An Empirical Examination of the Impact of eWom Information on Young Consumers’ Online Purchase Intention: Mediating Role of eWom Information Adoption

Abstract

Customer purchase intention in online shopping stores can be influenced by electronic word of mouth (eWom) communication generated by the comments of consumers on social networking sites. However, the adoption of eWom information by consumers is influenced by various factors. This study investigates the mechanism through eWom antecedents influence eWom adoption and consumer purchase intention. The study also examines how eWom adoption mediates the impact of antecedents of eWom adoption (Quality, Consumer Attitude, Credibility, Usefulness, Needs, and Adoption) on customer’s purchase intention. Using the hypothetic-deductive approach, the current study used a cross-sectional self-administered survey to collect data from a convenience sample of university students residing in Karachi. The SmartPLS software was used to analyze the collected data. Study findings reveal that all predictors of eWom adoption are significant. It was also found that eWOM adoption mediates the impact of eWom antecedents on consumer purchase intention. The results provide significant implications for website designers and digital marketers. For marketers working with social media, the findings of this study are encouraging. Marketers can use these findings to develop viral marketing campaigns and encourage customers to contribute useful and credible eWom that could improve the customers’ purchase intention.