Online word of mouth and consumer purchase intentions

Previous researchers have explained how offline word of mouth (WOM) influences consumer behaviour. Increasingly, however, consumers are turning to online WOM, especially online forums. In an online context, the research discussed in this article replicates the approaches taken to studying offline WO...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of advertising Vol. 29; no. 5; pp. 687 - 708
Main Authors Prendergast, Gerard, Ko, David, Siu Yin, V. Yuen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Eastbourne Routledge 01.01.2010
Blackwell Publishers
Subjects
Consumer spending
Consumers
Market surveys
Social networks
Studies
User behavior
Word of mouth advertising
Hong Kong China
China
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Summary:Previous researchers have explained how offline word of mouth (WOM) influences consumer behaviour. Increasingly, however, consumers are turning to online WOM, especially online forums. In an online context, the research discussed in this article replicates the approaches taken to studying offline WOM. Grounded in social comparison theory, social network analysis and the theory of reasoned action, a mall intercept survey of consumers in Hong Kong showed that both similarity between a user's interests and a forum's topic and user attitudes towards the forum strongly predict purchase intentions as well as having an indirect effect through helping determine the forum's persuasiveness. Theoretical implications are discussed as well as practical implications for marketers and recommendations for further research.
ISSN:0265-0487
1759-3948
DOI:10.2501/S0265048710201427