Determining consumer engagement in word-of-mouth: Trust and network ties in a social commerce setting

Abstract

Prompted by the popularity of social commerce in the past few years, this study seeks to examine how online reviews influence consumer’s tendency to engage in word-of-mouth (WOM). We investigate how different aspects pertinent to online reviews affect consumers trust, and how that in turn induces WOM passing and WOM giving. The moderating influence of network ties is studied in the trust to WOM relationship. Building on survey-based study design with a sample of 385 social commerce consumers, we that specific aspects induce a sense of trust towards vendors. In turn, our study demonstrates that trust positively influences WOM passing and WOM giving and this relationship is amplified in conditions of strong network ties. We conclude the paper summarizing the findings and drawing theoretical and practical implications that arise.