Abstract The rapid technological developments have changed how companies market themselves and how consumers search for information. Furthermore, the internet provides companies with a variety of channels to share information and products. For a long time, “word of mouth” which consumers recommend via mouth-to-mouth, has been one of the most effective marketing techniques. According to studies, the effect of positive and negative electronic Word of Mouth on consumers differs, with negative electronic Word of Mouth having a greater impact on consumers. Positive electronic word-of-mouth can be beneficial for companies whereas negative can be detrimental. This thesis investigates what companies should do to continue spreading positive eWOM and reduce the negative eWOM. Further, this thesis aims to investigate how the positive and negative eWOM affects a company and what their current strategy is so that a recommended strategy can be built for the companies.  Thus, a qualitative study of six SME companies was designed to understand how eWOM affects companies and how they can reduce the effect of negative eWOM. The data was gathered through online semi-structured interviews, and the findings indicate that companies are affected differently by eWOM due to whether it is a product-based or service-based company. According to the study, two components that all companies lacked were resources and time. Companies should be more visible, have weekly marketing meetings, and a platform for reviews, according to the new strategy. Keywords: electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), Social networks sites (SNS), Valence, Online reviews, impact, and consequences of eWOM

Online transactions have been growing exponentially in the last decade, contributing to up to 11% of total retail sales. One of the parameters of success in online transactions are online reviews where customers have the chance to assign level of satisfaction regarding their purchase. This review system acts as a bargaining power for customers so that their suppliers pay more attention to their satisfaction, as well as benchmark for future prospective customers. This research digs into what actually causes customers to assign high level of satisfaction in their online purchase experience: Whether it is packaging, delivery time or else. This research also tries to dig into customer behaviour related to online reviews from three different perspectives: gender, culture and economic structure. Data mining methodology is used to collect and analyse the data, thus providing a reliable quantitative study. The end result of this study is expected to assist in marketing decisions to capture certain types of consumers who significantly place or purchasing decision based on online reviews. / Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management

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Yes / The competitive landscape of multiple e-commerce platforms and the vast amount of product reviews associated with these platforms have supported both consumers’ online shopping decision making and also served as a reference for product attribute performance improvement. This paper proposes a sentiment-driven fuzzy cloud multi-criteria model for online product ranking and performance to provide purchase recommendations. In this novel model, Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory Network-Conditional Random Fields (BiLSTM-CRF), sentiment analysis, and K-means clustering are first integrated to mine product attributes and compute sentiment values based on reviews from various platforms. Next, considering the confidence of the sentiment value, the cloud model is combined with q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets to define the new concept of the q-rung orthopair fuzzy cloud (q-ROFC) and the interaction operational laws between q-ROFCs are given. The sentiment values of each product attribute from different platforms are cross-combined and transformed into a type of q- ROFC, while multiple interactive information matrices are established. To investigate the correlation among homogeneous attributes, the q-ROFC interaction weighted partitioned Maclaurin Symmetric mean operator is proposed. Finally, we provide real-world examples of online mobile phone ranking and attribute performance evaluation. The results show that our proposed method offers significant advantages in dealing with customer purchase decisions for online products and problems with performance direction identification. Managerial implications are discussed.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur olika generationer agerar på eWOM-kommunikation via online recensioner. Metod: Studien använder en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med en enkätundersökning som underlag för framarbetat resultat. Enkätundersökningen baserades på 8 frågor och 148 svar samlades in från respondenter från tre olika generationer. Svaren analyserades med deskriptiv statistik och univariat analys. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar hur generationstillhörigheterna Baby Boomers, Generation X och Generation Y agerar när de läser online recensioner. De tre generationernas köpintentioner baseras på centrala faktorer som riskbenägenhet, förtroende och internetkompetens. Alla tre generationerna hävdar att eWOM och i synnerhet online recensioner påverkar dem. Förslag till vidare forskning: Ytterligare forskning kan undersöka varför konsumenter av en produkt inte är benägna att själva skriva recension men vill ta del av recensioner av produkter som andra konsumenter skrivit. Trots att det tydligt framgår att recensioner är en viktig del av köpbeslutsprocessen. Denna ovilja finns representerade hos samtliga undersökta generationer vilket framtida forskning bör undersöka.    Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med ett antal förtydliganden för konsumentbeteenden i eWOM-kommunikationen. Studien kommer fram till flertalet slutsatser om hur generationerna påverkas och agerar för online recensioner. / Aim: The purpose of the study is to explain how different generational affiliation react on eWOM-communication via online reviews. Method: The study uses a quantitative research method to conduct survey. The survey was based on 8 questions and 148 responses were collected from respondents from three different generations. The responses were analyzed by descriptive statistics and univariate analysis. Result and conclusion: The study shows how generational affiliations of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y act on the online reviews. The three generations` buying intentions are based on key factors such as risk aversion, trust and internet knowledge. All three generations claims that eWOM and, in particular, online reviews affect them. Further research: A future study can deal with why consumers of a product are not inclined to write online reviews of the product but want to read online reviews on products from other consumers. Although it is obvious that reviews are an important part of the purchasing decision. All three generations investigated tend to not willing to write online reviews Contribution of the thesis: The contribution of the study is several clarifications for consumer behavior in general especially generation marketing. The study concludes how the generations are affected and act for online reviews.

Background: Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) is something that lately has gained increasing relevance and importance when it comes to consumers purchase decisions. Online reviews are considered to be the most important and reliable form of eWOM and it refers to when consumers communicate with other consumers online regarding their previous shopping experiences. In order to increase the generalizability and understanding of motives that influence consumers intention to write online reviews, authors of previous studies have suggested that future research should intend to focus on motives that influence intention to write online reviews in other contexts that are not aimed towards the service industry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain how personal- and social motives influence consumers intention to write online product reviews. Methodology: For this explanatory study, a quantitative strategy with a cross-sectional research design were used in order to test the model founded on two major hypotheses. The data was gathered through a self-completed questionnaire with a sample of 222 respondents. Findings: In this study, two major hypotheses were conducted in order to explain how personal motives and social motives influence consumers intention to write online product reviews. After analysing the data that emerged from the survey, a conclusion can be drawn that the hypothesis concerning personal motives and its influence on consumers intention to write online product reviews was accepted whereas the hypothesis concerning social motives was rejected. Conclusion: In this study, it has been recommended that future studies should test the suggestions found in this study with a more diverse sample in order to increase the generalizability of the theoretical implications. Furthermore, directions for future research will also recommend testing the modified model that emerged in this paper in order to detect if there are any additions that need to be added to increase the predictability of the findings.

<p>U radu je istraženo kako čitaoci prihvataju savete na blogovima. U<br />radu je integrisan model prihvatanja tehnologije (eng. Technology<br />Acceptance Model) sa dualnim procesnim modelima informacionog<br />uticaja, a u cilju dobijanja teorijskog modela za prihvatanje saveta. U<br />modelu je istaknut značaj korisnosti i kredibilnosti saveta kao<br />medijatora u procesu prihvatanja saveta.<br />Dualni procesni modeli su u radu primenjeni u cilju otkrivanja<br />faktora koji doprinose korisnosti informacija, u različitom<br />postupku obrade tih informacija. Istraživanje je sprovedeno na<br />SAAS platformi Beeshaper. Primenjena je mešovita metoda<br />istraživanja. Prvo je sproveden intervju na uzorku od 25 blogera od<br />uticaja. Nakon toga je sprovedeno kvantitativno istraživanje sa 356<br />korisnika koji dobijaju savete na blogovima. Istraživanjem je potvrđen<br />predloženi model.<br />Komunikacija na internetu sve više dobija na značaju u poslednjim<br />godinama. Rezultati istraživanja predlažu model za razumevanje<br />transfera znanja na platformi bloga, kroz računarski podržanu<br />komunikaciju.</p> / <p>The paper explores the way readers accept advice on blogs. The paper<br />integrates the Technology Acceptance Model with dual process information<br />model, in order to obtain a theoretical model for advice adoption. The model<br />emphasizes the importance of the usefulness and credibility of eWOM as the<br />mediators in the process of advice adoption.<br />Dual process models are applied in the paper to identify the factors that<br />contribute the usefulness of information, in a different process of elaboration<br />of these information. The research was conducted on the SAAS platform<br />Beashaper. A mixed method of research was conducted. The first part of the<br />reseach was an interview with the sample of 25 influencers. After qualitative<br />part of the study, a quantitative survey was conducted on the sample of 356<br />users who adopted blog advice. The study confirmed the proposed model.<br />Communication on the Internet is gaining significance in the recent years.<br />This research suggest a model for understanding knowledge transfer on the<br />blog platform, through computer-based communication.</p>

Marknadsföring idag ser inte ut som den har gjort tidigare, digitaliseringen har medfört en stor förändring och många nya möjligheter för företag och privatpersoner att marknadsföra sig. Word-of-mouth har gått från att vara mellan två eller flera personer i en konversation där exempelvis en produkt eller tjänst diskuterats. Detta har också förändrats och flera olika typer av online word-of-mouth (eWOM) har tillkommit, denna studie kommer behandla två typer av eWOM som finns, mer exakt influencers och recensioner online. Undersökningen kommer gå in på det förtroende som konsumenter har för just influencers och recensioner online och även undersöka om detta förändras om konsumenten står inför ett hög- eller lågengagemangsköp. Forskningsfrågor ställs även för att få reda på vilka faktorer som spelar in för att förtroendet för influencers och recensioner skall påverkas och om förtroendet förändras om konsumenten ställs inför ett köp av en produkt istället för en tjänst. Undersökningen sker genom en kvalitativ metod där intervjuer hålls med sex respondenter och frågor anknutna till syftet och forskningsfrågorna ställs till dem. Resultatet från dessa intervjuer visar att förtroendet för influencers inte är lika starkt som det förtroende konsumenterna har för recensioner online, däremot förklarar respondenterna att det finns faktorer som kan både öka och minska förtroendet både för recensioner och influencers. Det kan exempelvis vara så att en influencer mer många följare kan kännas mer trovärdig och att en okänd hemsida med recensioner kan tappa trovärdighet. Respondenterna har varit överens om att influencers fungerar bättre som inspiration till produkter och tjänster, däremot är det recensioner som får dem att ta beslutet när det gäller ett köp. / Marketing today doesn’t look like it has done before, the digitization has resulted in a big change and lots of new opportunities for companies and individuals to advertise. Word-of-mouth has changed from something being said about a product or service in a conversation between two or more people to also be available online. There are a lot of different types of online word-of-mouth (eWOM), and we’re going to target influencers and online reviews. The study will look into the trust for influencers and online reviews perceived by the consumers and also examine how or if the amount of trust will alter depending on if the consumer approaches a high- or low involvement purchase. The study will be of a qualitative method where interviews will be held with six respondents. The questions will be cohere to the purpose of the study and the research questions. The result from this study shows that the consumer trust for influencers isn’t as significant as the trust for online reviews, despite that several of the consumers points out that there is factors that can change the amount of trust for both influencers and online reviews. For example an influencer with a lot of followers can appear to be more trustworthy than one with less, and a not that well known website with online reviews can appear less trustworthy. The respondents have agreed that influencers work better as inspiration for products and services, although they all thought that reviews are the deciding factor to making a purchase.

The aim of the diploma thesis is to analyze the use of social media and use of online reputation management tools by accommodation facilities. Information was obtained from survey among four and five star hotels situated in Prague. Moreover there is an analysis of online reputation management tools which are currently available on the market. After detailed analysis certain conclusions and recommendations are proposed to hotels to help them with effective communication on social media as well as with effective management of online reputation which is nowadays very important for potential guests who search for their accommodation online.

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar cómo la confianza y reviews en línea tienen una relación directa en la intención de compra en E- commerce en la categoría de electrónicos en la ciudad de Lima. La investigación se basa en fuentes con el propósito de determinar los conceptos de: intención de compra, confianza, online reviews, electrónicos; asimismo de dar a conocer el contexto actual de la categoría de electrónicos. Seguido a ello, cabe mencionar que dicha investigación tiene un enfoque cuantitativo, el cual sigue una lógica estadística. Así mismo, se da un estudio explicativo en donde se establece una relación de causa y efecto entre variables dependientes e independientes. Además, cuenta con un estudio transversal y concluyente. Finalmente, en la fase cuantitativa se realizarán 400 encuestas, el cual se aplicará a través de la escala de medición Likert con una escala del 1 al 5. Además, se ha tomado en cuenta para el cuestionario a los autores Chakraborty, U. (2019), Riley, J.M. and Klein, R. (2019) para las variables “intención de compra”, “confianza” y “online reviews”. / The objective of this research is to analyze how trust and online reviews have a direct relationship with the purchase intention in E-commerce in the electronics category in the city of Lima. The research is based on sources with the purpose of determining the concepts of: purchase intention, trust, online reviews, electronic; also to make known the current context of the electronics category. Following this, it should be mentioned that said research has a quantitative approach, which follows a statistical logic. Likewise, an explanatory study is given where a cause and effect relationship is established between dependent and independent variables. In addition, it has a cross-sectional and conclusive study. Finally, in the quantitative phase, 400 surveys will be carried out, which will be applied through the Likert measurement scale with a scale from 1 to 5. Therefore the authors have been taken into account for the questionnaire Chakraborty, U. (2019 ), Riley, JM and Klein, R. (2019) for the variables “purchase intention”, “trust” and “online reviews”. / Trabajo de investigación