| dc.description.abstract | The advent of the Internet has provided consumers with an alternative to access numerous information regarding products, services, or firms, as well as an opportunity to share their consumption-related experiences with other consumers all over the world. Derived from the traditional face-to-face, oral word-of-mouth (WOM) communication, a new electronic form, eWOM, is still being viewed as a powerful marketing force and plays a persuasive role in influencing consumers’ attitudes and purchase decision. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore the possible factors that may facilitate or may restrain consumers’ desires to engage in WOM communication in the computer-mediated Internet environment.
Reviewing prior research on WOM, social exchange theory and knowledge sharing, six factors, product involvement, self-enhancement, reciprocity, helping others, task difficulty and codification effort, are conducted in the research. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 906 consumers collected from major BBS and discussion forums in Taiwan. The resulting analysis shows that product involvement, self-enhancement, reciprocity and helping others are positively associated with eWOM intention, while codification effort would reduce the intention for engaging in eWOM. Moreover, task difficulty shows no significant influence on eWOM intention. Further discussion and managerial implications are presented. | en_US |