What is Mobile-Based eWOM Services

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on products and services is getting more important in consumer behavior as well as marketing communication. Regarding the issue, marketing and consumer scholars have conducted research on eWOM message senders and recipients. Focusing on eWOM receiving behavior, this chapter presents academic knowledge regarding how recipients evaluate mobile e-WOM messages and how he/she behaves as a consequence. There are two kinds of eWOM, i.e., PC-based eWOM and mobile-based eWOM (mWOM). Moreover, two types of messages can be identified in each kind of eWOM—viral messages from marketers via friends and relatives, and eWOM reviews on products and services from anonymous senders. Prior studies on viral marketing can be further divided into two research streams; research that have constructed and tested causal models explaining why consumers participate in viral marketing, and research that have focused on illustrating comprehensively a multi-stage cognitive and behavioral customer journey towards receiving, using, and forwarding viral marketing messages.