Farzin 2018

Journal of Advances in Management Research
eWOM through social networking sites and impact on purchase intention and
brand image in Iran
Milad Farzin, Majid Fattahi,
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eWOM
eWOM through social networking through social
sites and impact on purchase networking
sites
intention and brand image in Iran
Milad Farzin 161
Department of Business Management,
Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran, and
Majid Fattahi
Department of Business Management, Sari Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework which provides both practical and
theoretical insights into drivers of consumer use of social network sites (SNSs) as an electronic word-of-mouth
(eWOM) tool and its impact on brand image (BI) and purchase intention (PI).
Design/methodology/approach – For assessment of the research constructs, the measures proposed in the
social psychology and marketing literature were adapted. These scales were examined for the face validity by
the authors’ academic colleagues. Using the survey data collected from the students of the Islamic Azad
University, these scales were further examined in terms of convergent and discriminant validity as well as
reliability. Structural equation modelling technique was used to test the effect of eWOM antecedents on
consumer eWOM intention and the eWOM impact on BI and consumer PI.
Findings – The results confirmed significance of the constructs consumer trust, informational influence,
sense of belonging, altruism, moral obligation, and knowledge self-efficacy for consumer engagement in
eWOM. The results further indicated that eWOM, in turn, played a significant role in shaping BI in the mind
of consumers and their PI.
Research limitations/implications – Obviously, university students do not exactly represent the whole
population of SNSs members. The eWOM intention can be investigated across generations in terms of
intergenerational differences. The authors admit that in addition to the constructs used in this study there are other
equally important constructs that can be adapted from relevant fields (e.g. psychology) as the eWOM antecedents.
As for eWOM consequences, different aspects of brand equity could be additionally explored and investigated.
Practical implications – The results of this study would help marketing department of companies and
advertising agencies make advertisements in accordance with consumer characteristics. The results would also
benefit providers of online platforms by giving them insight into behaviour of their members. Finally, the finding
that eWOM intention is likely to create PI among consumers is of particular interest to producers of goods.
Originality/value – Given its bidimensional perspective to eWOM behaviour (i.e. considering both
antecedents and consequences of eWOM), this study provides valuable insights into the phenomenon eWOM
in the context of social networks as well as a basis for further research in this field.
Keywords Brand image, Purchase intention, Social network sites, eWOM behaviour
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is generally acknowledged to play a noticeable role in
effecting and shaping consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions (e.g. Chevalier and
Mayzlin, 2006; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012; Park et al., 2007; Herr et al., 1991; Zhu and Zhang,
2010; Sen and Lerman, 2007; Park and Lee, 2009; Xia and Bechwati, 2008). Some studies have
found WOM communication more effective relative to other methods such as editorial advices
or advertisements (e.g. Bickart and Schindler, 2001; Smith et al., 2005; Park and Lee, 2009), for
Journal of Advances in
it is perceived to provide comparatively more reliable information (Gruen et al., 2006). Management Research
Therefore, this type of communication is considered to bear a great deal of persuasiveness Vol. 15 No. 2, 2018
pp. 161-183
through higher perceived reliability and trustworthiness (e.g. Zhu and Zhang, 2010; © Emerald Publishing Limited
0972-7981
Godes and Mayzlin, 2004; Mayzlin, 2006). Whereas WOM communication initially referred to DOI 10.1108/JAMR-05-2017-0062
JAMR the notion of person-to-person conversation among consumers about a product (Buttle, 1998;
15,2 Sen and Lerman, 2007), the ecumenical spread of the cyber world brought up a less personal
but more ubiquitous form of WOM communication, soi-disant electronic word-of-mouth
(eWOM) communication (e.g. Park et al., 2007; Chatterjee, 2001; Zhu and Zhang, 2010;
Godes and Mayzlin, 2004; Xia and Bechwati, 2008).
With the advent of information and communication technologies, traditional WOM
162 communication has been extended to electronic platforms, such as online discussion forums,
newsgroups, blogs, review sites, and social networking sites (Li and Du, 2011; Weinberg
and Davis, 2005). Everyone can share opinion and experience which is relevant to
product and service with quite strangers who are socially and geographically dispersed
(Duan et al., 2008). This new form of WOM, the eWOM, has become an important factor in
shaping consumer purchase behaviour. Researchers argued that information provided on
consumer opinion sites is more influential among consumers nowadays (Hennig-Thurau
et al., 2004). Product reviews that consumers post on the internet constitute one of the most
important forms of eWOM communication (Sen and Lerman, 2007), and for consumers it is
increasingly common to search for online product reviews and their peers’ comments when
gathering pre-purchase product information (Adjei et al., 2010; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012).
Brand image (BI) can affect a company’s future income and long-term cash flow, a
consumer’s willingness to pay premium prices, strategic decision making, stock prices,
sustainable competitive advantage, and marketing practices (Brakus et al., 2009; Chen, 2010;
Yoo and Donthu, 2001). Consistent with the argument that specially presented WOM
communication has a strong influence on product arbitrations (Herr et al., 1991), we argue
that eWOM communications might have strong influence on BI and purchase intention (PI).
BI is the notion of brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory
(Keller, 1993).
Among the various types of social media, social network sites (SNSs) have received great
attention from researchers, academicians, and practitioners (Boyd and Ellison, 2010; Lin and
Lu, 2011; Thelwall, 2008; Valenzuela et al., 2009). With high levels of self-disclosure and
social presence (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010), SNSs have surpassed e-mail as the most
favourite online platform (Nielsen, 2009), and have enabled consumers to connect with each
other by exchanging information, opinions and thoughts about products, services, brands,
stores and companies.
Iran has embraced the idea of ICT promotion as the key to economic development, higher
productivity, and sustainable competitiveness. ICT is now considered a crucial element in all
efforts to improve and speed-up development of employment, education, health, and business
(Techrasa, 2017a, b). Internet penetration among households is one of the major indicators of a
country’s progress towards the information society. Thanks to the speedy development of the
internet infrastructure and mobile network capacity expansion in the country, Iran is now
witnessing a substantial growth in the number of its internet users. Social media and messaging
apps have tremendously changed the way Iranians communicate and share the news with each
other in recent years. Now according to a research conducted by the Statistical Centre of Iran in
the year 2016, social media usage has tripled since three years ago (Techrasa, 2017a, b).
SNSs where the users are primarily engaged in bond building and its maintenance are
widely employed by their users as an online medium for exercise of eWOM. It is in this
context that present research sets about to explore the key factors involved in consumer
eWOM behaviour and find out about the eventual consequences of eWOM behaviour of SNS
users for BI and PI of those exposed to eWOM in these sites.
In the meantime, understanding the social bond variables affecting consumer eWOM
behaviour in SNSs, and the eventual impact of the latter on BI and PI would enable
marketers and advertisers to develop and implement their effectively integrated marketing
and advertising strategies.
Literature review and hypotheses development eWOM
Over the past two decades, marketing theories and approaches have undergone changes through social
and marketing experts nowadays base their practices on social drivers rather than networking
traditional criteria for attracting more consumers. Social media and SNSs allow marketers
to reach directly to their target audience. Some researchers (e.g. Drury, 2008; Hanna et al., sites
2011; Mangold and Faulds, 2009; Xiang and Gretzel, 2010) have probed the relative
importance of the two media for the consumers but research is missing in the literature on 163
the antecedents that play a critical role in eWOM behaviour and the eWOM subsequent
impact on BI and PI.
Tie strength refers to the influence or potency of a relation or bond among different
members of a social network (Mittal et al., 2008). The tie strength may be strong or it may be
weak (Granovetter, 1973). Strong tie strengths are to find among family members, friends, or
relatives. They are about all relations that are intimate and are the source of substantive and
emotional support to different individuals (Pigg and Crank, 2004). On the other hand, weak
tie strengths involve less intimate relations as those existing among office colleagues or
other known people (Chu and Kim, 2011). Weak tie strengths also act as a considerable
source of information and knowledge for the opinion seekers at the SNSs (Pigg and
Crank, 2004). Although strong ties put a more salient effect at the individual level, the
hybrid features of SNSs allow weak ties to expand their potential impact through extending
consumers’ personal networks to external online communities (Chu and Kim, 2011).
Consistent with the here in above discussed research background the first hypothesis is
posited as follows:
H1. The tie strength of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect on
eWOM behaviour at SNSs.
Another factor is the trust among the SNS users which is known to positively affect eWOM.
Researchers defined trust as the motivation of an individual to act upon or follow the advice,
information, or knowledge provided by other individual (Pigg and Crank, 2004). Trust has a
crucial role in stimulating the people to exchange their judgment, information, or views
regarding a product or brand (Huang et al., 2012; Ridings et al., 2002). Other researchers
suggested that consumers perceive user-generated content as a more reliable source of
information and knowledge about products and brands than marketer-generated
content communicated through the traditional promotional mix in the advertising
industry (Chu and Kim, 2011; Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Thus, we hypothesise:
H2. The trust of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect on eWOM
behaviour in SNSs.
Interpersonal influence is a social factor likely with significant influence over consumer
decision-making process (e.g. D’rozario, 2001; D’Rozario and Choudhury, 2000) and
innovation adoption (Clark and Goldsmith, 2006). Researchers investigated both
informational and normative interpersonal influences and found that innovative products
or brands heavily dependent on interpersonal influence (Bearden et al., 1989; Chu and Kim,
2011). Furthermore, consumers may actively seek opinions from their friends and
connections in SNSs. Such behaviours are associated with the social influence of eWOM,
where members of social networks view their contacts as an important source of product
and brand information (Muk, 2007; Chu and Kim, 2011). Thus, we assume:
H3. The susceptibility to normative influences of consumers as members of SNSs has a
direct, positive effect on eWOM behaviour in SNSs.
H4. The susceptibility to informational influences of consumers as members of SNSs has
a direct, positive effect on eWOM behaviour in SNSs.
JAMR When consumers consider themselves as members of a specific community or group, they
15,2 are more likely to define themselves based on their membership in that community
(Dholakia et al., 2004). Sense of belonging refers to a sense of emotional involvement with the
group. With the emergence of the internet era and the popularity of virtual environments
and online platforms, individuals are spending more of their time interacting with online
communities. As a result, individuals develop a sense of belonging to online communities,
164 identifying themselves as part of those communities and developing emotional
involvements with other community members (Huang et al., 2012). Several researchers
have observed this type of awareness in online environments and platforms (Huang et al.,
2012; Koh et al., 2004; Blanchard and Markus, 2004). Individuals identifying themselves as
part of the community, especially online and virtual communities such as SNSs, will treat
other community members as their relatives and are eager to do some favours to other
fellow members (Hars and Ou, 2002). Thus, it follows that:
H5. The sense of belonging of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive
effect on eWOM behaviour in SNSs.

Altruism is the motivation with the ultimate purpose of raising the welfare of one or more
individuals other than oneself (Batson, 1994). Altruism, the desire to help and support
others, is consistently reported to be the primary driver of knowledge sharing behaviour
(Herschel and Yermish, 2008). Social network members who are acting upon altruistic
purposes tend to share their information and knowledge to other members without
expecting direct rewards in return.
Some studies indicated the joy of helping others as a commonly acknowledged altruistic
factor and the prime motive behind individuals’ desire to share information and knowledge
on online platforms (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Kankanhalli et al., 2005; Reimer and
Benkenstein, 2016). Individuals in virtual communities and online platforms such as SNSs,
get satisfaction, and pleasure from helping other consumers by sharing their information
and knowledge (Arakji et al., 2009; Wasko and Faraj, 2000). Hence, we predict that:
H6. The Altruism of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect on
eWOM behaviour in SNSs.
Information and knowledge exchange of SNS members would strengthen their sense of
oneness seeing themselves as the members of one community and feeling the obligation to
exchange information and knowledge (Haythornthwaite, 1996). The commitment to online
social networks extends to a sense of moral obligation to help other community members as
one of them. Some studies showed that each member of the community will feel a moral
obligation to continue making bonds, and exchange information and knowledge with one
another (Gruen et al., 2006; Gruen et al., 2007). Individuals who are motivated by a sense of
moral obligation to the community tend to give valuable advice to other members
(Huang et al., 2009). In the context of eWOM and SNSs, there is evidence that a sense of
moral obligation to share information and knowledge with other members motivates
knowledge sharing behaviour (Goldsmith et al., 2006; Walsh et al., 2004). Hence, we assume
that when a consumer feels a strong sense of moral obligation, he/she will more readily
engage in online eWOM and platforms:
H7. The moral obligation of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect
on eWOM behaviour in SNSs.
Self-efficacy refers to personal confidence in one’s abilities (Geissler and Edison, 2005), and
in the context of social cognitive theory, it is a matter of personal arbitration regarding one’s
ability to perform and organise the courses of action required for certain, well-defined types
of performances (Cheung and Lee, 2012), and has a great impact on people’s feeling,
thinking, motivating, behaving, and decision making (Gangadharbatla, 2008; Geissler and eWOM
Edison, 2005; Bandura, 1994; Payne et al., 1991; Bearden et al., 2001). Some studies showed through social
that knowledge self-efficacy may serve as a self-motivator for knowledge sharing in virtual networking
communities and online platforms such as SNSs. Kankanhalli et al. (2005) noted the
importance of knowledge self-efficacy on people’s knowledge sharing intention and sites
behaviour. So, we believe that a higher self-efficacy would lead to a higher willingness to
engage in eWOM in virtual communities and online platforms such as SNSs: 165
H8. The self-efficacy of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect on
eWOM behaviour in SNSs.
Consumer eWOM behaviour has become a salient factor in shaping consumer purchase
behaviour and decision-making process. Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) argued that
information and knowledge provided at consumer opinion sites are found more effective
and reliable by consumers. They defined eWOM as “any positive or negative statement
made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company which is made
available to multitude of the people and institutes via the internet”.
BI encompasses attributes and benefits associated with a brand that make the brand
distinctive and distinguish the firm’s offer from that of its competitors. Keller (1998)
described BI benefits as “what consumers think the brand can do for them”, and defined BI
as the perception of consumers when they are exposed to a brand and reflected by brand
associations in their evoked set. The objective of companies is to establish positive link
between the brand and consumers perception the outcome of which is the positive image of
the brand (Lin et al., 2013). Consistent with prior research, we assume that in the online
contexts WOM is more contagious, and therefore, we hypothesise that:
H9. The eWOM behaviour of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive
effect on BI.
Consumer intention to buy a particular product, service, or brand is indicated as PI. PI is
considered as the single most accurate predictor of actual purchase behaviour (Fishbein and
Ajzen, 1977). Consumers search for online product reviews and their peers’ comments, while
gathering information and knowledge about product and brand before purchase ( Jalilvand
and Samiei, 2012; Adjei et al., 2010). Consumers usually use eWOM to decide whether they
would trust the firm in an online transaction. Some studies report that eWOM presented in
the seller’s profiles in the online platforms has noticeable impact on the closing price of
online auctions (Zhou et al., 2009; Yoo et al., 2006, Rice, 2012), which implies significant
impact of eWOM on PI of online bidders in virtual contexts.
These studies suggest when consumers notice that there are many positive eWOMs
associated with the product or the brand sold by a firm they will build a positive image
about the product or the brand to be provided by the firm. These positive images will
lead them to eventually trust that firm. Thus, consumer trust in a product and the
brand information and knowledge made available by eWOM can reinforce PI (See-To and
Ho, 2014; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012; Sia et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2009). Thus, we expect
eWOM to positively affect BI and PI across online platforms and SNSs and advance the
following hypotheses:
H10. The eWOM behaviour of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive
effect on PI.
H11. The perceived BI of consumers as members of SNSs has a direct, positive effect on PI.
Now, based on the assumed causalities between the research variables, as formulated by the
above hypotheses, the research conceptual framework is constructed in Figure 1.
JAMR Tie Strength
15,2 Trust
Purchase intention
Normative influences
166 Informational influences

eWOM intention
Sense of belonging
Brand image
Altruism
Moral obligation
Figure 1.
Proposed model Self-efficacy
Methodology
The required data for test of the hypotheses and assessment of the assumed causalities
between the research key constructs, i.e. eWOM behaviour and its antecedents and
consequences, BI, and PI, were collected from the survey questionnaire. According to
scholars, a large portion of SNSs users are university students (Ellison et al., 2007; Lenhart,
2009; Mangold and Faulds, 2009), and in Iran, too, many interactions between students and
professors occur in such contexts. In addition, research indicates that majority of the young
people between 18 and 24 years of age are members of two or more social networks and
have made profiles of their own on those networks meanwhile there is no significant
difference between men and women in the intention or willingness to use social networks
(Lenhart, 2009; Lenhart et al., 2010). And since our research hypotheses were not about
differences between groups, it was chosen for simple random sampling. The use of simple
random sampling allowed us to build a proportionally large sample (n ¼ 400) and avoid
potential biases in the sampling process by giving everyone an equal chance to be selected.
Measurement
The research constructs were operationalized using the proposed measures/proxies in the
social psychology and marketing literature. Thus, the measures are all the main constructs/
indicators previously defined and included in the proposed model (see Table AI).
The required data for assessment of the research constructs and test of the hypotheses were
collected by a questionnaire containing multiple choice queries graded on a seven-point
Likert scale, with the options ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.
The second section of the questionnaire was dedicated to demographic information of the
participants, such as gender, age, and the year of admission to the university.
The participants, in addition, were asked to name three social networks in which they
had a user account and made the most thereof. It should be noted that the questionnaire was
distributed in native language of the participants (Farsi/Persian) and subsequently was
translated into English for reporting in the paper.
Data collection and analysis

Using simple random sampling, 400 questionnaires were distributed among the business
administration students of Sari Branch of Islamic Azad University who voluntarily chose to
participate in the survey. Of these questionnaires, after excluding the incompletely filled
ones, 369 were fully answered and usable for the main analysis. This gave a response rate of eWOM
0.922 which was exceptionally large and representative. through social
Internal consistency of the constructs was estimated using Cronbach’s α. Data analyses networking
involved descriptive and inferential methods performed in SPSS and smart partial least
squares (PLS) software, respectively. The statistical analyses were based on the PLS sites
method. PLS technique better explains complex relationships (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). In
addition, this technique is preferably used when the focus of research is on theory 167
development (Cheung and Lee, 2012). Structural equation modelling (SEM) is a method used
to show linear relationships between latent and observed variables and its purpose is to
estimate a set of structural equations coefficients.
Results
Sample profile
Of the 369 questionnaires completed by the participants, 212 belonged to male respondents
and 157 to female respondents. Most of the participants were between the age of 18 and
20 years old (n ¼ 119). Majority of the sample students (n ¼ 128) studied in junior year
followed in size by the students in sophomore, freshman, and senior years, respectively.
The top 3 social networks the participants were a member of were Instagram, Facebook, and
Tweeter. A detail of the descriptive statistics is presented in Table I.
Measurement model
The proposed structural model was estimated by SEM technique. The estimation involved
the model overall goodness of fit test and separate tests for its significance in estimating the
assumed relationships between the variables. These tests confirmed the links between
eWOM antecedents, eWOM, BI, and PI. The model overall goodness of fit parameters and
indices were estimated using the PLS method. Our sample in this research (n ¼ 369) was
large enough and greater than the recommended minimum sample size (n ¼ 200) (Medsker
et al., 1994), so the PLS method was applicable. The indicator of the observed variables was
continuous, and no violation of multivariate normality was found in the survey answers.
Characteristic Frequency Percentage CF (%)
Gender
Male 212 57.45 57.45
Female 157 42.54 100
Age
18-20 119 32.24 32.24
20-22 103 27.91 60.15
22-24 88 23.84 83.99
24-26 59 15.98 100
Academic year
Freshmen 88 23.84 23.84
Sophomores 106 28.72 52.56
Juniors 128 34.68 87.24
Seniors 47 12.73 100
Top 3 SNSs Table I.
Instagram 358 97 Demographic
Facebook 223 60.43 attributes of the
Tweeter 112 30.35 respondents
JAMR As is shown in Table II, Cronbach’s α that measures reliability of the variables in the model
15,2 is within the range of 0.727 and 0.922 for all constructs and their respective subscales, which
are above the minimum level of 0.6, confirming internal consistency of the model’s
constructs (Hair et al., 1998).
Next, convergent and discriminant (divergent) validity of the constructs were estimated.
Convergent validity was assessed using three indices: composite reliability (CR), which should
168 be greater than 0.7 (Chin, 1998); average variance extracted (AVE), which should be greater
than 0.5 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 1998); and all factor loadings, which must be
greater than 0.5 (Hair et al., 1998), or by other accounts, greater than 0.707 (Chin, 1998).
Convergent validity indices, i.e. CR, AVE, and factor loadings, are provided in Table II. As we
see in this table, the conditions of convergent validity are fully satisfied for all constructs.
Discriminant validity indicates that a construct has a low correlation with other
measurement constructs. This is the case when the square root of AVE for each construct is
greater than the correlation between that construct and other constructs. In Table III, square
root of AVE for each construct is shown in italic on diagonals of the table. As is seen, square
Construct Item Loading t-value Mean SD Cronbach’s α
Tie strength TS1 0.847 49.70 4.93 0.953 0.837

CR ¼ 0.902; AVE ¼ 0.755 TS2 0.900 84.72 5.68 0.913
TS3 0.857 65.56 4.90 1.054
Trust TR1 0.920 113.15 5.53 0.999 0.875
CR ¼ 0.923; AVE ¼ 0.801 TR2 0.865 63.37 5.57 1.042
TR3 0.898 73.36 4.77 0.891
Normative influence NI1 0.920 114.38 4.15 0.893 0.867
CR ¼ 0.918; AVE ¼ 0.790 NI2 0.842 41.70 4.86 0.934
NI3 0.901 93.61 4.61 0.979
Informational influence II1 0.833 38.45 4.91 0.836 0.879
CR ¼ 0.926; AVE ¼ 0.807 II2 0.942 140.47 4.13 0.884
II3 0.915 99.31 4.90 0.985
Sense of belonging SOB1 0.836 45.50 5.55 0.907 0.850
CR ¼ 0.899; AVE ¼ 0.691 SOB2 0.816 37.21 6.37 0.828
SOB3 0.802 32.84 4.75 0.897
SOB4 0.869 70.19 5.64 0.921
Altruism ALT1 0.871 54.22 5.69 0.841 0.862
CR ¼ 0.916; AVE ¼ 0.784 ALT2 0.877 65.13 4.84 0.868
ALT3 0.907 85.47 5.78 0.944
Moral obligation MO1 0.873 62.95 4.95 0.869 0.824
CR ¼ 0.895; AVE ¼ 0.741 MO2 0.895 90.36 6.24 0.792
MO3 0.812 36.98 5.64 0.970
Self-efficacy SE1 0.903 107.90 5.95 1.081 0.727
CR ¼ 0.879; AVE ¼ 0.785 SE2 0.868 49.82 5.71 0.888
Electronic word of mouth eWOM1 0.896 69.54 5.15 0.941 0.922
CR ¼ 0.939; AVE ¼ 0.722 eWOM2 0.812 48.62 5.66 1.031
eWOM3 0.788 28.19 4.98 0.832
eWOM4 0.879 64.56 6.37 0.828
eWOM5 0.835 48.63 5.56 0.861
eWOM6 0.879 65.25 5.77 1.055
Brand image BI1 0.878 52.58 6.08 0.940 0.894
CR ¼ 0.934; AVE ¼ 0.826 BI2 0.916 78.12 6.42 0.807
BI3 0.931 116.39 5.95 1.058
Purchase intention PI1 0.919 76.23 6.52 0.755 0.913
Table II. CR ¼ 0.945; AVE ¼ 0.851 PI2 0.916 69.95 6.40 0.953
Psychometric PI3 0.933 136.31 6.18 1.040
properties of measures Notes: CR, composite reliability; AVE, average variance extracted
ALT BI II MO NI PI SE SOB TR TS eWOM
eWOM
through social
ALT 0.885 networking
BI 0.248 0.908
II 0.552 0.658 0.898 sites
MO 0.604 0.599 0.566 0.860
NI 0.157 0.156 0.325 0.294 0.888
PI 0.443 0.837 0.560 0.368 0.253 0.922 169
SE 0.453 0.301 0.431 0.619 0.153 0.390 0.886
SOB 0.588 0.403 0.375 0.711 0.462 0.364 0.364 0.831
TR 0.427 0.402 0.582 0.392 0.193 0.474 0.421 0.560 0.894
TS 0.172 0.148 0.095 0.297 0.494 0.239 0.169 0.101 0.321 0.868
eWOM 0.695 0.883 0.709 0.628 0.188 0.718 0.707 0.786 0.672 0.189 0.849
Notes: Italic diagonal elements are the square root of AVE for each construct. Off-diagonal elements are the Table III.
correlations between constructs Correlation matrix
root of AVE for each construct is more than the correlation between that construct and
other constructs, confirming discriminant validity of all constructs. In sum, the testing
results indicate a satisfactory level of construct validity in terms of convergent and divergent
validity, implying that the research constructs are adequately fit for assessment of the
structural model.
Structural model
The structural model was assessed through test of the hypotheses underlying our research
model. Figure 2 shows overall explanatory power based on the standardized regression path
coefficients, indicating direct effects of the predictors on the estimated latent constructs
in the model. Significance of each path was tested using bootstrap resampling procedure.
TR1 TR2 TR3

TS1 TS2 TS3
0.920 0.866 0.898

0.848 0.900 0.858
NI1 NI2 NI3
0.921 0.843 0.902 0.000

0.000
eWOM3 PI1
0.000 TR eWOM2
TS 0.919
eWOM4 0.937
NI 0.916
0.086 PI2
0.789 0.812 –0.152
0.004 0.933
II1 PI
0.834 0.880
0.000 0.081
0.943
II2 0.915 PI3
0.217
0.889
II3 II 0.933 0.897 eWOM1
0.835
eWOM5
0.398 eWOW 0.880 0.964 BI1

SOB1 0.878
0.836 0.091 0.118 0.262 0.928
0.816 eWOM6 0.916
SOB2 0.000 BI2
0.803
0.932
SOB3 0.869 ALT MO SE BI
SOB
0.000 0.000 0.000
SOB4 BI3
Figure 2.
0.872 0.878 0.907 0.873 0.895 0.813 0.903
0.868 Standardized
regression coefficients
of the proposed model
ALT1 ALT2 ALT3 MO1 MO2 MO3 SE1 SE2
JAMR The value of coefficient of determination (R2 value) indicates the extent to which our model
15,2 explains the variance in the outcome variables. In our model, 93 per cent of variance in
eWOM behaviour and BI and 94 per cent of variance in consumer PI could be explained
based on R2 values (see Figure 2).
For assessment of the overall model fit, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) was used for which
the three values of 0.01, 0.25, and 0.36 correspond to weak, moderate, and strong fit,
170 respectively (Wetzels et al., 2009). This index is computed as follows:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
GFI ¼ Communality R2
Communality and R2 values are given in Table IV. The resulting GFI value on the bottom
line (0.857) indicates that the structural model was reasonably fit for the data.
Table V summarises the results on test of hypotheses (bivariate correlations) which
indicate significance of the relationships between the variables. According to these results,
of the 11 hypotheses posited in this research, 5 were confirmed at 0.01 significance level and
4 at 0.05 significance level, and 2 hypotheses was rejected. Variables altruism, information
influence, moral obligation, knowledge self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and trust with path
coefficients of 0.091, 0.217, 0.118, 0.262, 0.398, and 0.086, respectively, had positive and
significant effect on eWOM and were considered most to eWOM behaviour. However,
tie strength, according to the results, had a negative, but significant, effect on eWOM
(β ¼ −0.152). The results, in addition, indicated that eWOM itself was a significant
Research constructs Communality R2
ALT 0.785
BI 0.826 0.928
II 0.808
MO 0.741
NI 0.791
PI 0.852 0.937
SE 0.785
SOB 0.691
TR 0.801
TS 0.755
eWOM 0.722 0.933
Table IV. Average 0.778 0.933
The overall model fit GFI 0.857
Hypotheses St estimate SE t-Statistics p
ALT → eWOM 0.091 0.044 2.073 0.05

BI → PI 0.889 0.039 22.803 0.01
II → eWOM 0.217 0.044 4.894 0.01
MO → eWOM 0.118 0.058 2.017 0.05
NI → eWOM −0.004 0.046 0.080 Reject
SE → eWOM 0.262 0.047 5.586 0.01
SOB → eWOM 0.398 0.040 9.864 0.01
TR → eWOM 0.086 0.039 2.217 0.05
TS → eWOM −0.152 0.055 2.786 Reject
Table V. eWOM → BI 0.964 0.005 203.214 0.01
Test of hypotheses eWOM → PI 0.081 0.040 2.036 0.05
anticipator of BI while exerted a positive influence over consumer PI. Finally, BI was found eWOM
to be significantly associated with consumer PI. Thus, the results supported H2 and through social
H4-H11, but they did not support H1 and H3. networking
In addition, for test of bivariate mutual effects where consumer PI is affected,
standardized direct, indirect, and total effects of eWOM on BI and PI were examined the sites
results of which are presented in Table VI. The testing results indicated that eWOM
indirectly influenced PI (0.857), and its total effect on PI was 0.938. 171
Discussion and conclusion
Ever since the spreading of eWOM via social networks turned into a critical factor in
shaping the consumer behavioural and attitudinal characteristics, branding through eWOM
in social networks was viewed as an effective tool in corporate advertising strategies.
Consistent with this view and in contribution to this effect, our effort in this research was
focused on identifying and assessing the major determinants of eWOM antecedents. In this
inquiry, we primarily relied on the theoretical findings from the social psychology literature.
In addition, we sought to find out about the major consequences of eWOM, such as BI and
consumer PI, and present them in a comprehensive model.
General discussion
The use of virtual communities, such as Facebook, where the users are able to publish their
experiences with products or brands, has raised to an unprecedented height recently, as is
evident from the 36 per cent increase in the time spent by the users on social networking just
in one year from 2015 to 2016 (Nielsen Online, 2016). On the other hand, today, consumers
before making their mind to buy something are eager to search for the information on
virtual networks and know about the views of other consumers on the items of interest.
The SEM results in this study indicated that the factors trust, informational influence,
sense of belonging, altruism, moral obligation, and knowledge self-efficacy were positively
effect on consumer eWOM behaviour on the social networks the consumers were a
member of. And eWOM, in turn, positively influenced BI meanwhile both directly and
indirectly, via BI, worked out its influence over consumer PI. However, the results did not
support two of the hypotheses predicting normative influence and tie strength as significant
antecedents of eWOM: the former lacked statistical significance and the latter while
statistically significant was inversely related to eWOM.
Testing the first hypothesis on the effect of consumer tie strength on eWOM behaviour
reveals a negative association between the two variables. That is to say, the weaker the
consumer tie strength as the members of the group is, the more likely they are to engage in
eWOM. One possible explanation for this result is that consumers during information giving
on networks of which they are a member tends to share their experience with products and
brands within groups that add many acquaintances to their contacts (weak ties), not to share
their information and knowledge with their close friends (strong ties) (Granovetter, 1973;
Brown et al., 2007; Petrescu, 2014), with whom they are in touch also in the real world. It also
could be ascribed to the possibility provided by the social networks for the users to have quick
and easy access to information, so they are more likely to resend this information only to those
ones with whom they are less in touch in the real world (weak ties) (Brown and Reingen, 1987;
Independent variable Dependent variable Direct effect Indirect effect Total effect Table VI.
Analysis of the
eWOM BI 0.964 0.000 0.964 bivariate, mutual
eWOM PI 0.081 0.857 0.938 direct, indirect, and
BI PI 0.889 0.000 0.889 total effects
JAMR Chu and Kim, 2011). Weak ties often provide access to novel information, information not
15,2 circulating in the closely knit network of strong ties (Gilbert and Karahalios, 2009). Moreover,
people are members of a greater number of groups in which tie strength is lower, and the
number of people in membership of groups with weak ties is usually larger than that of their
counterparts in groups with strong ties. The larger number of membership implies a wider
spectrum of members with more diverse backgrounds which, in turn, promote information
172 exchange and idea sharing (Granovetter, 1973; McPherson and Smith-Lovin, 1987; Pigg and
Crank, 2004; Brown et al., 2007), whereas homogeneity of the member background in a group
may constrain the access to diverse knowledge and information (Rogers and Bhowmik, 1970).
Trust is another construct borrowed from the social psychology literature as a precursor
estimating consumer willingness to engage in eWOM. The results confirmed positive effect
of trust on consumer engagement in eWOM in SNS contexts, which is consistent with the
results reported by numerous studies (e.g. Ridings et al., 2002; Pigg and Crank, 2004;
Chu and Kim, 2011). Trust is considered an important element for consumers in social
networking and has a significant effect on consumer eWOM behaviour on SNSs (Pan and
Chiou, 2011), because it is through trust that consumers can evaluate information value and
credibility of its source (See-To and Ho, 2014). As a result, when consumers have trust in
fellow members of social networks, they are more and more willing to rely on these
relationships and this in turn would strengthen the willingness to engage in disseminating
advertising information and messages to their SNS members.
Consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influences is another important factor which
according to prior research has a significant impact on consumer behavioural and attitudinal
decisions (D’rozario, 2001; Clark and Goldsmith, 2006). It involves two types of interpersonal
influences: normative and informational. Prior research indicated that people who are more
susceptible to normative influence focus on communication building process (Batra et al., 2001),
while people who are more prone to informational influence place the emphasis on value of
information transfer (Laroche et al., 2005). Our results indicated positive and significant effect of
consumer susceptibility to informational influence on eWOM behaviour, but we could not find
any significant link between susceptibility to normative influence and engagement in eWOM,
which is in line with prior findings (e.g. Wong and Ahuvia, 1998; Le Monkhouse et al., 2012; Lee
et al., 2014). The significant effect of informational influence on eWOM behaviour may imply that
consumers prior to purchase of products and brands with which they have little to no experience
or knowledge would rather consult their friends and other members of social networks and profit
from their advices regarding the use of products and brands barely known to them. Besides,
collecting information on products and brands on their social networks, consumers would be
able to make a choice from among the available substitutes or alternatives in that product class.
Cultural values have been shown to influence consumer behaviour (Laroche et al., 2005;
Malai, 2007). Culture has been seen as an important influence on human behaviour, with the
assumption that an individual’s behaviour is usually reflective of their cultural value system.
Culture is thought to influence individual preferences, how decisions are made (Ford et al.,
1995; McDonald, 1994), what actions are taken based on those decisions, and how the world is
perceived (McCort and Malhotra, 1993). Researchers have ascertained that culture influences
consumer cognition (Aaker and Maheswaran, 1997), affect (Lam, 2007), and behaviour
(Shim and Gehrt, 1996). Religion has always been a cultural element in the consumer behaviour
framework, and has a significant influence on people’s attitudes, values, and behaviours on
both the individual and societal levels. Many research projects have focused on the
relationship between religion and consumption. For example, Jamal (2003) found that religious
commitments and beliefs influence people’s feelings and attitudes toward consumption.
Scholars have identified religion as an elementary component of culture, one that is associated
with many aspects of consumers’ lives and behaviour (Bailey and Sood, 1993). Iran, as a
Muslim country, has its own cultural features. Religion influences consumers’ perceived
values, motivations, and beliefs about products. Iran’s religiosity is its most striking and eWOM
pervasive cultural feature. A possible explanation for lack of a significant relationship between through social
normative influence and consumer eWOM behaviour is that in the environment where this networking
research was conducted (i.e. Iran), people due to certain cultural values and religious beliefs
view imitation from others (mimetic behaviour) not appropriate (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, sites
2011; Bachleda et al., 2014) or against decency, and do not like to openly admit that under
influence of group norms they purchase products and brands (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 173
2014), or others give direction to their life. Therefore, in the cultural context of Iran, people are
willing to acquire information from others for their purchase decision, yet they find the
conformity with group norms in purchase decisions for the mere compliance with expectations
of others in conflict with their cultural values and do not approve it.
Sense of belonging is another construct that in our research was found to be positively effect
on consumer willingness to engage in eWOM. In the marketing literature, there is evidence that
highlights sense of belonging as a necessary element in shaping group loyalty and citizenship
behaviour (Dholakia et al., 2004; Kozinets, 1999). In our study, the consumers that felt a stronger
sense of belonging by membership in their social networks showed higher willingness to engage
in eWOM as well. When members of social networks feel themselves as a member of a
community, treat other fellow members as their kin (Blanchard and Markus, 2004), and tend to
do things in interest of other members. When consumers perceive good quality relationships
and interactions with their online community, they judge information from the online
community credibly (Huang et al., 2012), intensifying the influence of eWOM on attitude.
In the online communities where there is a high sense of belonging to the community, the
members enjoy shared emotional linkage and connections. In such communities, the
members expect support from each other and hope the members to help them solve their
problems. Thus, the stronger the people’s sense of belonging by membership in a group
becomes, the more likely they are to spread and share the information on products and
brands they find useful for other members.
Our results further indicated positive effect of the construct “altruism” on consumer
eWOM behaviour. The consumer willingness to share their experience with products and
brands is partly due to the pleasure they feel by helping other members of the network which
can be explained in terms of altruism (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Reimer and Benkenstein,
2016). Consumers by helping other fellow members on social networks can benefit them in
their buying decisions (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010), and sharing their experiences from
consuming products and brands with other members. Besides, consumers may do so to keep
others away from negative experiences and warn others to not make the same mistake
(Petrescu, 2014), and giving solutions of problems after experiencing a similar negative
interaction. Consumers also may seek to help the company and promote its brand, because
they have had a positive experience with that product or brand and in doing so want to
support it. Sometimes, helping the company would be a cause of a consumer’s wish for
helping the company out by sharing a negative service experience, wishing for an
improvement of the product or service quality.
Another construct analysed in this study was “moral obligation” which was found to have
a positive effect on consumer eWOM behaviour. Similar results were obtained by other
researchers (e.g. Tong et al., 2007; Wasko and Faraj, 2005; Gruen et al., 2006, 2007). This result
implies that people based on a shared sense of membership develop a sort of commitment to
the group in the context of social network, which make them feel a moral obligation to help
other fellow members. In social networks, people with higher sense of moral obligation are
more likely to help others (Goldsmith et al., 2006), by sharing their knowledge and experience
with them. Moral consciousness to the obligations as part of SNSs will encourage members to
remain in those online communities. As information has become public property in SNSs, then
members have a strong moral obligation to share information. Thus, when consumers
JAMR perceive knowledge as a public good, they are motivated to share it with other members due to
15,2 a sense of moral obligation rather than an expectation of return.
The last constructs considered in this research as a eWOM antecedent was “knowledge
self-efficacy” which was found to positively influence eWOM behaviour. Based on the
research results, the consumer perception of their ability to collect useful information on
products and brands affects their willingness to engage in eWOM activity, which is
174 consistent with the results of similar studies suggesting that the higher the self-efficacy
level is, the more motivated or encouraged the people are to help others (e.g. Bearden et al.,
2001; Gangadharbatla, 2008; Geissler and Edison, 2005; Payne et al., 1991), since they have
the confidence that their help would be effective. This belief, in turn, reflects the consumer
perceived capability to use the SNSs to accomplish tasks. Knowledge self-efficacy can act as
an intrinsic motivator in consumers encouraging them to spread their information and
knowledge through social networks as members. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that
confidence in one’s ability to use the online communities may influence the willingness to
use SNS, as internal beliefs affect actual behaviour. In addition, individuals with relatively
high levels of self-efficacy exhibit long-term resiliency by innovating and persevering in
ambiguous situations (Bandura, 1994), and greater self-efficacy aids in cognitive processing
and self-motivation and helps reduce anxiety. Thus, the higher the consumer knowledge
self-efficacy is, the more they are likely to engage in eWOM behaviour in social networks.
Finally, the results indicated that consumer eWOM behaviour, in turn, had a positive and
significant impact on BI and eventually on consumer PI. In the meantime, BI positively
influenced consumer PI. These results are consistent with prior research findings (e.g.
Adjei et al., 2010; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012; Kim et al., 2009; See-To and Ho, 2014; Rice, 2012;
Zhou et al., 2009). According to the results, the members’ engagement in eWOM advertising at
SNSs had significant effect on consumer perception of BI and PI meanwhile an improved BI,
as perceived by consumers, bolstered their PI. Thus, an increase in positive eWOM regarding
products and brands in social networks would enhance consumer perceived BI and PI.
Implications
While the extant research considerably increases our understanding of eWOM, it is largely
focused on how consumer eWOM behaviour contributes to shaping of behavioural and
attitudinal patterns in other consumers (cf. Gruen et al., 2006; Park et al., 2007; Park and Lee,
2009; Zhang et al., 2010; See-To and Ho, 2014) and is less concerned with eWOM determinants.
This research attempts to fill the existing gap by simultaneously inquiring into the factors
that contribute to eWOM behaviour and the important factors that are affected by it.
We believe that the present research and its findings significantly contribute to conceptual
understanding of consumer eWOM behaviours on social networks and the online contexts, and
the eWOM impact on purchase drivers. This study in several ways contributes to the existing
literature. First, most of the prior research in the field of eWOM is focused on the eWOM impact
on consumer buying decisions and provides little insight into the causes of consumer
willingness to spend their time for sharing their experience regarding products and brands
with other consumers in the context of social networks. This study, by providing a theoretical
model for simultaneous assessment of eWOM antecedents and consequences, attempts to
enrich the existing eWOM literature. Second, for assessment of the causes and drivers of
consumer eWOM behaviour, we made use of social psychology constructs since this study was
conducted in a social network setting, assuming a significant difference between eWOM in the
context of social networks and other online platforms, such as e-mails and weblogs.
Third, our findings help people functioning in marketing sections of companies and
advertising agencies develop their advertisements in accordance with consumer
characteristics and thereby extend the message’s reach among consumers. On the other
hand, social networks create a channel to build and establish the relationship between
consumers and brands. Marketing and advertising practitioners must try to identify market eWOM
mavens, encourage members of social networks to engage in positive eWOM and prevent through social
spreading of consumer negative eWOM echoing their troublesome experiences with networking
products and brands. In addition, SNSs allow marketing and advertising practitioners to
have access to a large number of consumers with high speed and low cost. This further sites
enables marketing practitioners to adopt personalised and customised marketing strategies
for the target consumers of the company’s products and brands in order to satisfy the needs 175
of SNS users. They may use, for example, techniques for trust building or advertising
messages which are informative and create awareness and thereby enhance people’s sense
of knowledge self-efficacy.
The results of this research further can benefit providers of online platforms concerning
behavioural knowledge of their members. By understanding the nature of the social
relationships between members of SNSs, they can focus on the consumers that are more
engaged in eWOM behaviour within SNSs. By tracking the consumer profile and finding out
as when and how they show or express willingness to engage in eWOM, and using the
variables involved in shaping their eWOM behaviours, they can provide the ground for
establishing long-term, two-way relationship between consumers and brands. Another
noteworthy issue concerns the social networks themselves. Providers of these platforms need
to improve interactive features of these platforms. Such improvement would stimulate the
sense of belonging to group, moral obligation to group, and trust building among group
members. On the other hand, by introducing some mechanisms that identify the individuals
engaged in giving useful advices to other members and allow the readers of the comments to
express their gratitude to the writers of the advices, these providers can stimulate the sense of
altruism, knowledge self-efficacy, and informational influence in members of social networks.
In addition, our finding that eWOM behaviour can lead to PI could be of particular
importance to manufacturers of products. When customers in the market place intend to buy a
product, they can, using their smart phones, study product online offerings in SNSs, and this
may have a significant impact on their buying decisions. Marketing managers may employ
experimental marketing methods for the purpose of initiating consumers into eWOM and in
the store location provide the consumers the opportunity to examine the products. Companies
can further enhance BI by improving product quality and providing adequate after-sales
services (Aaker and Maheswaran, 1997; Keller and Lehmann, 2006). Moreover, today, with the
public access to the internet, marketers are able to constantly monitor the eWOMs for their
brands and the competitors (Kozinets et al., 2010). The internet allows marketing practitioners
to progressively employ novel communication tools to engage consumers with products and
brands and enhance their knowledge regarding them. For instance, they may design certain
online games under social networks in connection with the company’s products and brands in
order to engage consumers and induce them to eWOM.
Limitation and further research direction

Although this study is among the few studies that simultaneously examine eWOM
antecedent and consequences on social networks, it was subjected to some limitations which
must be addressed. While college students are representative of the majority of SNS users,
they do not exactly represent the whole population of SNS members. According to Nielsen
Social Media Report published in 2016, the time spent on SNSs had 36 per cent growth
compared to 2015 where a large portion of the users consisted of Generation X cohort
(35-45). Hence, additional research could be conducted on consumer eWOM behaviour based
on Gen X age groups or based on intergenerational differences. Further, the same topic
could be studied, given occupational and cultural differences of people.
While in this research we tried to roll up a worthy set of eWOM antecedents in the area of
social relationships, there are other complementary factors associated with psychological
JAMR and motivational differences, such as affinity to technology, self-presenting, and market
15,2 mavenism, which could be explored.
Furthermore, eWOM effects on BI could be examined for particular brands or class of
products, such as luxury goods or high-tech products. Also, the eWOM impact on other brand
dimensions (Keller, 1993), such as brand personality, could be investigated in future works.
Methodologically, we used only one questionnaire for measurement of all the constructs
176 with a quantitative approach, while a more comprehensive understanding of eWOM
phenomenon requires the use of qualitative method and mixed method approaches which
are expected to be considered in later works on this topic.
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JAMR Appendix
15,2
Tie strength (adapted from Norman and Russell, 2006; Gilbert and Karahalios, 2009)
TS1 My interaction with members of SNSs of which I am a member is high
TS2 I get upset, if members of social networks break their friendship with me
182 TS3 If I leave the social network that I was a member of and join another social network, it is important
to me that my friends accompany me
Trust (adapted from Chu and Kim, 2011)
TR1 I trust most of my contacts in my friends list in the social networks I am a member of
TR2 In my view, members of social networks trust each other and share their information regarding
products and brands with each other
TR3 Members of social networks of which I’m a member in giving advices on products and brands are
competent and effective
Normative influence (adapted from Bearden et al., 1989)

NI1 When buying products, I generally purchase those brands that I think others will approve of
NI2 If I want to be like someone, I often try to buy the same brands that they buy
NI3 I often identify with other people by purchasing the same products and brands they purchase
Informational influence (adapted from Bearden et al., 1989)
II1 If I have little experience with a product or brand, I often obtain the information from my friends in
social networks about that product or brand
II2 I often give advice to other fellow members in social networks for making a choice between the
existing options in a class of product
II3 Before buying, I always collect the information of the intended product or brand from my friends in
social networks
Sense of belonging (adapted from Algesheimer et al., 2005; Cheung and Lee, 2012)
SOB1 I have a strong sense of belonging to members of social networks that I am a member of
SOB2 I and other members of social networks of which I am a member of share identical goals
SOB3 My friendship with other fellow members in social networks is very meaningful for me
SOB4 If members of the social networks of which I am a member plan something, I think of it as
something that “we can” do
Altruism (adapted from Wasko and Faraj, 2005)
ALT1 I like to help other members of social networks of which I am a member of
ALT2 Helping other members of social networks that I am a member of feels good to me
ALT3 I feel pleasure (satisfaction) from helping other fellow members in social networks
Moral obligation (adapted from Bosnjak et al., 2005)
MO1 My conscience tells me that I should help other members of social networks that I am a member of
MO2 My decision to share information in my social networks is consistent with my moral convictions
(ethical principles)
MO3 I, morally, feel obliged to share my information in my social networks
Knowledge self-efficacy (adapted from Kankanhalli et al., 2005)
SE1 I am confident with my abilities to provide the information that other fellow members of social
networks consider it valuable
SE2 I have the required knowledge to provide valuable information for my social networks
Electronic word-of-mouth (adapted from Bock et al., 2005; Cheung and Lee, 2012; Bambauer-Sachse and
Mangold, 2011)
eWOM1 To make sure that I buy the right products or brands, I often read online reviews of products and
brands written by other fellow members in social networks
eWOM2 To choose the right products or brands, I often consult online reviews of products and brands
provided by other fellow members in social networks
Table AI.
Measures (continued )
eWOM3 The information that I spread in social networks regarding the products and brands usually
eWOM
influences opinion of other members through social
eWOM4 I always publish my experiences with products and brands in social networks on request of other networking
members
eWOM5 I am willing to share my experiences with products and brands with other fellow members in social sites
networks
eWOM6 I try to more effectively share my experiences with products and brands with other fellow members
in social networks 183
Brand image (adapted from Davis et al., 2009; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012)
BI1 Compared to other products and brands, the products and brands recommended to me by my
friends in social networks are of high quality
BI2 The products or brands introduced by my friends in social networks have a rich history
BI3 My friends in social networks can reliably estimate efficiency of products or brands
Purchase intention(adapted from Shukla, 2010; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012)
PI1 I would rather buy the products or brands introduced by my friends in social networks than the
other existing (competing) products and brands

PI2 I would like to recommend the products or brands introduced by my friends in social networks to
other people
PI3 I would like to buy the products or brands following their introduction by my friends in social
networks Table AI.
Corresponding author
Milad Farzin can be contacted at: milad.farzin@srbiau.ac.ir
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effect on eWOM behaviour in SNSs.

166 Informational influences

Data collection and analysis

Characteristic Frequency Percentage CF (%)

Construct Item Loading t-value Mean SD Cronbach’s α

Tie strength TS1 0.847 49.70 4.93 0.953 0.837

TR1 TR2 TR3

0.920 0.866 0.898

0.921 0.843 0.902 0.000

0.398 eWOW 0.880 0.964 BI1

Research constructs Communality R2

Hypotheses St estimate SE t-Statistics p

ALT → eWOM 0.091 0.044 2.073 0.05

Limitation and further research direction

Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 7-21.

trustworthiness of consumer-generated online information”, Journal of Interactive Marketing,

Normative influence (adapted from Bearden et al., 1989)

other existing (competing) products and brands

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