Consumer engagement with eWOM on social media: the role of social capital

Pages482-505
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-05-2017-0158
Date13 August 2018
Published date13 August 2018
AuthorYaniv Gvili,Shalom Levy
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management
Consumer engagement with
eWOM on social media: the role
of social capital
Yaniv Gvili
Department of Business Administration, Ono Academic College,
Kiryat Ono, Israel, and
Shalom Levy
Department of Economics and Business Administration,
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Abstract
Purpose The nature of digital media channels are important factors in explaining consumersbehavior
over the Web, and specifically on social network sites (SNS). The purpose of this paper is to propose a
conceptual framework explaining consumer engagement with electro nic word of mouth (eWOM)
communication via SNS, based on key attributes of this media channel.
Design/methodology/approach Based on the expectancy val ue theory (EVT), a conceptual fra mework
is proposed to model th e effect of eWOM channel a ttributes on eWOM enga gement process. Cons umer
eWOM engagement is conceptualized as a second-order construct. A structural equation modeling
procedure was employe d to empirically test th e model using data colle cted from two social me dia
communication chann els.
Findings First, results suggest that engagement with eWOM can be conceptualized as a second-order
construct based on user tendency to receive or share eWOM with other network members. Second, the path
analysis model supports the employment of EVT and shows that two key attributes of eWOM channels,
social capital and credibility, significantly affect consumer attitude toward eWOM via SNS. Attitude toward
eWOM, in turn, affects eWOM engagement. Third, SNS channel type moderates the effect on attitude.
Practical implications Marketing communication practitioners should note that the strength of social
ties plays a key role in spreading eWOM on SNS effectively. This insight should be employed a part of
social media marketing strategy.
Originality/value This is first research that models the effect of social media attributes on eWOM
engagement and demonstrates the moderating role of channel type. The model is highly valuable in light of
the importance of the concept of engagement in internet research.
Keywords eWOM, Engagement, Social media, Social capital, Electronic word of mouth
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
An increasing number of people interact with each other on social network sites (SNS) such
as Facebook, WhatsApp LinkedIn, and Pinterest. SNS is a Web-based social media
application that builds on the conceptual and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and
allows the creation of user-generated content and its virtually free exchange (Kaplan and
Haenlein, 2010; Schamari and Schaefers, 2015). As they socialize on SNS, people share
product opinions and brand experiences (Zaglia, 2013; Chen et al., 2013), thereby generating
electronic word of mouth (eWOM) of various forms, including subjective statements,
objective statements and knowledge sharing (Okazaki et al., 2015).
eWOM is commonly defined as any positive or negative statement made by potential,
actual or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a
multitude of people and institutions via the Internet(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004, p. 39). Due
to its higher perceived credibility (Steffes and Burgee, 2009), such customer-to-customer
communication has been conceptualized as a general concept of marketplace interpersonal
interaction (Walsh and Mitchell, 2010), which can affect consumer attitude toward brands
Online Information Review
Vol. 42 No. 4, 2018
pp. 482-505
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-05-2017-0158
Received 14 May 2017
Revised 23 October 2017
Accepted 26 October 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
482
OIR
42,4
(Kumar et al., 2010; Sridhar and Srinivasan, 2012; Brodie et al., 2013) and buying decisions
(Keller, 2007; Abubakar et al., 2016).
Word-of-mouth activity is a major motivational driver of customer engagement
behaviors (Van Doorn et al., 2010). Consumer engagement in eWOM on SNS has drawn the
attention of numerous researchers over the past few years (Chu and Kim, 2011; King et al.,
2014; Brown et al., 2007; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010; Libai et al., 2010). Despite the growing
research interest in this emerging domain, it still lacks sufficient empirical support, and our
understanding of the concept of engagement remains limited (Brodie et al., 2011; Hollebeek
et al., 2014; Bolton, 2011; Verhoef et al., 2010). Consumer research conceptualized online
engagement as a multi-dimensional construct (Calder et al., 2009; Hollebeek et al., 2014).
The present research contributes to this line of work by demonstrating that behavioral
eWOM engagement is a bi-dimensional construct based on consumer intention to receive
(ITR) and send eWOM.
One of the top challenges marketers face when attempting to build strong, desirable
brands with committed communities around them is getting consumers to engage and
participate in brand-related activities (Hodis et al., 2015; Moran and Gossieaux, 2010).
Social networking platforms have become instrumental in coping with this challenge, as
they facilitate the translation of consumer relationships with brands and other consumers
into brand advocacy eWOM (Morrison and Humlen, 2015). eWOM received on digital
channels is valued by consumers (Libai et al., 2010) in some cases, more highly than their
own primary experience (Steffes and Burgee, 2009). It effectively builds brand communities
(Trusov et al., 2009), and subsequently influences product judgment (Lee and Youn, 2009).
The eWOM communic ation process is fac ilitated and acce lerated by its perce ived
credibility (Chu and Kim, 2011; Matute et al., 2016; Teng et al., 2014). Therefore, in their
efforts to encourage consumers to accept and share (positive) brand-related information,
marketers may prefer communicating brand messages over social media that consumers
perceive to be more credible. Recent research indicates that eWOM-perceived credibility is
influenced by various attributes of the delivering digital channel including soci al
capital (SC) (Levy and Gvili, 2015). Yet, the relationships between channel attributes and
eWOM engagement have, to date, remained unexplored. The present research proposes
that SCs influence extends over and beyond credibility and affects eWOM engagement.
Finally, in accordance with recent research demonstrating the impact of SNS channel on
user behavior (Weller, 2016; Aharony, 2015), the current research employs channel type as a
key factor in engagement evolvement. The current study is unique in demonstrating that
due to channelsdistinctive attributes the influence of SC on engagement is moderated by
the type of social media platform. The purpose of the current study is to model these
relationships based on the expectancy value theory (EVT) and test them empirically.
Literature review
Consumer engagement with eWOM communication
Engagement refers to customer behaviors that go beyond transactions, and may be
specifically defined as a customers behavioral manifestations that have a brand or firm
focus, beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers(Van Doorn et al., 2010, p. 254).
Engagement is a multi-dimensional concept that accounts for consumersinteractive
brand-related dynamics and experiences (Brodie et al., 2013). Accordingly, marketing
research literature has attached different meanings to this concept, along with diverse and
disputable definitions (Hollebeek et al., 2014; Brodie et al., 2011; Calder et al., 2009).
One stream of research has discussed engagement as a psychological-experiential
process (cf. Calder and Malthouse, 2008; Bowden, 2009; Hollebeek, 2011), and defines it as
a psychological state that occurs by virtue of interactive, co-creative customer experiences
with a focal agent/object (e.g. a brand)(Brodie et al., 2011, p. 9). Others have focused on
483
Engagement
with eWOM on
social media

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