Identifying and Prioritizing the Dimensions of Electronic Word of Mouth in Interpersonal Communication of Sporting Goods Consumers on Social Networks

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student. in Department of Business Management, Aliabad Katoul branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.

2 Prof. in Department of Business Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Prof. in Department of Business Management, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran.

4 Assistant Prof. in Department of Industrial Engineering, Aliabad Katoul branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.

Abstract

The advent of social media has contributed to the advancement and development of word-of-mouth communication, and has led to the emergence of a new phenomenon called electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). This mixed-methods developmental research aimed to identify and prioritize the dimensions of e-WOM in interpersonal Communications of sporting goods customers on social networks. Therefore, the meta-synthesis method and the Best-Worst Method (BWM) were used to identify and prioritize the dimensions of e-WOM, respectively. In the qualitative section, 158 articles were analyzed and 28 articles related to the research topic were finally selected, and in the quantitative section, 10 administrators of social networks working in 5 online sporting goods stores were selected as the experts using convenience sampling. In the qualitative section, the data were analyzed using Sandlowski and Barroso’s Meta-Synthesis Method, and in the quantitative section, the data were analyzed using BWM in MAXQDA and LINGO. Based on the findings, the dimensions of e-WOM were classified into 5 categories of communication elements, message platform, effectiveness of message, information exchange and outcomes of e-WOM. Moreover, 10 axial codes and 70 open codes were also identified. In addition, the most important categories included effectiveness of message, message platform, information exchange, communication elements and outcomes of e-WOM, respectively. The results can help social network managers effectively manage their e-WOM practices.

Keywords

References

  1. Abbasi, A., Ebrahimi, A., & Beygi, J. (2019). "Identification of effective factors on the acceptance of electronic word-of-mouth on Instagram". Commercial Strategies, 15(12), 17-30. (Persian)
  2. Abd-Elaziz, M.E., Aziz, W., Khalifa, G., & Abdel-Aleem, M. (2015). "Determinants of electronic word of mouth (ewom) influence on hotel customers' purchasing decision". International Journal of Heritage, Tourism, and Hospitality, 9(2/2), 194-223.
  3. Avicenna, F. (2018, October). "Tourism 2.0: eWoM’s Dimensions How Costumers Consider eWOM to Book Hotels on Trip Advisor’s websites?".InInternational Conference on Media and Communication Studies (ICOMACS 2018). Atlantis Press.
  4. Babić Rosario, A., Sotgiu, F., De Valck, K., & Bijmolt, T. H. (2016). "The effect of electronic word of mouth on sales: A meta-analytic review of platform, product, and metric factors". Journal of Marketing Research, 53(3), 297-318.
  5. Bandyopadhyay, S. (2016). "Factors affecting the adoption of electronic word-of-mouth in the tourism industry". International Journal of Business and Social Science, 7(1), 10-18.
  6. Erkan, I., & Evans, C. (2018). "Social media or shopping websites? The influence of eWOM on consumers’ online purchase intentions". Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(6), 617-632.
  7. Esmaeilpour, M., & Kabirifard, D. (2019). "The effect of electronic word-of-mouth (e-wom) on consumers behavioral responses (a study of instagram users)". New Marketing Research Journal, 9(2), 195-218.(Persian)
  8. Feiz, D., Shaabani, A. (2019). "Investigating the impact of social media marketing activities as growth hacking strategy on behavioral intention and oral promotion of customers". New Marketing Research Journal, 8(4), 45-68. (Persian)
  9. Ferdousi, S., & Azarpeyma, J. "The impact of electronic word of mouth on purchase intention through the trust and corporate image among social network users", 2th National Conference on Management Ocean, (2017). (Persian)
  10. Ghayuomi, A., Farhangi, A., Hoseini Dana, H. (2019). "Designing the demand model for social networks in the interpersonal communication of Iranian users". Media Studies, 14(46), 24-40. (Persian)
  11. Goyette, I., Ricard, L., Bergeron, J., & Marticotte, F. (2010). "E‐wom Scale: word‐of‐mouth measurement scale for e‐services context". Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 27(1), 5-23.
  12. Hajiheidari, N., Khanlari, A., Reyhani, H. (2017). "Exploring and Prioritizing Factors Influencing Viral Marketing in the Context of Mobile Application". Journal of Information Technology Management, 9(2), 237-252. (Persian)
  13. Hossain, M., Jahan, N., Fang, Y., & Hoque, S. (2019). "Nexus of electronic word-of-mouth to social networking sites: a sustainable chatter of new digital social media". Sustainability, 11(3), 759.
  14. Ismagilova, E., Dwivedi, Y. K., Slade, E., & Williams, M. D. (2017). "Electronic word of mouth (ewom) in the marketing context: a state of the art analysis and future directions". Springer.
  15. Ismagilova, E., Slade, E., Rana, N. P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2020). "The effect of characteristics of source credibility on consumer behaviour: A meta-analysis". Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53.
  16. Khodaparast, S., Rezaei Soufi, M., Kazemy, M. (2019). "Relatiionship bet ween the word of mouth advertising and pepol’s desire to attend the volleyball clubs". Communication Management in Sport Media, 6(4), 29-40. (Persian)
  17. Kordloo, H., khorshidi, R., elahi, A. (2016). "Relationship between word of mouth advertising with customer intention to revisit in sport clubs: The Study of Ilam`s bodybuilding clubs". Communication Management in Sport Media, 3(4), 25-34. (presian)
  18. Li, J., Xue, W., Yang, F., & Li, Y. (2017). "An integrated research framework for effect of ewom". Journal of Systems Science and Information, 5(4), 343-355.
  19. Liu, Z., & Park, S. (2015). "What makes a useful online review? Implication for travel product websites". Tourism management, 47, 140-151.
  20. Montazemi, A., & Qahri Saremi, H. (2014). "The effectiveness of electronic word of mouth on consumers’ perceptions of adopting products/services". In International Conference on Web Information (pp. 324-331).
  21. Pourhoseyn, Z., Abdavi, F., Javani, V., Pashaie, S. (2020). "The Effect of Social Network on Word of Mouth Advertising Due to Loyalty and Attachment to the Brand in Iran Football Premier League". Communication Management in Sport Media, 7(3), 81-90. (Persian)
  22. Qahri-Saremi, H. and Montazemi, A. R. (2019). "Factors Affecting the Adoption of an Electronic Word of Mouth Message: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Management Information Systems, 36:3, 969-1001.
  23. Rahimnia, F., Ghaderi, F., Eslami, G. (2019). "Investigation Relationship between Social Media Marketing and Electronic Word of Mouth with the Mediator Role of Brand Awareness and Brand Image (Case Study: SportswearCustomers)".Communication Management in Sport Media, 7(1), 51-64. (Persian)
  24. Rezvani, M., Khodadad Hoseini, S., Kiaee, K. (2017). "The Role of Viral Marketing on Costumer-Based Brand Equity in Tehran Mobile Market". Journal of Business Management, 9(2), 337-352. (Persian)
  25. Rosario, A. B., de Valck, K., & Sotgiu, F. (2020). "Conceptualizing the electronic word-of-mouth process: What we know and need to know about eWOM creation, exposure, and evaluation". Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-27.
  26. Roshandel Arbatani, T., Ameli, S., Hajijafari, M. (2016). "Application Model of User-Generated Content of in Content Marketing Processes; A Grounded Study on Digikala". New Media Studies, 2(7), 157-190. (Persian)
  27. Saeednia, H., & Ghorbanzadeh, D. (2017). "Examining factors affecting attitude and positive word of mouth among the telegram users". New Marketing Research Journal, 7(1), 173-202. (Persian)
  28. Sandelowski, M. and Barros, J. (2007). "Handbook for Synthesizing Qualitative Research". Springer publishing company Inc.
  29. Schmäh, M., Wilke, T., & Rossmann, A. (2017). "Electronic word-of-mouth: a systematic literature analysis". Digital Enterprise Computing (DEC 2017).
  30. Sohaib, M., Hui, P., Akram, U., Majeed, A., & Tariq, A. (2020)." How Social Factors Drive Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Social Networking Sites?". In International Conference on Management Science and Engineering Management (pp. 574-585). Springer, Cham.
  31. Teng, S., Khong, K. W., Chong, A. Y. L., & Lin, B. (2017). "Persuasive electronic word-of-mouth messages in social media". Journal of Computer Information Systems, 57(1), 76-88.
  32. Tsao, W. C., & Hsieh, M. T. (2015). "E-WOM persuasiveness: do eWOM platforms and product type matter?". Electronic Commerce Research, 15(4), 509-541.
  33. Vazifehdust, H., Tayyeri, M., & Samadi, A. (2018). "Identifying and ranking the factors affecting electronic word-of-mouth in open markets". Parsmodir Journal, 4(11), 54-67. (Persian)
  34. Yan, Q., Wu, S., Wang, L., Wu, P., Chen, H., & Wei, G. (2016). "E-WOM from e-commerce websites and social media: Which will consumers adopt?" Electron. Commer. Res. Appl., 17, 62-73.
  35. Yan, Q., Wu, S., Zhou, Y., & Zhang, L. (2018)." How differences in eWOM platforms impact consumers’ perceptions and decision-making". Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 28(4), 315-333.
  36. Yang, L., Fam, K. S., Richard, J. E., & Liu, W. (2015). "Investigation of online word-of-mouth dimensions". In 2015 MAG Scholar Global Business, Marketing and Tourism Conference: Travel, Discover, Marketing.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 July 2021
  • Revise Date: 03 August 2021
  • Accept Date: 26 August 2021

Share

How to cite

Statistics