Measuring Trust in Electronic Word of Mouth: A Rigid Research Framework

Abstract

More than 80 % of consumers search for information on products online before buying (McPartlin et al. 2012). Therefore, companies regularly attempt to influence buying behaviour by making reasonable investments in online advertising (oAD). By 2018, oAD (e.g. websites, banner ads) will be poised to overtake TV as the largest advertising segment (PwC 2014). However, the effectiveness of oAD is in jeopardy as consumer dependency on marketer-developed communication has declined over the last decade. Today, consumers seem increasingly to disconnect from companies. At the same time, they turn towards consumer-generated information sources like other shoppers’ opinions and recommendations. In particular, the importance of online consumer reviews (eWOM) has increased significantly. Consumer reviews are peer-generated, text-based product evaluations posted on company or third-party websites by former, actual or potential customers (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2004). The shift towards alternative information sources evokes some important questions for marketers: Are investments in classic oAD meaningful in the era of social media? Which consumers can (still) be influenced by online ads? Is the majority of shoppers’ product purchase/non-purchase primarily dictated by the opinions and recommendations of others or by marketers?.