Understanding customer knowledge sharing in web‐based discussion boards

Abstract

Purpose -The proliferation and advance of web-based technologies create expanded opportunities for retailers to gain a better understanding of their customers. However, the success of these web-based discussion boards depends solely on whether customers are willing to share their knowledge and experience with other customers in these discussion boards. Thus, this study aims at identifying the factors that drive knowledge sharing among customers in web-based discussion boards. Design/methodology/approach -An exploratory study with 104 respondents was conducted to identify and categorize the key factors of customer knowledge sharing in web-based discussion boards. Findings -The results indicate that the enjoyment of helping others is the most frequently cited reason for customer knowledge sharing in web-based discussion boards. On the other hand, the lack of knowledge self-efficacy is the mostly cited reason explaining why customers do not want to share knowledge with others.Research limitations/implications -The exploratory analysis suggests that the underlying reasons that motivate and inhibit customers to share are very different. There is a need to integrate multiple theoretical perspectives from across the social and technical domains if this phenomenon is to be better understood. Practical implications -Building upon the findings of this study, some generic guidelines for retailers and web designers for promoting customer sharing in web-based discussion boards are outlined. Originality/value -This research is one of the first studies to use the socio-technical perspective to investigate customer knowledge sharing phenomena in web-based discussion boards.

O impacto do boca-a-boca online: um estudo sobre a adoção de opiniões em comunidades de consumidores online

“…Vários estudos tem buscado compreender como o eWOM afeta o comportamento do consumidor. Hennig-Thurau et al (2004) e Lee et al (2006) investigaram os motivos pelos quais as pessoas se engajam com o eWOM para publicar informações acerca de produtos e serviços, enquanto Goldsmith e Horowitz (2006), Goldsmith (2006) e Khammash e Griffiths (2011) investigaram os motivos por trás da busca pela informação. Lou & Zhong (2015) mostram que a comunicação eWOM via mídias sociais relacionada com viagens de turismo podem ter laços classificados como forte, de força mediana, ou fraco, destacando a importância das relações sociais e redes sociais sobre a eWOM.…”

“…Com o crescimento da importância dessas comunidades virtuais, diversos estudos tem investigado os motivos por trás do engajamento com o eWOM tanto no que diz respeito à produção de informação (Hennig-Thurau et al, 2004;Lee, Cheung, Lim & Sia, 2006) quanto na busca de informações (Goldsmith & Horowitz, 2006;Goldsmith, 2006). Aliado a isso, devido às características do setor de turismo, em que as expectativas formadas pelos consumidores envolvem emoções (Luo & Zhong, 2015), a disseminação, compartilhamento e o uso da informação passa a ter papel crucial no processo de decisão do consumidor.…”

The Secret of Internet Celebrities: A Qualitative Study of Online Opinion Leaders on Weibo

“…From a marketing perspective, providing values for customers and potential customers could enhance purchase interest [33]. However, Social media users invest in time, feelings and emotions rather than the economic motivation in shopping behavior [34], they interact with others with the expectation of getting some values in return [3]. Thus, we propose that individual online influence could be understood from a value-based proposition.…”

Social Networks and the Buying Behavior of the Consumer

“…So this means that companies could influence the opinions favoring the effect Word of Mouth among consumers by encouraging consumers to recommend their products through social. Online Word-Of-Mouth communication allows consumers to share and obtain information from variety of groups of people, not only from people they know and it has a more impact than traditional tools marketing [99][100][101]. Infact before making any purchasing decision, especially when it comes to buy something new, many consumers check other consumers' recommendations too [102].…”