Generation of Ewom A Study of Factors Affecting the E Tailers

Abstract

Owing to the uncertainty pertaining to online shopping, marketers have acknowledged the importance of eWOM on online platforms. Consumers, today, have shifted their trust from mass media advertisements to eWOM shared by experienced consumers as a credible source of information before making their purchase decisions. Thus, there arises a need to understand the concept of eWOM and use it for the benefit of the company. newlineIn the present market, managers have shifted their focus from traditional marketing tools to eWOM as an important technique to promote their brands/ products. However, despite its significance, there has been observed a huge gap between the quantum of people doing online shopping and those publishing their reviews online post-purchase. Hence, this creates a need for the development of a framework that can help bridge this gap. The present thesis helps to accomplish this goal by understanding various factors essential for consumers to motivate them to share their reviews online. To do so, this main objective has been divided into sub-categories understanding the antecedents (e-tailer centric and platform-centric) to intention to generate eWOM; bridging the gap between the intention to generate eWOM and actual behavior to generate eWOM; and post eWOM generation behavior. There arises a need to study these areas due to the underlying gap observed in the literature related to eWOM. First, the studies that cater to the intention to generate eWOM are scarce as compared to those related consequences of eWOM generated. Second, the scarce studies related to the intention to generate eWOM do not account for platform-specific factors that can be used to attract consumers to generate eWOM on specific online platforms. Last, the past literature has taken into account the intention to be a substitute for the actual generation of eWOM. Thus, there has been a lack of studies related to the actual generation of eWOM its antecedents and post behavior. newlineThis thesis has both theoretical and managerial relevance. The