Purpose
– Numerous electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of persuasive eWOM messages. Despite the impact of eWOM messages in decision-making processes, few researches have directly tested potential antecedents of persuasive eWOM messages among message recipients in social media context. The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss and examine the determinants of persuasive eWOM messages when message recipients intend to accept and use eWOM messages.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors reviewed extant literature of eWOM and proposed hypotheses regarding persuasive eWOM messages in social media context. A survey of 78 respondents was conducted and the data were analysed using SmartPLS.
Findings
– This study found that argument quality, source credibility, source attractiveness, source perception and source style are critical antecedents of persuasive eWOM messages. The PLS results suggested that source credibility (trustworthiness), source perception (usefulness, social ties) and source style (visual cues, number) are main characteristics of credible eWOM messages in relation to users’ intention to accept and use online reviews. The variance of information acceptance and intention to use were also explained in the findings.
Practical implications
– This paper identified critical antecedents of persuasive eWOM messages and suggested eWOM messages as a credible source. An integrated conceptual framework was developed to illustrate comprehensive antecedents of persuasive eWOM messages, and the relationships between these messages, information acceptance and intention to use.
Originality/value
– The significance of the study is to identify the effectiveness of eWOM messages and its impact on intention to accept and use these messages. Moreover, this study will provide insightful guidelines for marketers with practical implications in approaching emerging markets via eWOM initiatives.
Although numerous studies on attitude-behavior theories exist in the social media context, few extensive studies have been conducted in reviewing and classifying the extant literature. This study aims to critically review, discuss, and examine five major attitude-behavior theories in the social psychology field. Theory of Planned Behavior, Elaboration Likelihood Model, Heuristic-Systematic Model, Cognitive Dissonance Theory, and Social Judgment Theory have been empirically dissected and reviewed in a systematic manner, after which criticisms and compliments of these theories have been observed and evaluated. The significance of the study is to identify the trend of applying attitude-behavior theories to manifesting practical social media marketing implications. This study found that Elaboration Likelihood Model studies are trending upward among persuasive communication studies in the context of social media.
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