The Impact of Electronic-Word-of Mouth on e-Loyalty and Consumers’ e-Purchase Decision Making Process: A Social Media Perspective

Abstract

The idea behind the concept of Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) is important to the visibility of individuals and businesses on social media. Although the e-WOM is increasingly adopting in Vietnam, the association of e-WOM with social media among Vietnamese is an under-researched area. Accordingly, drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, this study aims to identify the role of e-WOM in developing e-loyalty and thus e-purchase. This study develops a model consisting of e-WOM as an independent variable, e-loyalty, and e-purchase as dependent variables, and information credibility, information quality and information usefulness as mediating variables. Analyzing the data obtained from 120 online brand members, this study shows that e-WOM has a significant positive impact on e-loyalty and e-purchase. Furthermore, information credibility, information quality, and information usefulness strengthened the relationship between e-WOM and e-loyalty. Index Terms-e-loyalty, e-purchase, e-WOM, social media.