Past studies suggest that market mavenism refers to the degree to which a consumer is likely to become a market maven. High market mavenism consumers are characterized to possess information across many kinds of product categories and initiate word-of-mouth communication (WOM). High market mavenism consumers are influential consumers and key participants in WOM communication. Due to the explosion of online communication platforms, electronic word-of-mouth communication (eWOM) comes to attention. Understanding the virtual version of market mavenism becomes a salient topic. eMavenism is the extent to which consumers are involved in finding and disseminating marketing or advertising information online. Consumers who are relatively high on eMavenism are conventionally considered eMavens. eMavenism should be regarded as a unique type of market mavenism. This dissertation study aims to examine both the antecedents and eWOM communication behavioral consequences of eMavenism. The antecedents of eMavenism are considered from scattered literature on market mavenism, while eWOM communication behavioral consequences are identified from extensive literature review on the characteristics of eWOM communication. The results suggest that psychological tendencies and technology factor are the most important antecedent groups that positively affect eMavenism. Although consumption factor is not significantly related to eMavenism, it may serve as a perspective to analyze the primary difference between eMavenism and market mavenism. The insignificant relationships between demographics and eMavenism challenge the traditional perception that high mavenism consumers are constrained to the old, the unemployed, or housewives. The findings from this dissertation study debunk that high eMavenism consumers come from a broad variety of demographic groups. The findings call for a shift from focusing on consumer demographics to focusing on consumer psychographics in analyzing eMavenism. As to eWOM communication behavioral consequences, specific anonymity types are preferred by highly eMavenist respondents. Highly eMavenist respondents stay active in different online media outlets and contribute more positive than negative eWOM in online discourse. This dissertation study enhances the theoretical understanding of eMavenism and eWOM communication. The findings are also managerially relevant. / text

In this dissertation, I examine how online conversations as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) information via social media networks affect business outcomes. Using data from the movie industry, my goal is to show how conversation quantity and quality, defined here as volumes and valence, on social network sites affect important business outcomes such as sales. Using a dynamic simultaneous equation system, I find that social media conversations can be a precursor to and an outcome of sales. Aggregated data from multiple sources show how social media variables and other key variables—volume, valence, and other information related to movies such as YouTube views, ratings, advertising, production budget, number of screens—contribute to box-office and home video sales through eWOM via social media. Findings highlight that eWOM volume correlates with box-office performance and home video sales: the more positive and strong the conversation, the higher the box office and home video sales. The study extends prior research on WOM and offers insight into how film studios can strategically manage social media to enhance box office and home video revenue. / text

In this paper the perceived credibility of word of mouth (WOM) is compared with the perceived credibility of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) from a receiver's perspective. WOM can be described as verbal communication in trademarks, products and services where the transmitter does not have a profit motive. EWOM is all communications regarding brands, products and services that take place electronically over the Internet. The results of this qualitative study indicate that credibility is linked to the transmitter as a person rather than the message itself. Within WOM, the receiver usually has a relationship to the transmitter and therefore the credibility is to a large extent already given the recipient before the message is delivered based on past experience. Within eWOM the transmitter is often unknown or anonymous, which means that the receiver does not have a picture of the sender's credibility before the message is received. The receiver then creates a perception of the message and its sender based on language design. A language with certain qualitative characteristics tend to create greater credibility within eWOM. Another observation made in this study is that the quantity of messages affect the overall credibility of eWOM even when the messages alone are not considered to have high credibility from the recipient's perspective. The time aspect also proved to be of some importance for the credibility of the message in eWOM as older reviews were not as trustworthy as newer ones.

Bibliography: leaves 178-194.

Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2004.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Dentistry, 2002. / "8th July 2002." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 276-308).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1981. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment ... in pedodontics ..."

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1986.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1973.

Thesis (Doctoral)--Bayerischen Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität zu München, 1934.