Electronic word of mouth engagement model in social commerce

Abstract

Customer engagement in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has attained a sizable focus from both practitioners and the academia. With the growth of the e-commerce industry and the proliferation of social media as a marketing tool, a new business paradigm has been created termed social commerce (s-commerce). S-commerce is a combination of commercial 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 interaction among individuals has increased the potential of eWOM communication. Several studies have investigated the influence of eWOM from the perspective of either consumer behavior or information characteristics. However, to effectively understand eWOM engagement and its impact, researchers must consider both information characteristic and consumer behavior in an integrated model. Given such a backdrop, the present study intends to look into the impact of eWOM engagement on consumers’ purchase intention in s-commerce considering both information characteristics, consumer behavior, technical and social factors, which will complement the current effort of the research community in this field. The present study proposes a theoretical model for eWOM engagement by means of elaboration likelihood model, theory of reasoned action and social support theory. We believe that the proposed model will provide a significant step and an effective foundation for future eWOM research in s-commerce.