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The literature has addressed the motives for eWOM (Brown et al., 2005; Hennig-Thurau and Walsh, 2003-4; Shih, Lai, & Cheng, 2013), determinants of eWOM adoption (Cheung, Luo, Sia, & Chen, 2009), and the use of eWOM to predict sales (Amblee & Bui, 2011-12; Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006; Liu, 2006). Previous studies have addressed what factors can motivate positive eWOM, and what factors cause negative eWOM. The spreading and adoption of eWOM is not only an information exchange (Cheung et al., 2009; Shih, Lai, & Cheng, 2013), but also a social exchange driven by social influence (Aral, 2014). The study of eWOM communication is an evolution process along with the change of e-commerce contexts. Recently, scholars focus on addressing the issue of eWOM helpfulness. In practice, the use of eWOM for viral marketing is a new social marketing strategy and thereby receives increasingly attentions in academics (Schulze, Schöler, & Skiera, 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Review Sidedness: A one-sided review contains either positive or negative product comments, whereas a two-sided review contains both positive and negative comments.
Source Credibility: A recipient’s perceived credibility of a message source.
eWOM Helpfulness: Peer-generated product evaluations that facilitate consumers’ purchase decision processes.
Negativity Framing: A review contains more negative and less positive attribute information.
Positivity Framing: A review contains more positive and less negative attribute information.
Argument Quality: The audience’s subjective perception of the arguments in the persuasive message as strong and cogent on the one hand versus weak and specious on the other belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures.
eWOM: The spreading of online reviews, arguments, and recommendations concerning personal experiences with specific products or service providers for persuading targeted viewers.
Review Consistency: The degree to which the content in a review is consistent with the information in other reviews.
eWOM Credibility: An online review is perceived as believable.