Antecedents and consequences of eWOM in social commerce

Abstract

As a business paradigm, social commerce (s-commerce) has brought about a new stage of innovation, and by extension, has transmuted the power from sellers to buyers. S-commerce is an integration of transactional and social activities, in which, individuals may spread word of mouth (WOM) about their shopping experiences, knowledge, as well as providing information about product and services to their friends. This kind of social interactions among individuals has increased the potentials of eWOM communication. Most of the studies in relation to eWOM happen to be fragmented as they consider either the antecedents or consequences of eWOM leading to conflicting results especially in s-commerce. The present study aims to look into the antecedents and consequences of eWOM in s-commerce from different literatures and aggregate them into a comprehensive model to guide future research. This study will help managers and practitioners to understand the antecedents and consequences of eWOM communication, and it will also spur the research community to delve into more research in order to investigate other drivers as well as consequences of eWOM communication in s-commerce.