The technological advancement in the usage of social networking sites (SNSs) has grown beyond boundaries. This expansion helps organizations to capture the attention of online customers towards their products and services. The primary purpose of the study is to list the drivers of eWOM credibility and explore its role in customer engagement at SNSs. A conceptual model that categorizes source credibility, trustability, knowledge, tie strength, and homophily are identified as the drivers of eWOM source credibility in SNSs. Similarly, valence, volume, consistency, emotions, quality, and rating are listed as the drivers of eWOM message credibility. This study suggested that drivers of eWOM will impact on customer engagement and that will, in turn, result in building a positive attitude, brand image, and behaviour towards the product or service listed in the SNSs. Further, the study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications in engaging customers through eWOM.
TopIntroduction
Ever since the emergence of the Internet, Social media has become an integral element of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) that allow the organization to establish a strong relationship with the customers (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Social media encompass various online information-sharing formats including Social Networking Sites (SNS), creativity work-sharing sites, collaborative websites and microblogging sites (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), defines Social media is a group of internet-based applications that build on the technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of User Generated Content. In the last two decade, researchers and practitioners have found social media as a marketing communication element. With a high level of source credibility due to self-disclosure and increased engagement of consumers on brand communication, SNS has high potential to influence consumer behaviour. As per statistics, 90.4% of Millennial and 77.5%of Gen X uses social media regularly and perhaps the main reason why 73% of marketer rate SNSs as effective means for marketing the businesses (Mohsin, 2020). 64% of social brewers use social media to research product, and therefore SNSs have outpaced emails (Nielsen-online, 2009). Given the collaborative and social characteristics of SNSs, it is an emerging place for the consumer to consumer communication about product and brands. This consumer to consumer communication on an internet-enabled platform call as electronic word of mouth communication (eWOM).
The outcomes of eWOM influences consumer decision making and is complete discourses available in marketing and marketing communication research (Engel et al. 1969; Gilly et al. 1998). eWOM is present in all shot of online platforms like online websites, online communities and social media (Chevalier et al., 2006). eWOM can be devised as a web-based interpersonal communication between virtual consumer/person to provide the commercial information about product & organization (Cheng & Zhou, 2010; Litvin et al., 2008; Wu et al. 2013). Product-related eWOM creates a significant effect on consumer behaviour of other consumers, starting from building brand awareness to shaping attitudes of a consumer which leads to a purchase of product (Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009; Lopez and Sicilia, 2014). There is a rapid increase in online platforms like social media, blogs, virtual communities, e-commerce site, review sites and many more. These platforms were used by the consumers to share the opinion and experiences about the product, and service under consideration (Gupta & Harris, 2010; Lee et al., 2011) and to research the companies that sell them. Because of this increase in giving and seeking of eWOM which occurs on web 2.0, there is the availability of a large volume of eWOM content which influences consumer behaviour. eWOM communication has shifted power dynamics from marketers to active customers and, therefore, has become increasingly influential in purchasing decisions (Chu & Choi, 2011; Chaung & Thadani 2012). Researchers examined the effect of eWOM on consumer behaviours across the sectors of food service (Arndt, 1967), entertainment (Brown & Reingen, 1987), banking (Keaveney, 1995), clothing (Richins, 1983), travel and financial services (Litvin, 2006), education (Lehmann, 2015) & electronic products (Herr, Kardes & Kim, 1991) and many more. The conclusions shows that eWOM positively influences on the purchase of the product or service. Also, eWOM has been more influential on complex and high-risk purchasing decisions (Hernandez –Mendez et al. 2013) like consumer electronic goods.
SNSs represent an ideal tool for eWOM, as consumers freely create and disseminate product-related information in their social networks which are mainly composed of friends and family. SNSs enable the consumer to engage in various kind of social interaction and facilitate brand communication by commenting, liking, or passing the message forward (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). When a consumer feels connected and engaged, they will participate in value co-creation. Few prior studies have investigated the role of customer engagement in generating eWOM and WOM in online and office context, and they found it very useful in attitude change, building trust and purchase decisions (Islam & Rahman, 2016). eWOM communication occurs when a consumer communicates to others within their network about the value a product/brand has brought to their lives in some way or other. These interactions affect consumer behaviour to a greater extent.