Peer-to-peer word-of-mouth: word-of-mouth extended to group online exchange
| Published date | 09 April 2018 |
| Date | 09 April 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-09-2016-0290 |
| Pages | 176-190 |
| Author | Anat Toder-Alon,Frédéric F. Brunel |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Peer-to-peer word-of-mouth:
word-of-mouth extended
to group online exchange
Anat Toder-Alon
Peres Academic Center, Rehovot, Israel, and
Frédéric F. Brunel
Questrom School of Business, Department of Marketing,
Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate how peer-to-peer word-of-mouth (PPWOM)
conversationsevolve over time becauseof the dynamic social natureof the community in whichthey take place.
Design/methodology/approach –This study analyzed PPWOM conversations in an online community
website for new and expectant mothers. Two data collection phases were undertaken during a four-year period.
In phase I, messages were collected for a one-month period from five different bulletin boards (i.e. cross-sectional
data) and at two points in time (i.e. semi-longitudinal). In phase II, a full longitudinal study was conducted, and the
completetext of all messagesof a newly formedbulletin board wascaptured for a nine-monthperiod.The corpus
of messages wasexamined in line with the basic tools of ethnomethodologyand conversation analysis.
Findings –This research developed a typology of PPWOM genres and showed that these genres change
over the community lifespan. The findings confirmed that the levels of social cohesiveness and the interaction
communicative motives are the main factors that distinguish different PPWOM genres.
Research limitations/implications –This research has offered a new perspective into the study of
PPWOM, and hopefully it will serve as a starting point for a broader dialogue regarding the social context in
which PPWOM is exchanged.
Originality/value –In contrast to traditional word-of-mouth research, this study demonstrated that
PPWOM conversations go much beyond the exchange of functional information, and instead serve numerous
social and emotional goals.
Keywords eWOM, Social identity, Online communities, Ethnomethodology, Communicative genres
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
I felt alone, ashamed and abysmal. I can’t remember quite what internet-search query led me to
BabyCenter.com, but there I found salvation in the form of an online bulletin board. […] From the
safety of my glassed-in sun porch I could vent my frustration […] in ways that my reticence and
pride would never allow IRL. […] years have passed. I still post daily with some of the women I met
during that first pregnancy […] I cook their recipes and rely on their advice […] The members of
my online mommy group have become the single greatest influence on my parenting […] with these
women online, I have shared intimate aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood that
no other people are privy to […] (Moravec, 2011, pp. IX-X).
Online communities have emerged as important locales that provide a new social
context and new institutions through which basic information, intimate confidences, and
support are shared (Moravec, 2011), and identities are enacted and reinvented (Hewer and
Brownlie, 2013). Although there is a growing research corpus on the cultural and social
aspects of social networking sites (SNSs), and how the internet has transformed how
consumers live, consume, and construct their worlds, we do not have a good understanding
of the more micro-discursive processes through which, in these settings, participants learn
Online Information Review
Vol. 42 No. 2, 2018
pp. 176-190
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-09-2016-0290
Received 30 September 2016
Revised 22 January 2017
Accepted 18 April 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
This paper forms part of a special section on information flow and WOM in social media and online
communities.
176
OIR
42,2
To continue reading
Request your trial