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.

自從「部落格」被韋氏辭典選為2004最具代表性的字，部落格便不斷蓬勃發展，越來越多的部落客，由於在訊息分享及消費者購買決策有強大影響力，被讀者視為意見領袖。本研究特別著眼於美妝部落格讀者，探討其對於時下崛起部落客口碑行銷現象之態度，從部落客單純的分享，到散播電子口碑(線上口碑) ，最後演變成獎勵或有酬的部落格文章。而近年來，這樣的部落格口碑行銷手法，已引起不少關於部落客誠信及可信度的討論。 本研究採取質化及量化研究方法，第一階段與知名美妝部落客的深度訪談，提供了現今部落格口碑運作及口碑行銷的初步了解。第二階段的量化問卷調查，綜合文獻及深訪結果，探討美妝部落格讀者對於部落客可信度及購買行為的態度。本研究同時發現，讀者對於美妝部落格內容的滿意程度，也會影響其對於產品的口碑注意度、後續口碑散播意願、以及實際購買行為。 / Ever since “blog” was selected by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as the word of year 2004, the development of blogs has been prospering. More and more bloggers are viewed by blog readers as new opinion leaders on their impact of information-sharing and purchasing decision-making. This study will pay closer attention to one certain category of blog readers—the beauty blog readers and their attitudes toward the emerging phenomenon among bloggers— from simply sharing information to spreading the buzz (online word-of-mouth, or eWOM), and eventually leading to rewarded blog post with incentives. Such business behavior is conceptualized as buzz marketing, which has been arousing dilemma about blogger honesty and credibility. Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be applied in this study. In first stage, in-depth interviews with well-known beauty bloggers were conducted to first provide with preliminary yet detailed understanding of how word of mouth operates and the existing buzz marketing among beauty blogs. Quantitative surveys will be designed based on the findings from first stage, and then be distributed among beauty blog readers to further examine that consumers’ attitudes toward bloggers’ credibility associate with their purchasing behavior. Likewise, consumers’ satisfaction toward blog content may influence their attention paid to WOM in blogs, willingness to conduct Word-of-mouth referrals, and actual purchasing behavior.

針對近年來消費者從被動地由廠商給予到主動搜尋產品資訊的趨勢，本研究欲探討網路口碑效果影響消費者在面對不同種類產品時所產生的認知差異與偏好的改變。 過去探討網路口碑對消費者的影響往往著重於網路口碑本身的性質，諸如口碑的傳播路徑、口碑所在網站的社群關係或是參考團體的影響力等。然而在網路口碑的傳遞過程當中，除了作為訊號的網路評論之外，還有發訊者：產品及重要的口碑接受者：消費者這兩方。為補足過去研究網路口碑效果的缺陷，本研究希望結合三方的觀點一併探究網路評論的類型、產品類型與消費者類型之間的影響關係，及是否會有任何交互作用的產生。 研究方法以問卷方式進行，樣本選擇經常上網人口的大宗：大學生為主要受測對象，並以ANOVA及t檢定探討網路口碑對於消費者是否有顯著的影響。大部分的研究假設皆受到支持，總合研究結果如下： 1. 評論的正負、產品與消費者類別對於消費者產品態度、評論有用度及影響度皆有獨立的顯著影響 2. 評論的正負、產品與消費者類別等兩兩變數之間甚至是三個變數之間有交互作用產生，而使口碑傳播的結果或有不同。廠商在執行網路行銷活動或面對不同目標市場的消費者時應採取適當的因應辦法，以達到市場有效率的目的。 / The trend of receiving product information given passively by firms has been changed to actively searching the information by consumers. The purpose of this study wants to find out the effects of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) to differences in consumer’s cognition and preference changes. In the past, the research of eWOM always focused on the characteristics of eWOM, like spreading path, the community relationship or the influence of reference groups etc.. However, eWOM not only includes e-comments, but the sender of the comments. To make up the gap of the past researches, this study wants to combine different product categories, types of comments and types of consumers and explore their influences to each other and potential interactions. This study distributes questionnaires to frequent internet users: college students and uses ANOVA and t test to examine the regression model. The major findings are as the followings: 1. Different product categories, comment types and consumer types each have independent influences on consumer’s attitude and cognition. 2. The interactions effects of different product categories, comment types and consumer types influence the eWOM effect and consumer’s attitude. Firms should select appropriate internet marketing methods corresponding to their target consumers in order to achieve market efficiency.

Sociala medier är ett vanligt förekommande fenomen som används av allt fler människor världen över. På sociala medier ges både företag och privata användare möjlighet att publicera videoinnehåll. I linje med att video på sociala medier växt fram, har möjligheter att använda video i marknadsföringssyfte utvecklats. Det har resulterat i att allt fler företag och marknadsförare insett fördelen med att inkludera video som en aspekt i marknadsföringsstrategier. Det har identifierats ett teoretiskt gap inom forskning som behandlar vilka attribut som bör inkluderas i en video för att fånga en konsuments intresse och främja videodelning. Syftet med denna studie är således att få kunskap kring attribut som är av betydelse vid utformning av videomarknadsföring på sociala medier och om dessa attribut är av betydelse för huruvida en video sprids genom videodelning. Författarna ämnar dessutom undersöka om video på sociala medier kan ha en eventuell påverkan på tittarens köpintention. Studien ämnar således besvara följande forskningsfråga: Vilka attribut bör inkluderas i videomarknadsföring på sociala medier för att attrahera tittare och generera spridning? Studien har utförts utifrån en kvantitativ metod och studieobjektet är användare Instagram. I samband med att Instagram introducerade möjligheten att publicera video, har videomarknasföring blivit allt vanligare och mer framträdande i kanalen. Via videomarknadsföring på Instagram har företag och marknadsförare potential att nå ut till en stor publik. Utifrån syftet och den forskningsfråga som författarna ämnar besvara har teori gällande native advertising, viral marknadsföring, videodelning, elektronisk word- of-mouth (eWOM), AIDA-modellen samt attribut inom video inkluderats i studiens teoretiska referensram. Den empiriska data som återfinns i studien har samlats in genom en webbenkät och den urvalsstrategi som använts är snöbollsurval. Statistiska tester i from av chitvå-test samt korrelationstest har genomförts för att härleda samband mellan olika variabler. Cronbach’s Alpha har genomförts för att styrka studiens inre reliabilitet. Utifrån den data som samlats in och utifrån de statistiska tester som genomförts har det konstaterats att attributen underhållning, engagemang och utformning bör inkluderas i videomarknadsföring för att attrahera tittare och generera spridning. Studien bidrar med en teoretisk modell som revideras utifrån studiens resultat. Modellen bidrar med teorier och attribut som är av relevans att beakta vid utformning av videomarknadsföring på sociala medier av såväl företag som marknadsförare.

Purpose: The authors have found a common interest to investigate how the use and impact of reviews online can be applied within the subject of tourism. The purpose of the study is to investigate how consumers use reviews in their information search process. The purpose is also to investigate how and if consumers are influenced by online reviews regarding hotel stays. Method: The study is based on a qualitative method in the form of ten semi structured interviews as primary collection. The study has a support from secondary data consisting of a literature review in the chapter of previous research. Theory: The theoretical background is based on three theories. The theories are The PrePurchase-Information process, The Major Influences On Individual Travel Behaviour and the theory From Word-Of-Mouth to Electronic Word-Of-Mouth. Empiricism: The empiricism consists of a presentation of ten semi structured interviews with anonymous respondents regarding their own experiences and beliefs about the topic of the study. The chapter also includes an overview of the previous research about the topic to support and enhance the primary empirical interview material. Findings: The digital society has led to an increased online presence, critical thinking and interest on how consumers travel and what hotels they choose. Impact is constantly present in their contact with reviews and surroundings. The individuals own interpretation and perception of reality is based primarily on how they use and are influenced by reviews. In combination with critical thinking there is an insight that anyone, can write anything.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T13:44:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nelson Siqueira Rangel Netto.pdf: 2472521 bytes, checksum: 7b00fc1faec7a6b2885bfe6defddb065 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-14 / The main goal of this study is to evaluate if online recommendations posted on the social network facebook has an effect on its members intention of consumption and the impact of a variety of mediators, noted reputation of information s source, recommended product s noted value, and noted risk of the recommended product. It s a quantitative research that aims to explore the model s structural relation through structural equation molding (SEM). In order to conduct the study, the author s facebook page contacts were asked to utilize a technique demonstration snow ball. A survey was made available to the contacted people, so they could answer the questionnaire and then post the survey link onto their facebook pages as well, amplifying the possible number of respondents. the data collection was made in between 09/27/2012 and 10/23/2012 gathering a total of 402 respondents. The research presented a significant impact between the variables online recommendation and intention of consumption, with partial mediation of the variable mediators. Among the mediators, noted risk of the recommended product was the one that presented the least total effect on the intention of consumption. The variable intention of consumption was explained by the tested model, presenting a R² of 47%. The variable intention consumption showed an R² of 47%, which indicates that the model significantly contributes to explain the influence of the factors tested in intent of consumption of users of facebook, thus enabling organizations to invest time in monitoring these behaviors and proactive actions to encourage consumption / O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar se recomendações online postadas na rede social Facebook afetam a intenção de consumo dos usuários desta rede e se nessa relação há mediação da reputação percebida da fonte de informação, do valor percebido e do risco percebido do produto recomendado. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa que busca explorar a relação estrutural entre as variáveis por meio de uma Modelagem de Equações Estruturais (SEM Structural Equation Modeling). Para realizar o estudo foram pesquisados os contatos do autor no site de rede social Facebook utilizando a técnica de amostragem Snow Ball. Foi disponibilizado um questionário tipo survey para que as pessoas contatadas pudessem responder e replicar em suas páginas pessoais o link da pesquisa, ampliando a possibilidade de respondentes. A coleta foi realizada no período de 27/09/2012 a 23/10/2012 obtendo um total de 402 respondentes. O estudo apresentou um impacto significativo entre as variáveis recomendação online e intenção de consumo, com mediação parcial das variáveis mediadoras. Entre as mediadoras, a que se apresentou com menos efeito total na relação foi a variável risco percebido do produto recomendado. A variável intenção de consumo apresentou um R² de 47%, o que indica que o modelo contribui significativamente para explicar a influência dos fatores testados na intenção de consumo dos usuários do facebook, possibilitando assim que, organizações invistam cada vez mais no monitoramento desses comportamentos e em ações proativas para fomentar o consumo

För många resenärer är internet den främsta källan att använda sig av vid bokning av resor och turismtjänster. Detta har i sin tur bidragit till nya sätt att samla information på inom turismbranschen. Ett av dessa sätt är via recensioner som är internetbaserade, även kallat elektronisk word of mouth (eWOM). Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om eWOM uppfattas trovärdigt nog för att ha inflytande på köpprocessen vid bokning av boende. Studien är baserad på teorier som behandlar köpbeslutsprocessen, eWOMs egenskaper, hur eWOM kan utvärderas, positiva och negativa recensioner samt falska recensioner. Utifrån dessa teorier har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod tillämpats genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjufrågorna bestod av tre till åtta frågor per teman utifrån teorierna nämnda ovan. Studiens urval är baserat på att endast undersöka webbplatsen Tripadvisor, privatresenärer som reser minst två gånger per år och som vid något tillfälle har använt sig av Tripadvisor. Resultatet indikerar att respondenterna har en positiv syn till eWOM och det är en del av deras köpbeslutsprocess vid bokning av boende dock är det inte den enda källan som de använder sig av för att komma fram till ett beslut. Kommunikationssättet är ett smidigt sätt att samla information på och trots att det sprids anonymt anses det inte vara tvivelaktigt. Resultatet visar även att det är viktigt att se om recensionerna överensstämmer med varandra samt att läsa både positiva och negativa recensioner. / The internet is for many travelers the main source for booking trips and tourism services, which has contributed to new ways of gathering information in the tourism industry. One of these ways is through onlinebased reviews, also called electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge if eWOM is perceived to be credible enough to influence the purchasing process when booking accommodation. This study adopts theories that illustrates the purchasing decision process, electronic word of mouth's characteristics, how eWOM can be evaluated, positive and negative reviews as well as fake reviews. Based on these theories a qualitative research method has been applied containing eight semistructured interviews. The interview questions consisted of three to eight questions per theme based on the mentioned theories. The study's selection is based on the website Tripadvisor and private travelers who travel at least twice a year and have used Tripadvisor before. The result indicates that the participated respondents have a positive view of eWOM and it is part of their purchasing decision-making process when booking accommodation, however, it is not the only information source they use. According to the respondents the communication method is a convenient way of gathering information and despite being spread anonymously it is not considered to be doubtful. The result also shows that it is important to evaluate if the reviews are consistent with each other and it is significant to read both positive and negative reviews.

To paraphrase an old bromide, "you are what you consume." Consumers derive their sense of self through products, brands, performances and a host of other meaning-laden materials that they consume. The marketing literature has long recognized possessions as an extension of the self-concept. Although hundreds of studies have examined the linkage between consumption and the self, surprisingly few have examined a related phenomenon - the relationship between the self-concept and word of mouth (WOM). A handful of studies have demonstrated the use of WOM to enhance the consumer's self-image, but most extant research focuses on how the act of engaging in WOM is used to build the self-concept. To date there has not been an extensive examination of the process by which WOM transfers the meaning of a product, brand, advertisement or narrative from one consumer to another as part of identity construction. This dissertation attempts to answer the following research questions: 1. Do self-concept and identity motivate consumers to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)? 2. Is there a conceptual model to represent the effects of message characteristics, product/brand characteristics and individual personality differences on the self-enhancement value of eWOM and resulting eWOM behaviors? A conceptual model was proposed and, using an experimental research design, hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results suggest that self-concept and identity indeed motivate consumers to engage in eWOM, and a number of brand and message traits comprise eWOM's self-enhancement value. This dissertation both contributes to the theoretical understanding of eWOM and assists managers in developing marketing strategy. The use of WOM for identity construction remains an understudied area in marketing when compared to the consumption of products as self-expression. This research provides suggestions for practitioners in harnessing the potential of eWOM as a marketing strategy through message development and targeting of lucrative segments with viral campaigns.

La aparición del ecommerce conlleva a las empresas a implementar estrategias omnicanales, para una mejor atención al consumidor conectado. Esto refiere que el servicio y su información se brinda en el canal online y offline, ambos se conectan e invitan a que exista una intención que culmine en compra. La relación entre el vendedor y el cliente es dinámica en este nuevo mecanismo de compra, ya que se busca que el consumidor tenga una mejor experiencia mediante el acceso a información sobre los productos o servicios en los que está interesado. De esta forma, ocurre un patrón denominado Webrooming el cual engloba la acción de investigar en el canal online sobre un bien y realizar un intercambio de canales, al efectuar la compra en el punto de venta físico. / Ecommerce leads companies to implement omnichannel strategies to give a better serve to the connected consumer. This is related that the service and its information is provided in the online and offline channel, both of which connect and invite an intention that culminates in purchase. The relationship between the seller and the customer is dynamic in this new purchasing mechanism, because it gives the opportunity for the consumer to have a better experience by accessing information about the products or services in which they are interested. In this way, there is a pattern called Webrooming, which encompasses the action of investigating an asset in the online channel and carrying out an exchange of channels, when making the purchase at the physical point of sale. / Trabajo de investigación

La industria de los videojuegos competitivos ha tenido una mayor relevancia en el mundo del entretenimiento donde cada vez son más las personas que utilizan las redes sociales para crear comunidades y tener un mayor contacto con marcas de productos dedicados a los eSports. Sin embargo, la influencia que generan las acciones de Social Media Marketing, el boca a boca electrónico y el valor de marca en la decisión de compra de estos productos no ha sido analizada completamente. Por lo cual este estudio, mediante encuestas virtuales, recopiló datos de 250 jóvenes peruanos que sirvieron para determinar que existe una influencia mínima y poco significativa de dichas variables en la decisión de compra. Ello debido a que las personas no percibirían a las opiniones de otros compradores como información relevante y decisiva para una posible compra además de no tener apego hacia las marcas de este tipo de productos. / The competitive video game industry has had a greater relevance in the world of entertainment where more and more people are using social networks to create communities and have greater contact with product brands dedicated to eSports. However, the influence generated by Social Media Marketing actions, electronic word of mouth and brand equity in the purchase decision of these products has not been fully analyzed. For this reason, this study, through virtual surveys, collected data from 250 young Peruvians that served to determine that there is a minimal and insignificant influence of these variables on the purchase decision. This is due to the fact that people would not perceive the opinions of other buyers as relevant and decisive information for a possible purchase in addition to not having attachment to the brands of this type of product. / Trabajo de investigación