See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/322679883

Word of Mouth: A Literature Review

Article in International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences · January 2017

DOI: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

CITATIONS READS

27 18,095

2 authors:

Supratim Kundu C. R. Sundara Rajan

S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research VIT University
7 PUBLICATIONS 64 CITATIONS 7 PUBLICATIONS 61 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Supratim Kundu on 02 March 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Ec
onomics & Kundu and Sundara Rajan, Int J Econ Manag Sci 2017, 6:6
International Journal of Economics &
of
DOI: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

M
l
nal Journa

an
agement Sc
Management Sciences
tio

ISSN: 2162-6359
na

r en i

Research Article Open Access

ces
Inte

Review Article OMICS International

Word of Mouth: A Literature Review

Supratim Kundu1 and CR Sundara Rajan2*
Business School, VIT University, Vellore, India

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand, summarize and highlight the current research work in the
area of word-of-mouth (WOM) along with the existing gaps in the literature.
Design/methodology/approach: This study is a qualitative analysis of 20 research articles from peer-reviewed
sources covering a span of 14 years from 2002 till 2016 addressing WOM, its antecedents, the effects and its role
in the overall larger context.
Findings: WOM strongly impacts consumer behavioral attitudes. Tie strength, stickiness, loyalty, monetary
influence can moderate the WOM influence. However it remains to be seen the how various personality traits gets
affected.
Practical implications: The findings of this review may help potential marketers to understand WOM and its
intricacies and follow the best approach to maximize the WOM effect.
Originality/value: Given the limited amount of the literature focused, this paper summarized the existing work
so that researchers and organizations can use this knowledge and focus on their WOM activities. It also highlights
the research opportunities for scholars interested in pursuing further studies in this area.

Keywords: Word of mouth (WOM); Referral; Reviews; Ratings where the current research stands on WOM and where it is heading. In
this article, we aim to provide a detailed understanding of the following
Introduction objectives:
Word of mouth (WOM) or consumer-to-consumer interaction has a) Summarize the current existing work on WOM by various
been the center of discussion among the research fraternity for a few researchers
decades now. Researchers have already shown the growing influence
of WOM and it has been recognized by the marketers to be a highly b) Highlight the existing gaps in the research literature of WOM
credible form of marketing information [1]. As evident from the BCG c) Providing clue to researchers for further studies in the area of
report [2], referrals and recommendations from friends, colleagues or WOM.
other consumers can go beyond everything else. As per McKinsey [3],
WOM is more influential in the developing markets of the world. We have produced the existing work on WOM by various
researchers covering a span of 14 years from 2002 till 2016. This will
The underlying belief is that word of mouth communication provide a fair idea about the direction in which way the research
can significantly influence consumer’s purchase decision. With the on WOM is heading. Few models which were proposed by earlier
advent of eWOM, online consumer reviews can serve as a pillar to researchers have been shown here for better understanding.
overall WOM. The study by Godes and Mayzlin [4] had found positive
relationship between TV show viewership and WOM. Similarly Liu [5] Literature Review
suggested that online movie reviews can significantly explain box-office
Martensen and Grønholdt [21] studied how consumer emotion
revenue. Organizations are taking WOM seriously as it can affect the
and choice got affected by word-of-mouth with reference to the service
businesses both positively and negatively [6].
industry. This study aimed to extent the theory of reasoned action
Word-of-mouth have been found to impact several factors like (TRA) model by including positive and negative WOM and emotion.
consumer choice [7,8] service switching [9], purchase decision It also investigated the mediating role of emotion for WOM and social
[10], perception about the product/services [11] with brand choice norm. The model tested was as below Figure 1.
facilitation for the consumers. At times, it is more effective than the
For the study interviews were conducted for 509 respondents
traditional marketing tools of personal selling and various types of
advertising [12,13]. In particular, customers pay more attention to
WOM among the other various modes of marketing as it is perceived
to be credible and custom-tailored and generated by people who are *Corresponding author: Rajasekaran Sundara Rajan, Business School, VIT
perceived as having no self-interest in pushing a product [14]. eWOM University, Vellore, India, Tel: 9994694596; E-mail: trksundararajan@gmail.com,
can include online comments or opinions [15,16], blogging [17] crsundararajan@vit.ac.in
product information [18] reviews emails etc. [19,20]. Received September 07, 2017; Accepted October 03, 2017; Published October
04, 2017
The impact generated by WOM, has made it important for today’s
marketing researchers to remain updated about its theory, power, effect Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review.
Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467
and understanding. With the high involvement of today’s consumer
over the internet, WOM is gradually becoming a need for the marketers Copyright: © 2017 Kundu S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
and it has positioned itself as a topic which the researchers and use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
marketers can’t afford to ignore. Overall, it is a necessity to understand source are credited.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 2 of 9

The important finding was if the consumers were able to communicate

Positive with the source directly, then the impact of the closeness diminished.
WOM Social However, the opposite was also true. Thus for the marketers, they
Norm could follow the followers of their followers to have a bi-directional
conversation. Regarding credibility, as the credibility of the product
page increased, the consumers were more likely to seek more info about
the product. The study also revealed relationship between member
number and product page viewing. The more the number of likes (in
Positive
Facebook) or the number of followers (in Twitter) the more chances
emotion
s
Behavioral Behavioral were that the consumers will seek product info as the credibility goes up.
attitude intention Regarding network closeness, the study found that more the number of
friend/followers joined or recommended the product page, the more
likely the customer was willing to get more info on the product. This
Negative
emotions
was because the network closeness is a function of normative influence.
As a limitation, this study focused on only a type of product. Future
research could consider the other product categories. The authors
predicted that perceived risk associated with the product or product
types may impact the results. Again, for a wider social media studies,
Negative
WOM
the authors recommended future studies to consider the various other
social media channels.
The next paper we study is from the researchers Mazzarol et al.
Figure 1: Mediating role of emotion for WOM and social norm.
[23] where they investigate the various complexities of WOM. The
aim of this research was to understand WOM and also to study the
in Denmark who were between the ages of 19-60 years and the data triggers that motivate people to engage in WOM and the conditions
were analyzed using the PLS SEM models as the model is suited for that enhances the chance of WOM happening. The authors also tried
exploratory research like this. to develop a conceptual model of consumer’s experiences of producing
The findings showed positive WOM significantly influenced the WOM.
behavioral attitude and intention and negative WOM only slightly The study was done using focus groups as focus group has
impacted the behavioral intention. However, NWOM (negative WOM) always been regarded as a suitable technique for clinical, exploratory
strongly affected the behavioral attitudes via negative emotions. Social interaction kind of studies. Six such focus groups were chosen with
norm impacted directly PNOM (positive WOM), NWOM, behavioral nine respondents each on average aged 18-64 years with diverse
attitude and behavioral intention. The interesting finding is the total backgrounds and the sample consisted of 50% male and female
effect of positive WOM exceeded 2 times the effect of social norms on participants.
behavioral attitude and intention. The results showed that emotion was
a mediator for both WOM and social norm. Thus this research includes The study had found three key WOM components - valence, the
WOM and emotion in the TRA model. richness of the message content and the strength or power of the
advocacy. Intensity and vividness also emerged as important themes.
The limitation for this paper was the study of one brand from Richness focused on the language used like evocative phrases etc. or
industry. Future research could concentrate on other industries. Also, the degree of story-telling. The theme strength focused on the manner
it would be interesting to look into the tie strength for the preferred (passionate or assertive etc.) or intention of the communication, rather
WOM sources or impact of other factors like involvement, expertise, than the content and it enhances the communication process in WOM.
credibility and demographic homophily. New moderators like Apart from these triggers, there were conditions like the intention to
awareness and complexity of the decision could also be included. act as an advocate or the closeness between the giver and the receiver
In the next paper, that we review the researchers Coulter and facilitated the communication.
Roggeveen [22] studied how consumers responded to WOM For the marketers, the study showed WOM process was more
communications in the online social network platforms. They examined complex than previously researched. The success depended on the
how the source, channel and message content affect the consumer intensity of the conveyance and the richness of the description among
response to WOM communication in the social media context. The many other factors. The research however was limited by its qualitative
two most used online social media platform i.e. Facebook and Twitter studies. Future research might carry out the quantitative studies for
were used for the study. Data were collected using two surveys which the antecedents. Further research could also be done to measure the
the participants to respond regarding a product page suggestion in various WOM facets that were discussed.
those two social media sites.
Voyer and Ranaweera [24] investigated the impact of WOM on the
Results showed that consistent with other WOM investigations, service purchase decisions. This paper studied the interaction between
source credibility (expertise) significantly determines the effectiveness the tie strength and the service purchase decision and how it impacted
of a persuasive communication. The product page appeared to be the
the WOM influence. The outcome risk and the psychological risks were
most important driver to motive customers for online WOM. Thus
tested for their impact on the involvement for the purchase decision.
the marketers were suggested to maintain a strong product page.
The model proposed by the authors looks as Figure 2.
Unlike the offline world, over the internet the source closeness does
not always impact consumer’s choice to get more info on the products. A pre-test study was conducted with the undergraduate students to

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 3 of 9

service or the promptness or courteous behavior of the staff. The factor

competence was defined by the banks’ ability to fulfill its promises. The
Outcome factor tangibles checked the materials or physical facilities associated
Risk with the bank whereas the convenience factor checked the location of
the branches or the ATM network.
This study had been limited by the banking industry. There is a
WOM provision to check the same in other retail industry as well. Also further
Involvement Influence investigations may include multiple measures in the WOM construct.
Researchers Roy et al. [26] investigated the mediating impact of
stickiness and loyalty on the WOM promotion focusing on the retail
websites. They aimed to develop and test a model to test the relationship
between the dimensions of e-services cape, website quality, stickiness,
Psychological Tie loyalty and WOM. The proposed model looks like in Figure 3.
Risk Strength
To test the model, 660 questionnaires were distributed among the
graduate and undergraduate students. The scales for the measurements
were 7 point likert scales. Factor analysis and ANOVA were used
Figure 2: Voyer and Ranaweera proposed model. for the data analysis portions. The authors found that WOM is
impacted differently by stickiness and loyalty. Stickiness represents
a psychological attachment whereas loyalty represents a concern for
ensure that the questions are understood. Post this, the newly posted
the purchase. At the same time, stickiness also impacts the loyalty for
military personnel were chosen for the actual study as WOM plays
the consumers. The results support the significant impact of aesthetics
an important role for information and recommendation among the
and website interaction on WOM. Also the system quality and service
personnel. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were
quality found to have significant indirect effect on WOM. For the
carried out for the results. Then SEM was used for the analysis.
managers in the industry, the website should motivate consumer to
The result showed that both the involvement and the tie strength visit frequently and they should be engaged in the website. This can
positively affected the WOM influence. Also, as a negative moderation be achieved by improving aesthetics and interactions as found in the
effect, the tie strength diminished the effect of involvement on WOM. study. Interactivity had been found to have a direct impact on stickiness
Also with the WOM influence increased with the increase in the and indirect impact on loyalty. System quality (like website reliability,
involvement. The same was also true for the tie strength. This study availability and usability) also found to an important factor for loyalty.
also shows that the consumers level of involvement in the WOM
This research had some limitations like the usage of cross-sectional
was impacted more the tangible and substantive elements of risks
research design. Future research might check the longitudinal research
(like potential psychological or social harms), rather than that of the
design. Also the result can vary for gender specific instances. For
intangible ones.
example males might feel comfortable shopping on male product
Thus, for the managers, they should focus on creating strong tie specific websites. Also the factors like customer age, personality along
strength within their consumer base. This research was limited by its with gender could be looked into the future studies to check the
scope within the military community. Future researchers might wish to relations.
conduct the research among cross-cultural communities. The response
Ferguson et al. [27] had studied customer sociability and total
rate was 36% and the authors had also not tested for potential biases.
This study could also include various types of emotions that can trigger
WOM like anger or excitement etc. in the future.
e-ServiceScape
Choudhury [25] explored the impact of various dimensions of (Aesthetics, Stickiness
service quality on WOM. The study aimed to link the constructs of Interactivity,
service quality and WOM at the dimension level. The study focused Navigability)
on the retail banking industry and thus the data were collected from
6 major banks. The authors had contacted 3600 customers and have
received 864 complete usable questionnaires. Customer perceived Word of
service quality was measured using the modified SERVQUAL Mouth
instrument. The questionnaire contained two sections to measure the
customer expectation and customer perception. Few items from the
Web-site
original SERVQUAL scale were dropped or modified to make it suitable
Quality (System,
for this study. From the factor analysis, four factors were identified for Loyalty
information and
service quality: attitude, competence, tangibles and convenience. The
service quality)
analysis was done using the multiple regression analysis to find out the
effect of the factors oft service quality on WOM.
The factor attitude got the highest proportion followed by service
factor competence, tangibles and convenience. Within the retail Figure 3: Impact of stickiness and loyalty on the WOM promotion focusing on
the retail websites.
banking, the variable attitude was defined by promptness of the

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 4 of 9

service experience as the antecedents of positive WOM. They tried to influence a receiver to act on WOM are a combination of interpersonal
answer the question if the socially active consumers engaged in more skills and the nature of the WOM communication itself. The
positive WOM. Here the authors studied the association of positive antecedents that created the influence on the receiver were of four types:
WOM intention in the hospital context with both the sociability and Personal (credibility, trust, expertise etc.), Interpersonal (strength or
the perception of service taken into account for the patients. The homophily), Message Characteristics (vividness, strength, non-verbal
proposed model was as follows in Figure 4. communication) and Situational (risk, complexity, multiple sources
etc.). Thus WOM was likely to be more effective when one of these four
Data were collected from 500 patients twice once post the
factors happens. The study discovered some outcomes of WOM (which
hospitalization and after they had returned to home. ANOVA was
measures how the receiver reacts). This included psychological features
used for the analysis. The results found that positive WOM is a social
like relief, confidence, enthusiasm etc. apart from product evaluation
behavior and there is a direct relationship between the intention for
and purchase rate. For the negative WOM, empathy with the giver was
positive WOM and sociability and this reflects loyalty. Higher level of
the psychological outcome. Also the image of the organization (apart
agreeableness was linked to the intention for positive WOM. Patients
from the product evaluation) improved with the positive WOM. It also
with social behaviors like liking of warm relations are more inclined
found that the message content and the way the message is delivered
for positive WOM intention. Customer loyalty took into account
impacts the WOM. For e.g. WOM from enthusiastic giver creates
the entire service process from curing to caring. They were not
more impact. Story telling seemed to be more effective as it increases
disconnected. One interesting finding was patients with the highest
the richness of the content. Body language and gesture also played an
positive WOM intentions had lower score in the pain/discomfort score
important role to create the impact.
at the surgery. Also the authors found that patient to patient interaction
could influence the positive WOM intentions. For the managers, the For managers, the study provides idea who wanted to systematically
communication should be structured in a way that the information generate positive WOM for the company. The chances for positive
exchange between the hospital and the patient realize its full potential WOM were higher when the consumers are satisfied with the product
along with focus on the physical layout of the physical layout of the or services. Also WOM creates the most impact when the receiver is
facility which fosters customer to customer interaction. looking for the information. This study however, did not check the
receiver’s impact post the WOM generation. Future studies were
The study was limited by the hospital sector. There is a need to
suggested to study the impact on receiver’s attitude and behavior.
expand this study to other sectors as well. Also the aspect of negative
WOM was not studied here. It would also be interesting to include Gruen et al. [28] had studied one specific aspect of eWOM
services cape and its tangible elements in the future studies. communication. They studied the impact of consumer to consumer
(C2C) knowhow exchange on value perception and loyalty. The paper
Researchers Sweeney et al. in 2008 had studied from the receiver’s
also studied the antecedents of consumer know how exchange like
end, the factors which influenced the positive word of mouth. The
motivation, opportunity and ability. The paper proposed a model stating
objective of the study were to find the outcomes of WOM, the factors
that the perceived utilitarian value that the consumers receive and their
that influences the receiver to act on WOMs and it also aimed at
loyalty could be influenced by exchange of C2C knowhow. This C2C
developing a model which relates to consume experience when they
know how exchanges were facilitated by motivation, opportunity and
receive the WOM.
the ability to engage in knowhow exchange. The proposed model was
The study used 6 focused groups of 54 participants from the in Figure 5 as below:
financial sector in total where the discussion ran for 90 minutes for
616 complete responses for a questionnaire were received from the
each group on an average. The authors found that the factors which
users of an online software product forum who engaged in threaded
discussions. The sample represented more than 12% of the population.
Motivation, ability, opportunity, C2C knowhow exchange was
Customer Sociability

Personality Traits
(Agreeableness, Motivation to
Extraversion) engage in C2C Loyalty Intention
exchange (Repurchase)
Personal Values (Other-
oriented, Self-oriented) Customer Loyalty

Positive WOM Intention

Ability to
C2C knowhow Loyalty
engage in C2C
exchange Intention
exchange
Total Service Experience (Word of
Mouth)
(Information, Pain &
Discomfort, Interaction,
Recovery Outcomes) Opportunity to
engage in C2C Overall value the
exchange firm is offering

Figure 4: Customer sociability and total service experience as the antecedents

of positive WOM. Figure 5: Impact of consumer to consumer on value perception and loyalty.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 5 of 9

measured using adapted scales. The results found that C2C knowhow were perceived to be norm-violators and thus it increased suspicion.
exchange affects the value the firm is offering and the consumer’s future Also, relationship did not seem to affect the brand image which
intentions. It showed that eWOM communication was perceived to be supported the perception that brand evaluation was independent from
a reliable source of information. E-WOM also impacted the perceived the norm violations. In line with past studies, this research also showed
value that the firm is offering. The effect of C2C knowhow exchange the importance of credibility or source expertise on WOM generation.
on future purchase intention was mediated by the overall value that High credible source were accepted as trustworthy recommenders. In
the firm was offering. Opportunity did not affect significantly to the case of low source expertise, the effect of incentives seemed lower.
information exchange which also points that opportunity may play a
For the managers, incentives for WOM were not without risks. It
minor role in internet communication.
may backfire and could affect the brand image. However, incentives
This research was limited by the cross sectional study. Future study could generate new customers as well. Thus a fine balance needed to be
was suggested to take a longitudinal approach. This study also did not maintained. Again, WOM campaigns needed to be evaluated keeping
consider the effect of variables like perceived benefit. Also complexity the brand image in mind. In case there was a negative brand image,
of the product may play a moderating role in the firm’s value offering. the WOM campaign should not be continued. Future studies could
find how the negative brand attitude can be alleviated. Addressing
Wirtz and Chew [29] in their study investigated the impact of
concerns might be one of the tools. However, this study was limited
incentive, satisfaction, deal proneness and tie strength on WOM
by the symbolic reward of cash. The effect of charity or donations was
behavior in services context. They felt the need to find out how WOM
unknown in the present work. Again, incentives were studied only for
can be managed more effectively.
the recommender. It was unknown how the referred customer would
A 3 × 3 × 2 experimental design was used to understand the behave if he is incentivized as well. Also more research was suggested to
impact of tie strength, incentive and satisfaction on WOM behavior. find out the context in which the brand is not affected.
Projective role playing technique was used in hypothetical situation
Lim and Chung [31] intended to find out how the brand
ensuring that the subjects were familiar with the research context.
familiarity affects the motivation for evaluating WOM for the brand.
Through convenience sampling, 250 questionnaires were distributed
The researchers believed that brand familiarity, rather than product
and 223 were received. The research context was chosen for a mobile
familiarity would affect the motivation to process WOM.
phone service provider. The WOM constructs used were: likelihood
for WOM generation, favorability of the WOM, chances of making a 228 Undergraduate students from a major university in Singapore
purchase recommendation. The result showed that incentive was the were chosen for the study. Brand familiarity (familiar and unfamiliar)
most affecting the WOM. The likelihood, the favorability or valence and expertise (high and low) of the WOM sender were manipulated in
of WOM and the chances for recommendation all increased with the the experiments. ANCOVA was used for the analysis.
increase incentives. Also customers who were high deal proneness, they
The focus of the research was peer-to-peer persuasion rather
generated more WOM than those with low deal proneness irrespective
than company sponsored WOM. The findings demonstrated the
of the incentive offered. Incentives also decreased the chances of
moderating effect of brand familiarity on WOM. The expertise of the
generating negative WOM. Satisfied customers were more likely to
source was again proved and more so in cases of unfamiliar brand.
generate positive WOM and they were more likely to recommend
Even if the WOM was from a high trustworthy source, consumers
purchases. This shows marketers could proactively manage the WOM
were unlikely to believe it in case it was for an unfamiliar brand. This
generated. In line with previous findings, this research also founded
study also highlighted the importance of considering the consumers
that strong tie-strength impacted WOM positively. For managers, thus
brand attitude certainty in order to predict the attitude change. For the
designing of incentive scheme was vital and they could get the best
marketers, the brand extension might be used to communicate strong
results devising incentives for satisfied customers.
brand positioning. The promotion offers which influenced the band
The study however was limited by the use of monetary incentives. familiarity might also play a critical role. For the unfamiliar brands, the
Future research could check the effect of gift, credits and coupons as source credibility was important to consider.
incentives. Again, this research did not focus on how the WOM is
The product category (printer) which was used in the study required
generated on the internet. In the online or the virtual context, the tie
some technical knowledge to evaluate. Other product categories could
strength may affect differently.
be used for future research. It appeared that ease of use and technical
Pongjit and Beise-Zee [30], investigated how the incentives for the competency might play a role for the WOM recipient. The research
WOM can impact the brand attitude for the consumers. Their research was limited by applying WOM only in offline word. These days, most
aimed to understand how monetary and non-monetary incentives of the WOM was being generated in online and in social media.
affect the various dimensions of brand image within various types of Future research might check the influence of brand attitude in online
relationship. recommendations.
The study was conducted in Thailand using student sample Chung and Tsai [32] studied the impact of tie-strength on WOM
consisting of 645 subjects whose age were between 18-25 years. The and how it was affected by the regulatory focuses. The theory of
experiment consisted of a 3 × 3 design where 3 levels of incentives regulatory focus said there were two distinct motivations: promotion
(monetary, non-monetary and no incentives) and 3 social relationship focused- where the individuals were sensitive to positive outcomes
types (authority, kinship and market based pricing) were checked. and; prevention focused- where the individuals were sensitive towards
ANOVA and regression analysis were done on the data. negative outcomes.
The findings showed that rewards for WOM harm the brand or its 206 undergraduate university students were chosen as the sample.
trustworthiness. Financial rewards for recommendation creates more The subjects were randomly assigned conditions (manipulation of tie
negative impact on trust compared to non-financial rewards. Incentives strength or manipulation of regulatory focus) and then were distributed

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 6 of 9

questionnaires. The findings show regulatory focus to be an antecedent message influence and decreases in case of negative WOM. Again,
for WOM. It seemed to moderate the relationship between tie-strength previous experience with the service provider reduces the impact
and WOM. Factors like vigilance and carefulness were the characteristics of positive WOM, but that in case of negative WOM did not effect.
of preventive focused WOM giver. However, these factors were absent Supporting earlier works, a strong WOM from a very close source had
for the promotion focused WOM giver. This effect of regulatory focus a high impact on the recipient. It was also found that brand equity had
suggested the varied effects of WOM when the consumer interacts with a direct impact on the consumers’ willingness to use a service provider.
various social groups. For managers, the companies might highlight
For the managers, interpersonal variables might be helpful in case
the disadvantages of not sharing a nice experience by highlighting how
of positive WOM, but they surely helped in escalate the situation in
consumers can miss the chance of strong tie with the consumer base.
case of negative WOM. For the businesses, positive brand equity might
This might be of particular interest in case of online WOM. Companies
serve as a buffer for negative WOM and it can increase the impact of
could also encourage the promotion faced behavior to manage WOM.
positive WOM. Along with the volume, the strength and source of the
The research was limited by its sample selection of predominantly WOM was crucial for the businesses.
Asian students. It is known that culture seems to impact motivation.
The study was limited within the service sector. Thus the product
Thus future studies might study the moderating effect of culture.
context and the product complexity remained to be seen for the same
Another interesting area for future research could be the impact of tie
objective. Future research could also concentrate on other antecedents
strength and regulatory focus on WOM valence. This may have high
like the serendipity on message influence. Also the strength of WOM
influence in the online context. Also the effect and results of weak vis-
might vary with the risks associated with different kinds of services.
à-vis strong tie strength could be looked upon.
This research focused on one-to-one communication. Thus there is a
Sweeney et al. [33] in their paper studied the influence of various need to see how broadcast form of media (social media) impacts WOM.
factors enhancing WOM influence. Their paper aimed to study the
A recent study by Shi et al. tried to find out how WOM affect
effects of message, service product and interpersonal factors on positive
customer satisfaction. In this article the researchers explored how
and negative WOM. They also tried to find out how WOM influences
WOM impacted the mechanism of customer satisfaction. They also
consumer’s willingness to use a service provider. The model proposed
observed the moderating effect of WOM source and product type on
looked like in Figure 6.
the relation. The proposed model looks like this seen in Figure 7.
1000 subjects (50% females) were chosen for the study from
The experiment was conducted with 160 college students whose
the members of an online consumer group where they get points to
average age was 22 years with almost equal male and female students.
participate in the survey. Data was collected in the form of questionnaire
They measured the perceived expectations, perceived product quality
which was tested previously on a small convenient sample. The
and satisfaction. These three factors were manipulated among the
responses recorded were from a range of services like cafes, healthcare,
subjects: WOM strength (positive or negative), WOM source and
automotive, finance and other business services. The measurement
product type. MANOVA was used for the analysis.
model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis.
The results showed that WOM impact satisfaction via expectation.
The results pointed out that positive WOM impacts more
Positive WOM creates higher expectations and there is a chance of
significantly than the negative WOM. Both in cases of positive and
lower satisfaction. The same is reverse in case of negative WOM. Also
negative WOM, interpersonal factors (like homophily etc.) and
the researchers did not find regulatory role of product type in the link
message strength impacts the perceived WOM influence. It was also
between WOM and perceived quality. The perceived quality was found
found that in case of positive WOM, brand equity perception enhances
to have a strong influence on satisfaction. Product type as a moderating
variable significantly impacted the perceived quality and satisfaction.
Sender Receiver It was same in case of both positive and negative WOM. Also the
Expertise
Differential

Perceived
Homophily Quality

Change in
WOM
willingness to
Strength of message
user service
WOM influence
provider Positive
Satisfaction
WOM

Previous
experience

Expectation

Brand Equity

Figure 6: Consumer’s willingness to use a service provider. Figure 7: WOM affect customer satisfaction.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 7 of 9

expectations did not change for the positive and negative WOM. For not studied in this study. Again this research was carried out utilitarian
the managers, spread of positive WOM could improve the brand image products. Thus the hedonic products behave in this context is unknown.
and purchase intention. With higher expectations, the businesses must
Lopez and Sicilia [35] in their research have investigated WOM
be able to control the risk. Appropriate negative WOM could increase
as a communication tool and they tried to find out how WOM
the tolerance and made it easier to achieve customer satisfaction.
communication impacts new product adoption. They argued that the
The study was limited by the use of WOM as binary variable. WOM marketing campaign could be developed even before advertising
Future study may concentrate on using WOM as continuous variable. and thus WOM would play a crucial role in the new product adoption
Also product needs to be looked deeply as how various product types strategy.
impacts WOM.
In one of the experiment, 171 university students were randomly
Jeong and Koo [34] had studied the effect the valence and objectivity assigned to two conditions- one where they are exposed to the WOM
of the online review on the judgment of consumers and if eWOM had a communication first and in another where the subjects were exposed
moderating impact on this. The authors tried to check the moderating to the advertisement first. The same experiment was replicated using
effect various online platforms like company operated community or a non-student sample too. Product awareness and product adoption
consumer operated. The proposed model is shown below Figure 8. were measured. Product knowledge and perceived novelty were also
measured as additional variables. Chi square test was used for the
The experiment was a 4 × 2 design. The four parameters were:
analysis.
subjective negative, objective negative, subjective positive and objective
positive online reviews whereas the two parameters were user generated The study confirmed that WOM had a profound impact in new
and company generated content/sites. The sample size consisted of product adoption. Thus the companies should always starts product
480 (47.5% males) from South Korea with 95% of them are in the age campaign with WOM first and then starts advertising. WOM impacted
group 20-40 years. They were randomly assigned to one of the eight consumer awareness and thus resulted in increased adoption. The
conditions. Snowball sampling technique was used in the design. paper also showed that new product diffusion in enhanced with WOM
before advertising launch. Also higher volume of WOM resulted in
The results found than objective negative online WOM were
faster adoption. For the managers, they could ask consumers opinion
given more importance than other WOM types in terms of message
on new product launch and then the campaign could be designed.
usefulness. It also showed the combined effect of negativity or positivity
Managers could directly reach opinion leaders with demos which could
and objectivity or subjectivity was highly effective in impacting
be a part of the seeding campaign. The hype generation around a new
consumer’s judgment for product messages. Hence the managers were
product would be important for the businesses.
suggested to manage the negative WOM which are experience based as
they can do more harm. Also the product quality should be high and Future research could look for the role of information search or
other parameters (like delivery etc.) should be kept in mind. Managers WOM at a later stage of product adoption. Again this study was limited
should aim to reduce the negative WOM both in consumer as well as by one type of product. Various product like experience or search
business generated communities. Future research was suggested to product might behave differently. Also further research is required to
diversify eWOM beyond the positivity or objectivity paradigm as this see how various communication tools or their combination works in
was a comparatively new area. It seemed various product categories the diffusion process.
might have a moderating effect on consumer’s judgment which was
Christodoulides et al. [36] in their research studied how cross-
cultural differences impact the purchase intention for WOM among
the UK and Chinese consumers. The research design was 2 × 2 × 3.
Website Types 2 parameters were: eWOM types - positive and negative; another
2 parameters: product type – experience vs. search and the last 3
(User generated parameters were purchase intention at 3 different times. Snowball
and Company sampling techniques was used to contact 103 UK and 106 Chinese
generated) consumers. Questionnaires were distributed and data were collected.
ANOVA was used for the data analysis.
The result showed that the UK consumers had less purchase
intention than their Chinese counterparts after exposure to eWOM.
This could be as UK consumers were more susceptible to negativity
bias for the eWOM. On the other hand, Chinese consumers seem to
Online Reviews
be highly influenced by eWOM. The findings confirmed that exposure
Consumer Judgment to positive and nagetaive WOM significantly impacted the purchase
(Objective/Negative intention for both the nationals. Also the negativity bias was more
(Message usefulness, important in case of experience products than on search products.
Objective/Positive
Attitude, Purchase Further the study showed the importance of valence if eWOM
Subjective/Negative
Intention) communication. The purchase intention decreased when participants
Subjective/Positive)
were fist exposed to positive comments and then negative comments.
Similarly the purchase intention increased when the participants were
exposed to the negative comments first and then positive comments.
It showed that UK consumers gave more importance to the negative
Figure 8: Effect the valence and objectivity of the online review on the
judgment of consumers.
comments whereas the Chinese respondents tended to value the most
recent communication regardless of the valence.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 8 of 9

For managers, this study had thrown some light on the international One of the interesting finding of the study was the degree of technical
consumer base and how they could behave. The managers need to competency did not affect the confidence for online shopping. The
engage the consumer via comments or blogs. However, this research outcome was if people needed it and wanted it, they would buy online.
did not consider the role of previous knowledge in purchase intention. Also there is a convenience factor and that motivated consumer to
Also future research could look into the personality traits and its purchase online although consumers generally prefer to try the things
impact on purchase intention. Impact of varying eWOM intensity or in retail store for the look and feel. The study also pointed that the
the number of reviews could also be an important factor for further chances of online comments are higher in case of bad or negative
studies. experience. The main reasons the authors pointed for online WOM
were to enhance self-worth, to avoid risk and negativity bias. Also
Huang et al. [37] explored the factor that can help generating a
consumers judged the credibility factor from the polarity, quantity,
ripple effect for WOM diffusion in the online environment. The model
logic of the posts. The source of the comments and previous experience
proposed in the research was this (Figure 9).
with the seller also matters.
The study was carried out in China where the sample included
For managers, it should be kept in mind that tech skills did not
the postgraduate and undergraduate students. The sample size was
play a vital role in online shopping. Thus the user experience could
393 and a two-step survey was conducted. The first step was a paper
be smoothened. They might engage themselves with the audience via
and pencil one and the second was an online survey in a simulated
blogs or posts. To achieve viral marketing, managers were suggested to
online discussion forum. Structural equation modeling was used for
enhance the websites with rich information, trustworthy and balanced
the analysis.
consumer reviews and options for engaging in social interaction.
Results showed that all four dimensions studied had a significant
The study was limited by the gender. The entire subject in this study
impact on the consumer’s acceptance. Among these dimensions,
was males. Thus it is unknown how in this context gender would play
quality was the most important. The WOM information itself was a
a role in the attitude or belief expressed in the study. This research also
main driver for the ripple effect. The effect of the dimensions is same
targeted the young consumers. Future research thus could explore a
for both positive and negative WOM. In the online context, people
wide range of online consumers.
acceptance of WOM content was not influenced by the product
involvement. Managers thus should be able to create a long WOM flow Conclusion
for the ripple effect. The message and communication should be easy
and convenient to transmit. Perceived quality should be the first focus Over the past few decades, there have been some paradigm
followed by the perceived authenticity. shifts in the field of marketing. One of the revolutionary one was
with the beginning of internet marketing. The review provided by
The study was limited by its geography, China. Also many factors Schibrowsky et al. [38] proves that scholarly research in the area of
like frequency and source credibility of WOM were not tested. Also the Internet Marketing is growing. Word of mouth is one such aspect
agent’s (WOM source) characteristics and behavior were not studied. where the marketing professionals are focusing for some time. It is
O’Reilly and Marx did their research to find out how young tech creating observable effects in the online world with product reviews,
savvy consumers access the credibility of online WOM. They also ratings, social media communications and the like. Although there
focused on the consumer characteristics as the antecedents for online are numerous articles on social media in the form of whitepapers and
eWOM. blogs, literature in the form of academic research is still in its infancy.
Practitioners and marketers seek to benefit from the understanding of
University students were recruited for this study in USA and the how customers manage, create and share user-generated information
data were collected for a 12 month period via face-to-face interview. along with a broader knowledge of WOM’s overall role in the decision
making process [39,40].
Theories from psychology and behavioral studies play a crucial
Quality
role in helping marketers designing the overall WOM campaign
to reach and establish a relation with the customers. This research
area is a strong and growing field that has conceptual and empirical
opportunities for future scholarly research. According to us, the top
needed areas for further research in word of mouth are the following:
Authenticity
Acceptance Resending (1) Impact of WOM on various personality traits and how it affects
towards WOM Intention the purchase intention.
information
(2) The role of incentives, consumer judgment and influence of
Authority brand attitude on customers WOM generation process.
(3) How various product categories impacts the WOM generation.
(4) The role of demographic variables in WOM generation and
reaction.
Interestingness References
1. Huang M, Cai F, Tsang ASL, Zhou N (2011) Making your online voice loud: the
critical role of WOM information. European Journal of Marketing 45: 1277-1297.
Figure 9: Huang proposed model.
2. BCG Focus Report (2011) Harnessing the Power of Advocacy Marketing.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467

Page 9 of 9

3. McKinsey&Company (2010) A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing. 28. Gruen TW, Osmonbekov T, Czaplewski AJ (2006) eWOM: The impact of
customer-to-customer online know-how exchange on customer value and
4. Godes, D, Dina M (2004) Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth loyalty. Journal of Business Research 59: 449-456.
Communication. Marketing Science 23: 545-560.
29. Wirtz J, Chew P (2002) The effects of incentives, deal proneness, satisfaction
5. Yong L (2006) Word of Mouth for Movies: Its Dynamics and Impact on Box and tie strength on word-of-mouth behavior. International Journal of Service
Office Revenue. Journal of Marketing 70: 74-89. Industry Management 13: 141-162.
6. Shi W, Tang L, Zhang X, Gao Y, Zhu Y (2016) How does word of mouth affect 30. Pongjit C, Beise-Zee R (2015) The effects of word-of-mouth incentivization on
customer satisfaction? Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 31: 393-403. consumer brand attitude. Journal of Product & Brand Management 24: 720-
7. Arndt J (1967) Word-of-mouth advertising and informal communication. In: 735.
Cox DF (ed.) Risk taking and information communication, in Risk Taking and 31. Lim BC, Chung CMY (2014) Word-of-mouth: The use of source expertise in the
Information Handling in Consumer Behavior, Division of Research, Harvard evaluation of familiar and unfamiliar brands. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
University, Boston, MA. and Logistics 26: 39-53.
8. Richins Marsha L (1983) Negative word-of-mouth by dissatisfied consumers: a 32. Chung CMY, Tsai Q (2009) The effects of regulatory focus and tie strength on
pilot study. Journal of Marketing 47: 68-78. word-of-mouth behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 21:
9. Wangenheim Florian V, Tomás B (2004) The effect of word of mouth on 329-341.
services switching: Measurement and moderating variables. European Journal 33. Sweeney Jillian C, Soutar Geoffrey N, Mazzarol T (2012) Word of mouth:
of Marketing 38: 1173-1185. measuring the power of individual messages. European Journal of Marketing
10. O'Reilly K, Marx S (2011) How young, technical consumers assess online WOM 46: 237-257
credibility. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 14: 330-359. 34. Jeong HJ, Koo DM (2015) Combined effects of valence and attributes of
11. Sweeney J, Soutar G, Mazzarol T (2014) Factors enhancing word-of-mouth e-WOM on consumer judgment for message and product: The moderating
influence: positive and negative service-related messages. European Journal effect of brand community type. Internet Research 25: 2-29.
of Marketing 48: 336-359. 35. López M, Sicilia M (2013) How WOM marketing contributes to new product
12. Elihu K, Lazarfeld Paul F (1955) Personal influence. Glencoe, IL’ Free Press. adoption: Testing competitive communication strategies. European Journal of
Marketing 47: 1089-1114.
13. Engel James E, Blackwell Roger D, Kegerreis Robert J (1969) How information
is used to adopt an innovation. The Journal of Advertising Research 9: 3-8. 36. Christodoulides G, Michaelidou N, Argyriou E (2012) Cross-national differences
in e-WOM influence. European Journal of Marketing 46: 1689-1707.
14. Silverman G (1997) How to harness the awesome power of word of mouth.
Direct Marketing, pp: 32-37. 37. Huang Kineta H, Li, Stella Y (2007) The influence of eWOm on cirtual consumer
communities: social capital, consumer learning and behavioral outcomes.
15. Thorsten Hennig T, Gianfranco W (2014) Electronic Word-of-Mouth: Motives Journal of Advertising Research 47: 485-495.
for and Consequences of Reading Customer Articulations on the Internet.
International Journal of Electronic Commerce 8: 51-74. 38. Schibrowsky JA, Peltier JW, Nill A (2007) The state of internet marketing
research: a review of the literature and future research directions. European
16. Eleanora P, Vincenzo C (2013) The impact of experience on companies' Journal of Marketing 41: 722-733.
reactions to negative comments on social networks. Journal of Direct, Data and
Digital Marketing Practice 14: 214-223. 39. Lin MY, Lu KY, Wu JJ (2012) The effects of visual information in eWOM
communication. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 6: 7-26.
17. Thorson Kjerstin S, Rodgers S (2006) Relationships between Blogs as eWOM
and Interactivity, Perceived Interactivity, and Parasocial Interaction. Journal of 40. Sweeney JC, Soutar GN, Mazzarol T (2008) Factors influencing word of mouth
Interactive Advertising 6: 5-54. effectiveness: receiver perspectives. European Journal of Marketing 42: 344-
364.
18. Bickart B, Schindler Robert M (2001) Internet forums as influential sources of
consumer information. Journal of Interactive Marketing 15: 31-40.

19. Zhang Jason Q, Craciun G, Shin, Dongwoo (2009) When does electronic word-
of-mouth matter? A study of consumer product reviews. Journal of Business
Research 63: 1336-1341.

20. De Bruyn A, Lilien Gary L (2008) A Multi-Stage Model of Word-of-Mouth

Influence through Viral Marketing. International Journal of Research in
Marketing 25: 151-163.

21. Martensen A, Grønholdt L (2016) The effect of word-of-mouth on consumer

emotions and choice: Findings from a service industry. International Journal of
Quality and Service Sciences 8: 298-314.

22. Coulter K, Roggeveen A (2012) Like it or not: Consumer responses to word-

of-mouth communication in on-line social networks. Management Research
Review 35: 878-899.

23. Mazzarol T, Sweeney JC, Soutar GN (2007) Conceptualizing word-of-mouth

activity, triggers and conditions: an exploratory study. European Journal of
Marketing 41: 1475-1494.

24. Voyer PV, Ranaweera C (2015) The impact of word of mouth on service
purchase decisions: Examining risk and the interaction of tie strength and
involvement. Journal of Service Theory and Practice 25: 636-656.

25. Choudhury K (2014) Service quality and word of mouth: a study of the banking
sector. International Journal of Bank Marketing 32: 612-627.

26. Roy SJ, Lassar WM, Butaney GT (2014) The mediating impact of stickiness
and loyalty on word-of-mouth promotion of retail websites. European Journal
of Marketing 48: 1828-1849.
Citation: Kundu S, Sundara Rajan CR (2017) Word of Mouth: A Literature
27. Ferguson RJ, Paulin M, Bergeron J (2006) Customer sociability and the total Review. Int J Econ Manag Sci 6: 467. doi: 10.4172/2162-6359.1000467
service experience. Journal of Service Management 21: 25-44.

Int J Econ Manag Sci, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 6 • 1000467
ISSN: 2162-6359

View publication stats