishing LimitedPublisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Journal of Consumer Marketing and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-10-2019-3450.Acceptance date
2020-06-24Publication date
2020-07-20Copyright date
2020ISSN
0736-3761Publisher version
Language
- en