Determinants of E-Word of Mouth on Social Media During COVID-19 Outbreaks: An Empirical Study

Abstract

In today’s digitalization, consumers are highly aware of their surroundings, which make it difficult to convince them. Advertisements are not viewed as truthful; therefore, consumers seek a reliable and a trust worthy source, where other consumers are considered an unfailing source of trust. Therefore, e-word of mouth is one of the most dominant behaviors, in specific on social media platforms due to the increase in technology. E-Word of Mouth on Social Media plays an essential role during COVID-19 Outbreak; its role becomes significant for communication during the quarantine period in epidemic outbreak. Thus, this research studies the key drivers that affect e-word of mouth in social media during COVID 19. The research objective includes the analysis of quantitative data that was collected by distributing an online survey on the key drivers affecting e-word of mouth on social media during COVID 19. With previous literature support, a model was developed that included three variables that aimed to examine the impact of convenience, information quality, and social interaction on e-word of mouth. In this study, it was found that convenience and information quality have a high correlation with e-word of mouth on social media during COVID 19. The key findings of this study have both practical and academic implications.