The Influence of Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Buying Decisions on the Internet
Baudis, Nina (2016)
Baudis, Nina
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016102815494
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016102815494
Tiivistelmä
Word-of-mouth activities have long been a major influential factor in consumer purchasing decisions. (Hennig-Thurau, et al., 2004, p. 39) After the virtual landscape was significantly altered by the Web 2.0, new possibilities of spreading and receiving product-related information emerged. The ease and speed of distributing information via the internet led to an empowerment of the customer (Edelman & Singer, 2015, p. 90) and resulted in the formation of electronic word-of-mouth. (Kreis & Gottschalk, 2015, p. 406) Customers that are empowered by the possibilities of Web 2.0 applications have not only changed marketers’ tools and strategies for communication (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p. 357), they have altered the consumer decision-making process altogether. This paper examines the influence of electronic word-of-mouth on the online consumer decision-making process under consideration of the shift from traditional to modern consumption behavior. An investigation of electronic word-of-mouth, its different shapes, consumers’ motivations to engage in expressing it and the effects electronic word-of-mouth has on consumers and businesses forms the basis of this paper. In order to better understand the matter, electronic word-of-mouth is linked to modern consumption theories like the customer journey and the zero moment of truth in the second part of this paper. A consideration of special characteristics of e-commerce, an examination of the perceived risk in online shopping and the risk-reducing potential of electronic word-of-mouth concludes this paper’s theoretical section.
The topic of this Bachelor’s thesis was chosen due to its timeliness and its potential of providing various valuable implications for marketing activities. An empirical investigation of how electronic word-of-mouth influences online buying behavior was conducted in order to make a connection between theory and practice. Although previous research has examined the effects of electronic word-of-mouth on purchasing behavior satisfactorily (Chu & Kim, 2011; Hennig-Thurau, et al., 2004; Meuter, et al., 2013; Weisfeld-Spolter, et al., 2014; Yang, 2013), matters such as a distinction between qualitative and quantitative electronic word-of-mouth or its divergent influence on high and low involvement products has not yet been explored. The empirical investigation of this paper aims at filling this gap in research. Further research questions gave attention to the correlation between the willingness of providing and the trust in electronic word-of-mouth as well as different impacts of positive and negative electronic word-of-mouth. The empirical research was conducted using a sample of 120 students of the Berlin School of Economics and Law. The research questions were examined using a questionnaire that consisted of questions concerning the participants’ online shopping behavior and product pairs equipped with differently shaped product reviews and ratings as well as alternating prices. The results of the empirical investigation further underpin the significance of electronic word-of-mouth in today’s online buying behavior and shed light on influential factors that have not yet been examined by prior research.
The topic of this Bachelor’s thesis was chosen due to its timeliness and its potential of providing various valuable implications for marketing activities. An empirical investigation of how electronic word-of-mouth influences online buying behavior was conducted in order to make a connection between theory and practice. Although previous research has examined the effects of electronic word-of-mouth on purchasing behavior satisfactorily (Chu & Kim, 2011; Hennig-Thurau, et al., 2004; Meuter, et al., 2013; Weisfeld-Spolter, et al., 2014; Yang, 2013), matters such as a distinction between qualitative and quantitative electronic word-of-mouth or its divergent influence on high and low involvement products has not yet been explored. The empirical investigation of this paper aims at filling this gap in research. Further research questions gave attention to the correlation between the willingness of providing and the trust in electronic word-of-mouth as well as different impacts of positive and negative electronic word-of-mouth. The empirical research was conducted using a sample of 120 students of the Berlin School of Economics and Law. The research questions were examined using a questionnaire that consisted of questions concerning the participants’ online shopping behavior and product pairs equipped with differently shaped product reviews and ratings as well as alternating prices. The results of the empirical investigation further underpin the significance of electronic word-of-mouth in today’s online buying behavior and shed light on influential factors that have not yet been examined by prior research.