Effects of Electronic Word-of-Mouth on the Potential Customer's Emotions and Product Image

Outi Tuisku, Mirja Ilves, Jani Lylykangas, Veikko Surakka, Sanna Rytövuori, Mari Ainasoja and Mikko J. Ruohonen
Additional contact information
Outi Tuisku: School of Business and Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lahti, Finland
Mirja Ilves: Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Jani Lylykangas: Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Veikko Surakka: Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Sanna Rytövuori: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Mari Ainasoja: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
Mikko J. Ruohonen: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

International Journal of E-Business Research (IJEBR), 2017, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: This study investigated how potential customers (N = 28) respond to two types of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) regarding the same product. The study simulated reality by having participants read either mainly negative comments from an independent discussion forum (n = 14) or mainly positive comments from a marketer's website (n=14). The results showed that the participants' valence ratings were positive after reading eWOM on the marketer's website and negative after reading eWOM on the independent forum. Although this seems obvious, it is interesting that even though the comments on the independent forum were not considered trustworthy or expert, reading these comments negatively influenced the product image. Participants who read the independent forum rated the product image significantly lower than participants who read the marketer's website. After watching commercial videos, both groups rated the product image higher; however, the difference between the groups remained significant. The results suggest that the emotions evoked by eWOM play a key role in product image. A practical implication for companies may be purchasing targeted advertising on discussion forums to manage potential customers' negative affective reactions.

Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve. ... 018/IJEBR.2017100101 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jebr00:v:13:y:2017:i:4:p:1-14

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of E-Business Research (IJEBR) is currently edited by Mohammad Nabil Almunawar

More articles in International Journal of E-Business Research (IJEBR) from IGI Global
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journal Editor ().