1. The Influence of Opinion Leaders’ eWOM on Online Consumer Decisions: A Study on Social Influence
- Author
-
Jesús García-Madariaga and Sandra Tobon
- Subjects
Marketing ,HF5001-6182 ,05 social sciences ,product type ,Opinion leadership ,Advertising ,Product type ,General Business, Management and Accounting ,Purchasing ,Computer Science Applications ,Viral marketing ,opinion leader’ eWOM ,online consumer decisions ,0502 economics and business ,eWOM’ valence ,Business ,050211 marketing ,Social media ,Valence (psychology) ,personal influence ,Psychology ,Empirical evidence ,050203 business & management ,Social influence - Abstract
Opinion leaders and eWOM are becoming two of the most effective ways to launch a brand on social media by creating viral marketing. However, how much influence does an opinion leader&rsquo, s eWOM (OL eWOM) have on consumer purchasing decisions? This research looks at the role of OL eWOM as well as the effect of its valence and product type on the decision to buy or not buy from a realistic experimental online store design. In total, 300 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of five scenarios in a 22 experimental arrangement. Results show that OL eWOM influences consumer online decisions when purchasing experience-type goods and the valence of eWOM is positive. However, if we compare the OL eWOM with a control group, then OL eWOM does not have a significant influence. This research provides novel empirical evidence for the limited influence of OL in modeling shopping behaviors in e-commerce contexts.
- Published
- 2021