Titel: TikToks Påverkan: En studie om recensioners påverkan på TikTok-användare – Inom elektronisk Word-Of-Mouth. Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Lorita Maqedonci och Vanesa Voca Handledare: Martin Ahlenius Datum: 2024 - Januari Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur recensioner på TikTok påverkar användare genom elektronisk Word-Of-Mouth (eWOM). Metod: Denna forskning bygger på en deduktiv metod, där en enkätundersökning har utgjort grunden för den empiriska analysen och datainsamlingen. Statistikprogrammet "JASP" har använts för att analysera data, inklusive korrelationsanalyser och deskriptiv statistik. Studiens respondenter omfattar personer som använder TikTok-plattformen. Resultat och slutsats: Studien undersökte hur TikTok-recensioner påverkar köpintentioner och köpbeslut genom elektronisk Word-Of-Mouth (eWOM). Resultaten visade att dagliga användare har högre förtroende för recensioner och är mer benägna att söka produktrekommendationer på TikTok. Även om det fanns kopplingar mellan användarfrekvens, förtroende och förändringar i åsikter om varumärken, var antalet respondenter begränsat. Trots detta ger studien insikter om hur eWOM-recensioner på TikTok påverkar användarnas förtroende, attityder och köpbeteenden. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studiens resultat bidrar till insikter om hur TikTok-recensioner påverkar användarnas förtroende, attityder och köpbeteenden. Andra användare, företag och varumärken på plattformen kan ta lärdom om vad som påverkar konsumenterna och sedan anpassa sitt innehåll. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Framtida forskning bör inrikta sig på specifika och begränsade populationer, som unga kvinnor inom åldersgruppen 18–24 år, för en djupare förståelse av eWOM-effekter. Semistrukturerade intervjuer kan användas för att utforska nyanserade aspekter av respondenternas tankar och erfarenheter. Dessutom kan forskning fokusera på influencer-marknadsföring på TikTok och undersöka hur olika typer av varumärkessamarbeten påverkar konsumenters förtroende och köpintention. En intressant forskningsfråga är hur kontinuitet och regelbundenhet i varumärkessamarbeten påverkar influencers trovärdighet och förtroende hos konsumenterna. Nyckelord: EWOM, positiv/negativ WOM, e-handel, OCR, IACM, TikTok, och sociala medier / Titel: Impact of TikTok: A study on the influence of reviews on TikTok users – Within electronic Word-Of-Mouth. Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Authors: Lorita Maqedonci and Vanesa Voca Supervisor: Martin AhleniusDate: 2024 - January Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how reviews on TikTok influence users through electronic Word-Of-Mouth (eWOM). Method: This research is based on a deductive approach, where a survey has served as the foundation for the empirical analysis and data collection. The statistical program "JASP" has been employed to analyze data, including correlation analyses and descriptive statistics. The study's respondents encompass individuals who use the TikTok platform. Result and conclusion: The study investigated how TikTok reviews influence purchase intentions and decisions through electronic Word-Of-Mouth (eWOM). The results indicated that daily users have higher trust in reviews and are more likely to seek product recommendations on TikTok. Although there were associations between user frequency, trust, and changes in brand opinions, the number of respondents was limited. Nevertheless, the study provides insights into how eWOM reviews on TikTok impact users' trust, attitudes, and purchasing behaviors. Contribution of the thesis: The study's findings contribute insights into how TikTok reviews influence users' trust, attitudes, and purchasing behaviors. Other users, companies, and brands on the platform can learn about factors influencing consumers and subsequently tailor their content accordingly. Suggestions for future research: Future research should target specific and limited populations, such as young women within the 18–24 age group, for a deeper understanding of eWOM effects. Semistructured interviews can be employed to explore nuanced aspects of respondents' thoughts and experiences. Additionally, research can focus on influencer marketing on TikTok and examine how different types of brand collaborations impact consumer trust and purchase intentions. An intriguing research question is how continuity and regularity in brand collaborations affect influencers' credibility and consumer trust. Key words: EWOM, positive/negative WOM, e-commerce, OCR, IACM, TikTok, and social media.

The influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on consumers’ purchase intentions has long been known. However, the emergence of social media has brought a new perspective to eWOM through enabling users to communicate with their existing networks on the Internet. On social media, conversely to the other online platforms, users are able to exchange their opinions and experiences about products or services with familiar people, which refers to people who they already know such as friends and acquaintances. This new way of eWOM has the potential for greater impact on consumers. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’ purchase intentions. To do so, the research in this thesis involved two major phases. In the first phase, in order to explore the determinants of eWOM information on social media which influences consumers’ purchase intentions, a theoretical model was developed based on the integration of Information Adoption Model (IAM) and related components of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). The new model, which is named as Information Acceptance Model (IACM), was validated through structural equation modelling (SEM) based on surveys of 384 social media users in the UK. The results have highlighted that quality, credibility, usefulness and adoption of information, needs of information and attitude towards information are the key factors for eWOM in social media which influence consumers’ purchase intentions. Furthermore, to provide better understanding of the influence of eWOM on social media, the second phase of this research was designed as a comparative study. To explore whether the eWOM between familiar people on social media or the eWOM between anonymous people on other online platforms was more influential on consumers’ purchase intentions, the data collected through survey was reanalysed with a different perspective; and a comparison was conducted based on multiple regression analysis. The results have revealed significant differences and found anonymous reviews to be more influential on consumers’ purchase intentions than friends’ recommendations on social media. However, since these results were contrary to expectations, 10 in-depth interviews were also administered to enlighten the insightful results found through the survey. The interview findings uncovered the survey results. Information quantity, information readiness, detailed information, and dedicated information were discovered as the factors which make online reviews superior than friends’ recommendations in terms of the influence of eWOM. This research contributes to theoretical implications through its validated model and found key dimensions. The research model, IACM, brings a new approach to information adoption by extending IAM and provides new insights to researchers who study Information Systems (IS). In addition, the model highlights the information adoption process as an antecedent of behavioural intention, which is a very important finding for the related literature. Future studies can build new models through considering this relationship between information adoption process and behavioural intention. Moreover, the second phase of this research provides new constructs for future studies through its qualitative findings. The findings reached through in-depth interviews, which explain why consumers prefer anonymous online reviews, can either be tested as components of new theories and models or they can be tested as inclusion of existing theories and models. Both types have potential to provide valuable results for the literature. On the other hand, in terms of practicality, this research provides marketers with a frame of reference to understand the influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’ purchase intentions. Both the contextual and the comparative studies in this research offer valuable insights for marketers; marketers thus can develop better strategies for marketing on social media.