Online reviews, which are consumer-generated messages, play a vital role in the consumer decision making process especially prior to their purchase adoption (i.e., pre-usage). The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of two-sided online reviews’ contents affecting the consumers' attitudes at the pre-usage stage of a focal experience service. Contrary to one-sided reviews (i.e., only positive or negative information), two-sided reviews contain both positive and negative information about a product/service: Two-sided reviews are considered more informative. Extant studies make an important assumption that there is no information asymmetry between writer/source of two-sided reviews and consumers that read/receive it. Their implicit assumption is that the attitude of the writer/source of the two-sided review is completely transferred to the reader/receiver of the review. Given the subjective nature of two-sided online reviews for experience goods, we contend that such an assumption is flawed because transfer of personal experience in form of attitude towards a focal object/service to others is fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty that can mitigate the transfer. Drawing on ambivalence and prospect theories, our hypothesis states that: the anticipatory ambivalence of the receiver/reader based on a two-sided review content for a focal service is higher than the ambivalent attitude of the source/writer of the review who has already experienced the focal service. Our empirical study, consisting of 1492 subjects from Canada and the United States, supports our stated hypothesis. The implication of our finding is profound. It shows that the extant literature had underestimated the negative attitude of the receiver/reader of the online reviews in their investigation, which confound their findings. To that end, we provide future research direction and implications of our findings in practice. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Yes / Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) plays an important part in consumer purchase decision. The way consumers perceive the persuasiveness of eWOM message can affect their attitude, and purchase intention, and hence sales. Thus, the topic of persuasiveness of eWOM communications has received much attention from scholars. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief review of the existing literature related to the effectiveness of eWOM communications and offer an overview of the determinants of eWOM persuasiveness. This paper contributes to the existing eWOM literature by reviewing the existing studies on eWOM communications, identifying gaps in the current research and providing directions for future research.

Yes / The aim of this research is to synthesise findings from previous studies by employing weight and meta-analysis to reconcile conflicting evidence and draw a “big picture” of eWOM factors influencing consumers’ intention to buy. By using the findings from 69 studies, this research identified best (e.g. argument quality, valence, eWOM usefulness, trust in message), promising (e.g. eWOM credibility, emotional trust, attitude towards website) and least effective (e.g. volume, existing eWOM, source credibility) predictors of intention to buy in eWOM research. Additionally, the effect size of each predictor was calculated by performing meta-analysis. For academics, understanding what influences consumers’ intention to buy will help set the agenda for future research directions; for practitioners, it will provide benefit in terms of practical guidance based on detailed analysis of specific factors influencing consumers’ intention to buy, which could enhance their marketing activities.

No / This SpringerBrief offers a state of the art analysis of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communications and its role in marketing. The book begins with an overview of traditional word-of-mouth (WOM) and its evolution to eWOM. It discusses the differences between traditional and online WOM. The book examines why people engage in eWOM communications, but also how consumers evaluate its persuasiveness. It also looks at the effects of eWOM. The book identifies current gaps in the eWOM research, but also highlights future directions for this growing field. eWOM is an important marketing technique in brand communications, and it plays an important role in modern e-commerce. Marketers become extremely interested in enhancing the power of eWOM developing loyalty programs and building brands. Studying the effect of eWOM can be beneficial for companies. This book should be a good resource for scholars and practitioners that need to understand the pervasive effects of eWOM.

Kurs/nivå:            2FE16E, Kandidatuppsats Författare:            Martin Alm, Anton Bengtsson, Pär Ivarsson Handledare:         Dan Halvarsson Examinator:         Åsa Devine Titel:                     Bakomliggande motiv, alla har dem. Nyckelord:           e-WOM, electronic word-of-mouth, e-wom motiv, sociala medier, Facebook.   Bakgrund:            Att veta varför kunder delar med sig och sprider information om företag har blivit viktigt för företag om de vill effektivisera sin marknadsföring på Internet. Mycket av den tidigare forskningen gällande e-WOM har fokuserat på informationsspridningens effekt men inte vad kunder har för bakomliggande motiv till att sprida e- WOM. Forskning har också visat att det finns skillnader i hur kunder sprider e-WOM på sociala medier jämfört med övriga plattformar på Internet. Det är därmed betydelsefullt att på ett djupgående sätt utforska vad kunder, utifrån deras perspektiv, har för bakomliggande motiv till att sprida information om företag på sociala medier.   Forskningsfråga: Varför sprider kunder e-WOM på sociala medier? Syfte:                    Syftet är att utforska kunders bakomliggande motiv till spridning av e-WOM på sociala medier.   Metod:                  Utförd som en fallstudie av ett enda fall genom sex stycken semi-strukturerade intervjuer.   Slutsats:               Undersökningen visade att det finns 15 bakomliggande motiv till kunders spridning av e-WOM på sociala medier. Några av de bakomliggande motiven är överraskningsmomentet, möjligheten att påverka andra, få bekräftelse samt att vänner och bekanta ska gynnas av informationsspridningen. / Course/Level:      2FE16E, Bachelor Thesis Authors:               Martin Alm, Anton Bengtsson, Pär Ivarsson Tutor:                   Dan Halvarsson Examiner:            Åsa Devine Title:                     Underlying motives, everybody has them. Keywords:            e-WOM, electronic word-of-mouth, e-wom motives, social media, Facebook.   Background:        Knowing why customers will share and spread information about companies has become important for companies if they want to improve their marketing on the Internet. Much of the previous research regarding e-WOM has focused on the effect but not about customers underlying motives to spread e-WOM. Research has also shown that there are differences in how customers spreading e-WOM on social media compared to other platforms on the Internet. It is therefore significant that in a profound way explore what customers’, from their perspective, have for underlying motives to spread information about companies on social media are.   Research question: Why do customers spread e-WOM on social media? Purpose:               The purpose of this thesis is to explore customers underlying motives to spread e-WOM on social media.   Methodology:       Conducted as a single embedded case study through six semi-structured interviews.   Conclusion:         The empirical investigation revealed that there are 15 underlying motives for customers to spread e-WOM on social media. Some of the underlying motives are the element of surprise, the ability to influence others, to obtain confirmation and for friends and acquaintances to benefit from the information.

This study’s purpose was to provide a deeper understanding regarding how millennials’ attitudes towards brands are influenced by online communication. With the aim of fulfilling the purpose of the study, two research questions of descriptive and explorative kind were stated; “How can the factors that influence millennials’ use of electronic word-of-mouth be described?” as well as “How does electronic word-of-mouth influence millennials’ brand attitude?”. In order to generate potential answers to the stated research questions, a conceptual framework was conducted by reviewing scholarly literature. The conceptual framework then provided the study with a theoretical foundation of which was utilized during both the data collection and the data analysis. Methodologically, this was a case study analyzing qualitative data that was collected through eleven semi-structured and in-depth interviews with both male and female millennials. The findings and conclusions of this study implied that electronic word-of-mouth has a meaningful impact on both the formation of and influence on attitudes towards brands amongst the millennials. Moreover, this was heavily dependent on the one disseminated it. However, with regard to the ever-evolving area of social network sites, other noteworthy factors such as millennials’ need for affiliation, aesthetically appealing firm-generated content and intense exposure to digital advertising were emphasized as components of which too formed their attitudes towards brands. Furthermore, the results suggested that adopting personalization- and social interaction strategies will encourage the spreading of positive electronic word-of-mouth. Lastly, positive electronic word-of-mouth was then for its part related to brand loyalty, which was reckoned to promote the persistency of positive brand attitudes.

Social media has increased the possibilities for consumers to gather and share consumption related experiences with other consumers through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM affects the relationship between customer and business, and therefore also affects customer relationship management (CRM). Therefore, the research question of this study is: “How does electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) affect customer relationship management (CRM) at an organization in the creative industry?”. The purpose of this study is to, for an organization in the creative industry, investigate the effects of eWOM on CRM. Theories are used to define and discuss the concepts eWOM and CRM, and a model in which the concepts are linked together is generated. A case study design focused on one organization has been used for the study; data was collected through semi-structured interviews and from the organizations social media accounts. The results of this study show that eWOM affects CRM in numerous ways. Organizations can benefit from eWOM by using the customer information that eWOM generates, as well as use eWOM to spread organizational and customer generated information. In addition to this, organizations can gain from considering negative eWOM when interacting with and responding to customers on social media. / Sociala medier har utvecklat individers och organisationers kommunikationsmöjligheter. Detta har utökat konsumenters möjligheter att samla opartisk produktinformation från andra konsumenter, samt gett dem möjlighet att själva förse andra konsumenter med konsumtionsrelaterade erfarenheter och åsikter genom electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM påverkar relationen mellan kund och företag, och innebär därmed påverkan på customer relationship management (CRM). Vid genomgång av tidigare studier återfanns inga artiklar som undersöker eWOM i relation till CRM. Samtidigt är kulturbranschen i större utsträckning, jämfört med andra socioekonomiska aktiviteter, beroende av word-of-mouth. Utifrån detta utgår undersökningen från frågeställningen ”Hur påverkar electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) customer relationship management (CRM) hos organisationer inom kulturbranschen?”. Undersökningens syfte är att undersöka vilka effekter eWOM har på CRM hos organisationer inom kulturbranschen. Syftet är vidare att utveckla en djupare förståelse för kopplingen mellan dessa begrepp. Den teoretiska referensramen definierar och diskuterar begreppen eWOM och CRM, samt beskriver tidigare forskning om begreppen. Detta leder fram till en analysmodell där dessa begrepp kopplas samman, samt en diskussion och förklaring av denna sammankoppling. Undersökningen utgår från en fallstudiedesign, eftersom syftet är att utveckla en djupare förståelse för hur eWOM påverkar CRM. Undersökningen har studerat en organisation inom kulturbranschen; data har samlats in från organisationens olika sociala medier, och semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda inom organisationen har ägt rum. De resultat som framkommit ur undersökningen visar att eWOM påverkar CRM på flera sätt. Organisationer kan dra nytta av eWOM genom att nyttja den kundinformation som uppkommer i och med eWOM, genom att använda eWOM för att sprida organisations- och konsumentgenererad information, samt genom att använda eWOM till att förstärka affective commitment. Dessutom kan organisationer behöva ha negativ eWOM i åtanke vid bemötande av kunder samt även vara närvarande vid diskussioner på sociala medier för att påverka hur kunders eWOM utvecklas.

Fenomenet med auktioner är inget nytt begrepp, utan man har i flera decennier använt sig av liknande tjänster och nätauktioner har haft en positiv utveckling i takt meddigitaliseringen. I en tid där fokus ligger på hållbarhet blir nätauktioner allt viktigare genom deras arbete med cirkulär ekonomi. Därför är det viktigt att nätauktioner fortsätter att utvecklas för att minska klimatavtrycket. Studiens syfte är att få djupare förståelse om hur e-service quality påverkar konsumenternas köpbeteenden på nätauktioner. Med denna studie är syftet att identifiera faktorer som påverkar konsumenterna i nyansen av e-service quality. För att mäta tjänstens kvalité har studien använt sig av modellen e-service quality framtagen av Parasuraman, Zeithaml och Berry (1988). Tillsammans med e-service quality använde sig studien av köpprocessen (Solomon, 2018) för att hitta ett samband mellan upplevd tjänstekvalité och konsumentens köpbeteende. Studiens frågeställning besvaras med en kvalitativ metod samt en abduktiv ansats. Studien har erhållit empirisk data genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjufrågorna formulerades utifrån sex dimensioner av e-service quality identifierade av Zeithaml, Parasuraman och Malhotra (2002). Slutligen analyserades empirisk data tillsammans med köpprocessens olika steg. Studien tyder på att det inte finns några större skillnader på svaren från de olika intervjupersonerna. Med hjälp av studien kan vi se klara mönster och säkerställa vilka dimensioner inom e-service quality som har störst påverkan på konsumentens köpbeteende. I och med digitaliseringens är detta område intressant för vidare studier för att effektivisera cirkulär konsumtion och därmed minska klimatavtrycket. / Auctions are not a new concept and similar services have been used for decades and online auctions have had a positive development through digitalization. In a time when focus lies on sustainability, online auctions are becoming increasingly important through their work with circular consumption. Therefore, it is important that online auctions continue to evolve to reduce the climate footprint. The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of how e-service quality affects consumers' purchasing behavior at online auctions. This study aims to identify factors that affect consumers in the nuance of e-service quality. To measure the quality of service, the study has used the model e-service quality developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988). Along with e-service quality, the study of the buying process (Solomon, 2018) has been used to find connections between perceived service quality and the consumer's buying behavior. The study's question is answered with a qualitative method and an abductive approach. The study has obtained empirical data through semi-structured interviews. The interview questions were formulated based on the six dimensions of e-service quality identified by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Malhotra (2002).Finally, empirical data were analyzed together with the different steps of the buying process. The study indicates that there are no major differences in the responses of the different interviewees. With the help of the study, we can see clear patterns and ensure which dimensions in e-service quality have the greatest impact on the consumer's buying behavior. With the advancement of digitalization, this area is interesting for further studies to streamline circular consumption and thereby reduce the climate footprint.

This study investigates how hotels use social media marketing and electronic word-of-mouth to enhance hotel brand awareness and customer relations. The aim of this study is to examine how hotels use social media and electronic word-of-mouth to build and strengthen the hotel's brand awareness and the relationship between the hotel and customer. We conducted a multiple case study where we interviewed six hotels to find out how they use social media marketing and electronic word-of-mouth. The result shows that hotels use social media marketing in order to communicate and share information with customers and strengthen the customer commitment, but also to find out what customers think of the hotel. The result also shows that customer reviews have a great impact on the hotel's brand awareness and on the hotel's relations with customers. The result also shows that the hotel's brand awareness and customer commitment is strengthened when hotels actively use social media's various platforms and by responding to customer online reviews

Social media is a phenomenon that has expanded fast during the recent years and has become a part of people’s everyday lives. Social media has developed to not only deal with updating others about what is happening and uploading pictures. Today social media plays a big part in marketing. Therefore advertising is not only exposed in traditional media such as; TV, radio and newspapers, but also on the internet and the social media platforms. Advertising on social media appears in different forms; sponsored posts (paid ads), User Generated Content (non-paid ads) and Electronic-Word-of-Mouth. These different forms of advertising on social media are experienced differently by consumers and therefore this study aims to gain an understanding to which extent consumers find different forms of advertising on social media credible and useful. A qualitative method has been used for this study. For the collecting of data semi-structured interviews have been conducted. This study has been divided into three themes, namely; advertising on social media, attitude of consumers and perceived credibility and usefulness. It turned out that consumers experienced User Generated Content as the most credible form of advertising on social media. Sponsored posts were seen as the most useful, since this form of advertising was perceived as inspiring and informative. / Sociala medier är ett fenomen som utvecklats väldigt fort och blivit en del av människors vardag. Det har utvecklats till att inte enbart handla om att uppdatera andra personer om vad som försiggår i ens liv och att lägga upp bilder. Idag används sociala medier även av företag och andra profiler i marknadsföringssyfte. Reklam exponeras därmed inte bara i traditionella kanaler såsom TV, radio och tidningar, utan även på internet och de sociala medieplattformarna. Reklam på sociala medier förekommer i olika former; sponsrade inlägg (betald reklam), User Generated Content (icke-betald reklam) och Electronic Word of Mouth. Dessa olika former av reklam i sociala medier tas emot på olika sätt av konsumenter och därför ämnar denna uppsats att få förståelse för i vilken utsträckning konsumenter finner olika former av reklam i sociala medier trovärdiga och användbara. Studien har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt där insamlingen av data skett genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Studien har delats in i tre olika teman nämligen; reklam på sociala medier, attityd hos konsumenter och uppfattad trovärdighet och användbarhet. Det framkom att User Generated Content upplevdes som mest trovärdigt bland de olika formerna av reklam. Däremot ansågs sponsrade inlägg som mest användbart då denna form av reklam uppfattades som inspirerande och informationsrik.