See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/297729360

The influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’ purchase intentions:

An extended approach to information adoption

Article  in  Computers in Human Behavior · March 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.003

CITATIONS READS

393 15,714

2 authors, including:

Ismail Erkan
Izmir Katip Celebi Universitesi
23 PUBLICATIONS   658 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Your comments are important to me! The impacts of online customer reviews in shopping websites View project

Mobile word of mouth (MWOM) in messaging applications: An integrative framework of the impact of MWOM communication View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ismail Erkan on 21 January 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computers in Human Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

Full length article

The influence of eWOM in social media on consumers’ purchase

intentions: An extended approach to information adoption
Ismail Erkan a, b, *, Chris Evans c
a
Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, UK
b
Department of Business Administration, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey
c
University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC), University College London, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Social media websites have created valuable opportunities for electronic word of mouth (eWOM) con-
Received 2 July 2015 versations. People are now able to discuss products and services of brands with their friends and ac-
Received in revised form quaintances. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of these conversations in social media on
29 February 2016
consumers' purchase intentions. For this purpose, a conceptual model was developed based on the
Accepted 1 March 2016
Available online xxx
integration of Information Adoption Model (IAM) and related components of Theory of Reasoned Action
(TRA). The new model, which is named as Information Acceptance Model (IACM), was validated through
structural equation modelling (SEM) based on surveys of 384 university students who use social media
Keywords:
Electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
websites. The results confirm that quality, credibility, usefulness and adoption of information, needs of
Social media information and attitude towards information are the key factors of eWOM in social media that influence
Purchase intention consumers’ purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as recom-
Information acceptance model (IACM) mendations for further research.
Information adoption model © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Theory of reasoned action

1. Introduction 2010). This reduced anonymity has the potential to make eWOM
information more trustworthy and reliable (Chu & Choi, 2011;
Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has long been considered an Wallace, Walker, Lopez, & Jones, 2009). Indeed, since the conver-
influential marketing instrument (Bickart & Schindler, 2001; sations in social media frequently refer to brands (Wolny & Mueller,
Kumar & Benbasat, 2006; Zhang, Craciun, & Shin, 2010). Con- 2013), they are naturally influential on consumers purchase in-
sumers search for information posted by previous customers, in tentions (Wang, Yu, & Wei, 2012). However, it is difficult to envisage
order to make themselves comfortable before purchasing products all eWOM information as being influential on consumers' purchase
or services (Pitta & Fowler, 2005). The Internet has provided several intentions. Owing to the vast amount of information which con-
appropriate platforms for eWOM such as blogs, discussion forums, sumers are exposed to, they need to critique and screen the infor-
review websites, shopping websites and lastly social media web- mation before using it. This mechanism between eWOM and
sites (Cheung & Thadani, 2012). Previous studies have found the consumers’ purchase intention has not yet been explained even
influence of eWOM in these sources on consumers’ purchase in- though the studies previously mentioned discovered the impact of
tentions (Bickart & Schindler, 2001; Chan & Ngai, 2011; Park, Lee, & eWOM in social media.
Han, 2007; See-To & Ho, 2014). According to Knoll's latest research (2015), which reviews the
However, social media websites, which are relatively new recent eWOM studies undertaken in the social media context, the
eWOM platforms, have brought a new aspect to eWOM, through influence of eWOM depends on both the information and the
enabling users to communicate with their existing networks. Peo- consumer. Although this is only an argument based on recent
ple are now able to exchange opinions and experiences about studies and has not been empirically tested, we also agreed with
products or services with their friends and acquaintances on social the idea that consumer behaviour towards information should be
media (Chu & Kim, 2011; Kozinets, de Valck, Wojnicki, & Wilner, evaluated together with the characteristics of information. There-
fore, we considered both aspects whilst developing our research
model. We integrated the Information Adoption Model (IAM) and
related components of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). The IAM
* Corresponding author. Brunel Business School, Brunel University London, UK.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (I. Erkan), [email protected] explains the characteristics of the eWOM information, while the
(C. Evans). related components of TRA express the behaviour of consumers

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.003
0747-5632/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
48 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55

towards eWOM information. will be explained, before introducing our research model: IACM.
The objective of this study is to examine the influence of eWOM
in social media on consumers' purchase intentions. For this pur- 3.1. Technology acceptance model (TAM)
pose, we empirically test our research model which we named as
Information Acceptance Model (IACM). More specifically, the pro- TAM is a widely accepted theory, proposed by Davis (1989),
posed model tests quality, credibility, usefulness and adoption of which identifies any behavioural issues of users in the acceptance
information, needs of information and attitude towards informa- of new technologies (Lee, Kim, & Hackney, 2011; Venkatesh &
tion as main precursors of purchase intention. The results provide Davis, 2000; Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003; Yiu, Grant,
theoretical insights regarding eWOM in social media; and & Edgar, 2007). TAM was derived from the TRA (Fishbein &
contribute to the literature through the presented model. On the Ajzen, 1975); however, TAM is more ‘information systems’ spe-
managerial side, understanding the determinants of eWOM infor- €
cific, while TRA focuses on behavioural theories (Ozkan, Bindusara,
mation on social media which affect consumers’ purchase in- & Hackney, 2010). TAM is underpinned by two main constructs,
tentions could help marketers to utilise eWOM in their digital which are ‘perceived usefulness’ and ‘perceived ease of use’ (Davis,
marketing activities. 1989), for predicting an individual attitude towards accepting
certain technology (Tarhini, Arachchilage, Masa'deh, & Abbasi,
2. EWOM in social media 2015). It is therefore widely used by researchers within the
different contexts such as the Internet usage (Porter & Donthu,
Social media websites are considered as truly appropriate plat- 2006), social media usage (Rauniar, Rawski, Yang, & Johnson,
forms for eWOM (Canhoto & Clark, 2013; Erkan & Evans, 2014; Kim, 2014), online banking (Yiu et al., 2007), e-learning (Tarhini, Hone,
Sung, & Kang, 2014). In addition to daily conversations between & Liu, 2013), e-government (Alenezi, Tarhini, & Sharma, 2015). In
customers, these websites also allow opinion leaders to create and addition, TAM has also been employed to explain the adoption of
promote profiles relating to products and services of brands. People information in the context of eWOM (Ayeh, 2015; Elwalda, Lu, & Ali,
can share their comments via written texts, pictures, videos or even 2016; Yang, 2013).
applications. Visually enriched contents make eWOM more However, on the other hand, although the TAM is considered as
enjoyable and appealing. Furthermore, social media websites a very important model, it has also been widely criticised for its
facilitate the dissemination of eWOM information among the huge limited explanatory power (Bagozzi, 2007; Bhattacherjee &
amount of people (Sohn, 2014); and users can even share their Premkumar, 2004; Riffai, Grant, & Edgar, 2012; Tarhini et al.,
thoughts by only forwarding the posts they agree with (Chu & Kim, 2015). TAM mostly focuses on the individual usage of a computer,
2011). For these reasons, consumers increasingly resort to social with the concept of ‘perceived usefulness’, and disregards the
media to obtain information about brands (Baird & Parasnis, 2011; essential social processes of information development and imple-
Barreda, Bilgihan, Nusair, & Okumus, 2015; Naylor, Lamberton, & mentation (Riffai et al., 2012). Particularly in the context of eWOM,
West, 2012). where the information is generated by separate individuals, TAM
EWOM information in social media can arise in several different might not deliver adequate understanding of users' attitudes and
ways. Users can intentionally post about brands and their products intentions (Ayeh, 2015). Furthermore, TAM is also criticised by re-
or services. Furthermore, users can unintentionally display their searchers since it neglects the relationship between intention and
preferences to their network, such as becoming a fan of brands, actual behaviour, while focusing on the usage (Bagozzi, 2007). As
interacting with brands posts through liking and commenting, or there is a time gap between the intention and behaviour, the
posting a brand included content without any advertising purpose. behaviour is open to be influenced by external factors such as
Lastly, marketers can also post information through their official psychological and instrumental procedures (Bagozzi, 2007; Bagozzi
accounts on social media websites (Alboqami et al., 2015). There- & Edwards, 1998).
fore, people who encounter eWOM in social media need to Based on the criticisms mentioned above, the use of TAM is not
comprehensively critique the information in order to adopt them found appropriate for this study although some of its key compo-
for ideal purchase intentions. Previous studies have used several nents were employed. This study therefore has preferred to
models and theories to examine information adoption of con- develop its own research model, IACM, in order to explore how the
sumers. However, based on IAM, this study has developed its own information obtained in computer-mediated communication plat-
research model, which is named as IACM. forms is internalised and accepted by consumers. To do so, the IAM
(Sussman & Siegal, 2003) was extended with the related compo-
3. Theoretical background of the research model nents of TRA.

This study develops a theoretical model to identify the de- 3.2. Information adoption model (IAM)
terminants of eWOM information on social media which influence
consumers' purchase intentions. To do so, the IAM (Sussman & EWOM conversations consist of basic information transfer be-
Siegal, 2003) was extended with related components of TRA tween people who send and receive the information (Bansal &
(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The introduced model in this study, which Voyer, 2000). However, the influence of the information might
is named as information acceptance model (IACM), shows that the change from person to person; the same content can evoke
influence of eWOM on social media not only depends on the differing notions among receivers (Chaiken & Eagly, 1976; Cheung,
characteristics of eWOM information, such as quality and credi- Lee, & Rabjohn, 2008). In order to understand how people inter-
bility of information, but it also depends on the consumers’ nalise the information they receive, previous researchers have
behaviour towards eWOM information. focused on the information adoption process (Nonaka, 1994). In the
This study proposes a specific and unique conceptual model information systems literature, researchers have applied TRA/
which extends and enhances IAM, instead of using the technology TAMebased models to define how people are affected in adopting
acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989). This section, therefore, ideas or information (Ajzen, 1985; Davis, 1989; Fishbein & Ajzen,
initially will discuss the reasons for not using the TAM. The IAM, 1975). However, Sussman and Siegal (2003) take this knowledge
which is being extended to IACM, will then be introduced along with further by integrating them with dual process theories. IAM is
the required justifications. Thereafter, the adopted constructs of TRA proposed by integrating TAM (Davis, 1989) with the elaboration
 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55 49

likelihood model (ELM) (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; Petty, Cacioppo, & Ajzen, 1975). However, when it comes to the buying behaviour, it
Goldman, 1981) which posits that people can be affected by a is criticised by both old and recent studies, since the buying
message in two routes, which are central and peripheral (Shen, behaviour is open to be influenced by external factors such as
Cheung, & Lee, 2013; Sussman & Siegal, 2003). The central route unanticipated income shifts and unexpected promotions (De
refers to the core of the message, while the peripheral route refers Canni" cre, De Pelsmacker, & Geuens, 2009; Foxall, 2005; Infosino,
to the issues which are indirectly related to core of the message 1986; Morrison, 1979; Sun & Morwitz, 2010). In other words,
(Cheung et al., 2008; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; Shu & Scott, 2014). consumers might not buy the product or service although they
The IAM has four components: argument quality (which represents have purchase intentions. As the aim of this study is to understand
the central route), source credibility (which represents the pe- the influence of eWOM information, only the purchase intention is
ripheral route), information usefulness and information adoption. used rather than the actual purchase behaviour.
With this integration, the IAM offers to explain how people are On the other hand, the component of subjective norms is dis-
affected by the information on computer mediated communication regarded, as it is also criticised by some researchers (Miller, 2002).
platforms. Fig. 1 shows the IAM. Subjective norms refer to how people consider other people would
As this model explains the information on computer-mediated view them if they performed the behaviour. However, Miller (2002)
communication platforms, it is strongly applicable for eWOM argues that if a person's personality is not influenced by the
studies (Cheung et al., 2008; Cheung, Luo, Sia, & Chen, 2009; Shu & thoughts of others, then subjective norms would carry little weight
Scott, 2014). In particular, Cheung et al. (2008) has applied this in predicting the intention or behaviour. Therefore, only the
model within the online discussion forums context, while it is aforementioned two constructs are borrowed and applied as atti-
employed by Shu and Scott (2014) within the social media context. tude towards information and purchase intention. Additionally, this
As this research focuses on eWOM on social media, the use of IAM is study adds needs of information to the research model as another,
found appropriate for this study. The components of IAM are further construct. Needs of information is found as consumer
applied into this study as information quality, information credi- behaviour towards eWOM information, during the review of the
bility, information usefulness and information adoption. literature (Chu & Kim, 2011; Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh, &
Nonetheless, although IAM is a commonly used model, this Gremler, 2004; Wolny & Mueller, 2013).
study criticises it since it only focuses on the characteristics of in-
formation, which are quality, credibility and usefulness. The influ-
4. The research model (IACM) and hypotheses development
ence of information, however, should not be limited to
characteristics of information; consumers' behaviours towards in-
Fig. 2 shows the research model of this study, explaining the
formation should also be considered. More specifically, this study
determinants of eWOM information on social media which affect
argues that the influence of eWOM on social media not only de-
consumers' purchase intentions. This study claims that the char-
pends on the characteristics of eWOM information but it also de-
acteristics of eWOM information are not sufficient to examine the
pends on the consumers' behaviours towards eWOM information.
influence of eWOM on consumers' purchase intentions; the
Although this argument has not yet been empirically tested, it is
behaviour of consumers towards the eWOM information should be
also supported by Knoll (2015), who reviews the recent eWOM
included in the evaluation. Therefore, it creates a new model, which
studies conducted in the social media context. The developed
is named IACM. Both characteristics of eWOM information and
model in this study, IACM, therefore extends the IAM through
consumers’ behaviour towards eWOM information are considered
considering behaviours of consumers towards information. The
together whilst developing the IACM.
components relating to consumers’ behaviour towards eWOM in-
As explained above, this model is extending the IAM (Sussman &
formation are derived from TRA.
Siegal, 2003) through integrating the related parts of TRA (Fishbein
& Ajzen, 1975). The IAM explains the characteristics of eWOM in-
3.3. Theory of reasoned action (TRA) formation, while the related components of TRA represents the
behaviour of consumers towards eWOM information. With this
The TRA postulates that behavioural intentions, which are the integration, the research model of this study offers to carry the IAM
antecedents of behaviour, are decided by attitude and subjective one step further. The current version of IAM only explains the
norms (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992; adoption of information, whereas the IACM expands the notion of
Zhang, Cheung, & Lee, 2014). This theory has been frequently information adoption through the inclusion of the behaviour of the
used by the previous research regarding the relationship between consumer; and it explains how this process influences behavioural
eWOM and purchase intention (Cheung & Thadani, 2012; intention. Eventually, the IACM examines the relationships be-
Prendergast, Ko, & Yuen, 2010; Reichelt, Sievert, & Jacob, 2014). tween following variables: information quality, information credi-
However, this study uses only two components of TRA which are bility, needs of information, attitude towards information,
attitude and behavioural intention. Behavioural intention is information usefulness, information adoption and purchase
selected instead of behaviour as the aim of this study is to explore intention.
the influence of eWOM on purchase intention. Behavioural inten-
tion is considered as the antecedent of actual behaviour by a sig-
nificant number of theories, such as TRA, theory of planned 4.1. Information adoption and purchase intention
behaviour (TPB), and TAM (Ajzen, 1985; Davis, 1989; Fishbein &
Social media users, either intentionally or unintentionally, are
Argument exposed to a huge amount of eWOM information and previous
Quality studies have found such eWOM information as influential on con-
Information Information sumers' purchase intentions (See-To & Ho, 2014; Wang et al., 2012).
Usefulness Adoption
However, not all eWOM information posted on social media has the
Source
Credibility
same effect on consumers’ purchase intentions; the level of impact
can vary (Yang, 2012). In this study, through linking IAM and TRA,
Fig. 1. Information adoption model. we predict that the consumers who adopt eWOM information are
Source: Sussman & Siegal (2003). more likely to have purchase intentions.
50 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55

Information
Quality
H

Information
Credibility H
Information H Information H Purchase
Usefulness Adoption Intention*
Needs of
H
Information

Attitude towards H H
Information

Fig. 2. The proposed research model. * We display this construct as a ‘Purchase Intention’ due to context of this study. However, as a component of proposed Information
Acceptance Model (IACM), we offer the usage of ‘Behavioural Intention’ for future studies.

H1. Adoption of eWOM information is positively related to con- Webster, 1998). Subsequent studies have used this notion as
sumers' purchase intention. ‘advice seeking’ (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Wolny & Mueller,
2013) and ‘opinion seeking’ (Chu & Kim, 2011) with different
research questions. However, in this study we added ‘needs of in-
4.2. Information usefulness and information adoption
formation’ into our model as a dependent variable as we anticipate
that people seeking information in social media, are more likely to
Information usefulness refers to people's perception that using
find usable ones and adopt them; and eventually ‘needs of infor-
new information will enhance his/her performance (Bailey &
mation’ can effect purchase intention.
Pearson, 1983; Cheung et al., 2008). Information usefulness is
considered as a main predictor of information adoption (Davis, H5. Needs of eWOM information is positively related to useful-
1989; Sussman & Siegal, 2003) and purchase intention (Lee & ness of eWOM information.
Koo, 2015), because people tend to engage with the information
‘Attitude towards information’ is another dependent variable
when they think it is useful. Particularly in social media, people
that we added through considering TRA (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).
encounter a great amount of eWOM information (Chu & Kim,
Attitudes of consumers have been examined by researchers in
2011); therefore they might have greater intention to adopt,
several studies with regards to eWOM (Park et al., 2007;
when they find the information useful.
Prendergast et al., 2010). Moreover, two more theories, which are
H2. Usefulness of eWOM information is positively related to Theory of Planned Behaviour TPB (Ajzen, 1991) and the Technology
adoption of eWOM information. Acceptance Model (TAM) (Bagozzi, Davis, & Warshaw, 1992), also
indicate the relationship between attitude and behavioural inten-
tion, in addition to TRA. Therefore we hypothesise that attitudes of
4.3. Information quality & information credibility
social media users toward the eWOM information can have a
positive effect on usefulness of eWOM information and consumers'
EWOM information can be generated by almost every user on
purchase intentions.
the Internet; therefore, quality and credibility of information has
now become more critical (Xu, 2014). Consumers approach prod- H6. Attitude towards eWOM information is positively related to
ucts and services more eagerly when the information satisfies their usefulness of eWOM information.
demands (Olshavsky, 1985). In fact, previous researchers found that
H7. Attitude towards eWOM information is positively related to
the quality of online reviews have positive effects on consumers'
consumers' purchase intention.
purchase intentions (Lee & Shin, 2014; Park et al., 2007). Therefore,
we predict the quality of eWOM information in social media can be
one of the determinants of consumers' purchase intentions. 5. Method
Furthermore, previous research has also demonstrated the rela-
tionship between information credibility on consumers' purchase 5.1. Sampling
intentions (Nabi & Hendriks, 2003; Prendergast et al., 2010) and
information adoption (McKnight & Kacmar, 2006). However, ac- In order to test the hypothesised relationships among variables
cording to Wathen and Burkell (2002), information credibility is the in the proposed research model, a survey was conducted. Univer-
initial factor in the individuals’ persuasion process. Therefore, sity students were deemed appropriate for this study due to latest
based on IAM, we predict that the credibility of eWOM information statistics which show adults between the ages 18e29 as being the
is positively related to its usefulness in addition to information majority of social media users. As of January 2014; 89% of this age
adoption and purchase intention. group who use the Internet, also use social media websites (PRC,
H3. Quality of eWOM information is positively related to useful- 2014). A total of 384 students registered in UK universities partic-
ness of eWOM information. ipated in the study. The sample size of 384 is considered appro-
priate when the population constitutes millions (at 95% confidence
H4. Credibility of eWOM information is positively related to level and 5% margin of error) (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970; Sekaran,
usefulness of eWOM information. 2006). Sample characteristics are presented in Table 1.

4.4. Needs of information & attitude towards information 5.2. Measures

Needs of information have primarily been studied as a motivator The survey was designed using a multi-item approach; each
for word of mouth (WOM) engagement (Sundaram, Kaushik, & construct was measured by several items to improve validity and
 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55 51

Table 1 Table 2
Sample characteristics (n ¼ 384). Factor loadings, CR and AVE values.

Measure Frequency Percentage (%) Variable Item Factor loading CR AVE

Gender Attitude towards information ATI1 0.74 0.851 0.657

Male 185 48.2 (M ¼ 3.41, SD ¼ 0.99, a ¼ 0.84) ATI2 0.86
Female 199 51.8 ATI3 0.82
Education Level Information quality IQ1 0.79 0.837 0.632
Bachelor's 164 42.7 (M ¼ 3.41, SD ¼ 0.83, a ¼ 0.83) IQ2 0.83
Master's 88 22.9 IQ3 0.76
PhD 132 34.4 Information credibility IC1 0.86 0.890 0.668
Social Media Usage (M ¼ 3.30, SD ¼ 0.87, a ¼ 0.89) IC2 0.85
Everyday 312 81.3 IC3 0.78
4e5 days per week 34 8.9 IC4 0.73
Once or twice a week 27 7.0 Needs of information NOI1 0.86 0.815 0.687
Very rare 11 2.9 (M ¼ 3.38, SD ¼ 1.00, a ¼ 0.81) NOI2 0.80
Internet Familiarity Information usefulness IU1 0.88 0.837 0.720
Less than 1 year 1 0.3 (M ¼ 3.54, SD ¼ 0.95, a ¼ 0.83) IU2 0.79
1e3 years 3 0.8 Information adoption IA1 0.89 0.854 0.745
4e6 years 39 10.2 (M ¼ 3.48, SD ¼ 0.95, a ¼ 0.85) IA2 0.83
More than 6 years 341 88.8 Purchase intention PI1 0.73 0.852 0.591
(M ¼ 2.61, SD ¼ 0.60, a ¼ 0.85) PI2 0.74
PI3 0.84
reliability. All variables were carried out by a five-point Likert-scale, PI4 077
ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Items were
Note: CR e Composite Reliability, AVE - Average Variance Extracted.
borrowed from previous literature and modified for the context of
this study. Specifically, ‘Attitude towards Information’ and ‘Infor- Six hypothesised relationships between variables were found sta-
mation Quality’ were measured by three-item scales which were tistically significant while one hypothesis was not significant. More
adapted from the study of Park et al. (2007). ‘Information Quality’ specifically, H1, which predicts the positive influence of information
was assessed by adapting four items used by Prendergast et al. adoption on purchase intention, was supported (b ¼ 0.39,
(2010). Two-item scales were used in order to measure ‘Needs of p < 0.001). Furthermore, information usefulness was found to have
Information’, ‘Information Usefulness’ and ‘Information Adoption’ a positive influence on information adoption; H2 was supported
which were adapted by following studies: (respectively) Chu and (b ¼ 0.88, p < 0.001). Further, information quality, information
Kim (2011), Bailey and Pearson (1983) and Cheung et al. (2009). credibility and needs of information appeared to have a significant,
Finally, to examine purchase intention, three statements adopted positive impact on information usefulness; (respectively) H3
from Coyle and Thorson (2001) and one statement adapted by the (b ¼ 0.26, p < 0.001), H4 (b ¼ 0.22, p < 0.01), H5 (b ¼ 0.41, p < 0.001).
study of Prendergast et al. (2010). Appendix A presents all the However, attitude towards information was not found to be influ-
measures used for this study. ential on information usefulness (b ¼ 0.11); H6 was not supported.
Finally, H7, which predicts the positive influence of attitude towards
6. Results information on purchase intention, was supported (b ¼ 0.22,
p < 0.01). Additionally, the goodness-of-fit indices indicates the
6.1. Measurement model evaluation model did fit the data very well; c2/d.f. ¼ 1.854; p < 0.001;
GFI ¼ 0.930; AGFI ¼ 0.906; CFI ¼ 0.972; RMSEA ¼ 0.047 (See
The research model was tested using AMOS 20, a structural Table 4).
modelling technique which is well suited for predictive models
(Bentler & Chou, 1987). Before testing the hypothesised relation- 7. Discussion
ships, we analysed the reliability and validity of the scales.
Convergent validity, which was examined by using the composite The influence of eWOM on consumers' purchase intentions has
reliability (CR) and the average variance extracted (AVE), demon- long been known by researchers (Bickart & Schindler, 2001; Chan &
strates how the items are related to each other; and, simply, Ngai, 2011; Kumar & Benbasat, 2006; Park et al., 2007; Zhang et al.,
whether they can be in the same measurement or not. The lower 2010). In fact, the impact of eWOM in social media on consumers'
acceptable value is 0.70 for CR and 0.50 for AVE (Fornell & Larcker, purchase intentions has also been known (See-To & Ho, 2014;
1981). As presented in Table 2, CR of each variable are more than 0.8 Wang et al., 2012). However, this study explains the determinants
(0.815e0.890) and AVE of each variable are more than 0.50 of eWOM information on social media which influence consumers'
(0.591e0.745) which means the convergent validity is achieved. purchase intentions through the tested model, IACM. Results from
The recommended level for the factor loadings is 0.70 and all the the structural equation model indicate that both characteristics of
factor loadings of this study are greater than 0.70 (See Table 2). eWOM information and behaviours of consumers towards eWOM
Additionally, discriminant validity was analysed in order to information have a positive impact on consumers’ purchase in-
examine whether a measurement is not a reflection of any other tentions. All hypotheses between information quality, information
measurement or not. In this analysis, each of the square roots of credibility, needs of information, attitude towards information,
AVE should be higher than the other correlation coefficients for information usefulness, information adoption and purchase
adequate discriminant validity (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). As pre- intention were supported except the one between attitude towards
sented in Table 3, the square root of AVE for each variable is greater information and information usefulness.
than the other correlation coefficients which indicate the discrim- Although the model was found significant, the relationship in
inant validity is achieved. the rejected hypothesis is open to discussion. We followed the
theories provided by literature while we were building our model,
6.2. Structural model evaluation as explained within the paper. However, no significant relationship
was found between attitude towards information and information
The results of tested structural model are presented in Table 4. usefulness. One possible factor which may cause this result is the
52 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55

Table 3
Correlation matrix of key variables.

ATI IQ IC NOI IU IA PI

Attitude towards information (ATI) 0.811

Information quality (IQ) 0.627 0.795
Information credibility (IC) 0.655 0.770 0.818
Needs of information (NOI) 0.711 0.618 0.703 0.829
Information usefulness (IU) 0.671 0.718 0.745 0.776 0.848
Information adoption (IA) 0.667 0.672 0.688 0.710 0.846 0.863
Purchase intention (PI) 0.459 0.417 0.543 0.521 0.516 0.520 0.769

Note: Italicised elements are the square root of AVE for each variable.

Table 4
Results and goodness-of-fit indices.

Relationship Std R.W C.R P Value

***
H1 Information Adoption/Purchase Intention 0.39 5.314
***
H2 Information Usefulness/Information Adoption 0.88 16.571
***
H3 Information Quality/Information Usefulness 0.26 3.589
**
H4 Information Credibility/Information Usefulness 0.22 2.688
***
H5 Needs of Information/Information Usefulness 0.41 5.350
H6 Attitude towards Information/Information Usefulness 0.11 1.661 0.097
**
H7 Attitude towards Information/Purchase Intention 0.22 3.059

Goodness-of-fit indices

X2/d.f. 1.854
Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) 0.930
Adjusted GFI (AGFI) 0.906
Comparative fit index (CFI) 0.972
RMSEA 0.047

Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Std R.W e Standardized Regression Weights, C.R e Critical Ratio.

context of this study, social media. Due to the fact that people IACM claims that the influence of eWOM information on social
usually receive the eWOM information from their friends and ac- media not only depends on the characteristics of eWOM informa-
quaintances in social media, they may already think that the in- tion, such as quality and credibility of information, but it also de-
formation will be useful. Thus, the mentioned relationship might be pends on the consumers’ behaviour towards eWOM information.
affected; however, varying contexts may bring alternative results The model was validated through a survey of 384 university stu-
for this hypothesis. dents who use social media websites.
Results relating to characteristics of eWOM information corre- The results revealed several theoretical and managerial impli-
late with previous literature. Information quality and credibility cations. However, the major contribution of this study is to develop
have a positive impact on information usefulness, and information a comprehensive conceptual model which examines the de-
usefulness is positively related with information adoption as sug- terminants of eWOM information on social media influencing
gested by IAM (Sussman & Siegal, 2003). Our results prove that the consumers’ purchase intentions. The model was developed based
model suggested by Sussman and Siegal (2003) is applicable for on the integration of IAM and related components of TRA. The IAM
eWOM studies. This result was also proved in previous eWOM explains the characteristics of the eWOM information (Sussman &
studies (Cheung et al., 2008, 2009; Shu & Scott, 2014); however, in Siegal, 2003), while the related components of TRA expresses the
this study, we add consumers' purchase intentions into the evalu- behaviour of consumers towards eWOM information (Fishbein &
ation as a dependent variable. Therefore, through the results, we Ajzen, 1975). However, the offered model in this study, named In-
present that the information adoption process suggested by IAM, formation Acceptance Model (IACM), offers a more comprehensive
influences the consumers’ purchase intentions. approach through considering the behaviour of consumers
On the other side, as we claim and explain throughout the paper, together with the characteristics of information within the same
we consider the behaviour of consumer towards eWOM informa- model. The IACM, thus;
tion together with the characteristics of information; thus we add it
as independent variables into the evaluation. Results prove that our " Brings a new approach to information adoption by extending
model is significant; and needs of information and attitude towards IAM and provides new insights to researchers who study In-
information are also among the determinants of eWOM on social formation Systems (IS).
media which influence consumers’ purchase intentions. This result " Contributes to the future research by empirically testing an
is in the same line with previous theories (Ajzen, 1991; Bagozzi argument of recent eWOM studies (Knoll, 2015), which suggests
et al., 1992; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and other previous studies the joint evaluation of characteristics of eWOM information and
(Chu & Kim, 2011; Park et al., 2007; Prendergast et al., 2010). consumers' behaviour towards eWOM information.
" Provides a greater understanding of eWOM within social media
by highlighting the determinants of eWOM information on so-
8. Conclusion cial media influencing consumers' purchase intentions.

This study proposed a research model called Information From a managerial perspective, this study provides marketers
Acceptance Model (IACM) in order to examine the influence of with a frame of reference to understand the influence of eWOM in
eWOM in social media on consumers' purchase intentions. The
 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55 53

social media on consumers’ purchase intentions. Social media References

websites are important for marketers owing to the large numbers
of users they have; and moreover, these websites are considered Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl,
& J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11e39).
very appropriate platforms for eWOM (Canhoto & Clark, 2013). For Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_
this reason, the determinants provided by this study are valuable in 2.
terms of the practicality. They allow marketers to understand the Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, 50(2), 179e211. http://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-
dynamics of eWOM on social media, and thus to develop better T.
marketing strategies. Alboqami, H., Al-Karaghouli, W., Baeshen, Y., Erkan, I., Evans, C., & Ghoneim, A.
(2015). Electronic word of mouth in social media: the common characteristics
of retweeted and favourited marketer-generated content posted on Twitter.
9. Limitations and future research directions International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 9(4), 338e358.
Alenezi, H., Tarhini, A., & Sharma, S. K. (2015). Development of quantitative model to
The results of this study should be considered with the investigate the strategic relationship between information quality and e-gov-
ernment benefits. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 9(3),
following limitations. This research has been conducted with uni- 324e351. http://doi.org/doi:10.1108/TG-08-2013-0026.
versity students. Although the age group of university students Ayeh, J. K. (2015). Travellers' acceptance of consumer-generated media: an inte-
constitutes the majority of social media users, they may not pre- grated model of technology acceptance and source credibility theories. Com-
puters in Human Behavior, 48, 173e180. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.049.
cisely reflect the whole population. Another limitation of this study
Bagozzi, R. P. (2007). The legacy of the technology acceptance model and a proposal
is considering all social media websites together, instead of spe- for a paradigm shift. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8(4),
cifically focusing on one website such as Facebook or Twitter. 244e254.
Further research could examine the eWOM in one social media Bagozzi, R. P., Davis, F. D., & Warshaw, P. R. (1992). Development and test of a theory
of technological learning and usage. Human Relations, 45(7), 659e686. http://
website. Also, a comparison between social media websites in the doi.org/10.1177/001872679204500702.
context of eWOM can bring valuable theoretical and managerial Bagozzi, R. P., & Edwards, E. A. (1998). Goal setting and goal pursuit in the regulation
insights. Finally, future research could develop our research model of body weight. Psychology & Health, 13(4), 593e621. http://doi.org/10.1080/
08870449808407421.
through adding more variables or using the current one within Bailey, J. E., & Pearson, S. W. (1983). Development of a tool for measuring and
different contexts. analyzing computer user satisfaction. Management Science, 29(5), 530e545.
http://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.29.5.530.
Baird, C. H., & Parasnis, G. (2011). From social media to social customer relationship
Acknowledgements management. Strategy & Leadership, 39(5), 30e37. http://doi.org/10.1108/
10878571111161507.
We thank Professor Ray Hackney, Dr Abdulaziz Elwalda, and Bansal, H. S., & Voyer, P. A. (2000). Word-of-mouth processes within a services
purchase decision context. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 166e177. http://doi.
PhD Researcher Erhan Aydin for their valuable comments and in- org/10.1177/109467050032005.
sights on this article. Also, thanks to Dr Chris Evans for encouraging Barreda, A. A., Bilgihan, A., Nusair, K., & Okumus, F. (2015). Generating brand
this research. awareness in online social networks. Computers in Human Behavior, 50,
600e609. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.023.
Bentler, P. M., & Chou, C.-P. (1987). Practical issues in structural modeling. Socio-
Appendix A. Measures logical Methods & Research, 16(1), 78e117. http://doi.org/10.1177/
0049124187016001004.
Bhattacherjee, A., & Premkumar, G. (2004). Understanding changes in belief and
attitude toward information technology usage: a theoretical model and longi-
tudinal test. MIS Quarterly, 28(2), 229e254. http://doi.org/10.2307/25148634.
Bickart, B., & Schindler, R. M. (2001). Internet forums as influential sources of
Variable Items consumer information. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 15(3), 31e40. http://doi.
org/10.1002/dir.1014.
Information quality The information about products which Canhoto, A. I., & Clark, M. (2013). Customer service 140 characters at a time e the
(Park et al., 2007) are shared by my friends in social media … users' perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5/6), 522e544. http://
IQ1 I think they are understandable. doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.777355.
IQ2 I think they are clear. Chaiken, S., & Eagly, A. H. (1976). Communication modality as a determinant of
IQ3 In general, I think the message persuasiveness and message comprehensibility. Journal of Personality
quality of them is high. and Social Psychology, 34(4), 605e614. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.34.4.
Information credibility IC1 I think they are convincing. 605.
(Prendergast et al., 2010) IC2 I think they are strong. Chan, Y. Y. Y., & Ngai, E. W. T. (2011). Conceptualising electronic word of mouth
activity: an input-process-output perspective. Marketing Intelligence & Planning,
IC3 I think they are credible.
29(5), 488e516. http://doi.org/10.1108/02634501111153692.
IC4 I think they are accurate.
Cheung, C. M. K., Lee, M. K. O., & Rabjohn, N. (2008). The impact of electronic word-
Needs of information NOI1 I like to apply them when
of-mouth: the adoption of online opinions in online customer communities.
(Chu & Kim, 2011) I consider new products. Internet Research, 18(3), 229e247. http://doi.org/10.1108/10662240810883290.
NOI2 If I have little experience with a product, Cheung, M. Y., Luo, C., Sia, C. L., & Chen, H. (2009). Credibility of electronic word-of-
I often use them. mouth: informational and normative determinants of on-line consumer rec-
Attitude towards information ATI1 I always read them when I buy a product. ommendations. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 13(4), 9e38. http://
(Park et al., 2007) ATI2 They are helpful for my decision making doi.org/10.2753/JEC1086-4415130402.
when I buy a product. Cheung, C. M. K., & Thadani, D. R. (2012). The impact of electronic word-of-mouth
ATI3 They make me confident in communication: a literature analysis and integrative model. Decision Support
purchasing product. Systems, 54(1), 461e470. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2012.06.008.
Information usefulness IU1 I think they are generally useful. Chu, S. C., & Choi, S. M. (2011). Electronic word-of-mouth in social networking sites:
(Bailey & Pearson, 1983) IU2 I think they are generally informative. a cross-cultural study of the United States and China. Journal of Global Mar-
keting, 24(3), 263e281. http://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2011.592461.
Information adoption IA1 They make easier for me to make
Chu, S. C., & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic
(Cheung et al., 2009) purchase decision.
word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites. International Journal of
IA2 They enhance my effectiveness in making
Advertising, 30(1), 47e75. http://doi.org/10.2501/IJA-30-1-047-075.
purchase decision. Coyle, J. R., & Thorson, E. (2001). The effects of progressive levels of interactivity and
Purchase intention After considering information about products vividness in web marketing sites. Journal of Advertising, 30(3), 65e77. http://doi.
(Coyle & Thorson, 2001) which are shared by my friends in social media … org/10.1080/00913367.2001.10673646.
PI1 It is very likely that I will buy the product. Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance
PI2 I will purchase the product next time of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319e340. http://doi.org/10.
I need a product. 2307/249008.
PI3 I will definitely try the product. De Canni" cre, M. H., De Pelsmacker, P., & Geuens, M. (2009). Relationship quality and
PI4 I will recommend the product to my friends. the theory of planned behavior models of behavioral intentions and purchase
54 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55

behavior. Journal of Business Research, 62(1), 82e92. http://doi.org/10.1016/j. Psychology, 41(5), 847e855. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.5.847.
jbusres.2008.01.001. Pitta, D. A., & Fowler, D. (2005). Online consumer communities and their value to
Elwalda, A., Lu, K., & Ali, M. (2016). Perceived derived attributes of online customer new product developers. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 14(5),
reviews. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 306e319. http://doi.org/10.1016/j. 283e291. http://doi.org/10.1108/10610420510616313.
chb.2015.11.051. Porter, C. E., & Donthu, N. (2006). Using the technology acceptance model to explain
Erkan, I., & Evans, C. (2014). The impacts of electronic word of mouth in social how attitudes determine Internet usage: the role of perceived access barriers
media on consumers' purchase intentions. In Proceedings of the International and demographics. Journal of Business Research, 59(9), 999e1007. http://doi.org/
conference on digital marketing (ICODM2014) (pp. 9e14) (Colombo, Sri Lanka). 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.003.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An intro- PRC. (2014). Social media use by age group over time. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from
duction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/social-media/social-media-use-by-
http://people.umass.edu/aizen/f&a1975.html. age-group/.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable Prendergast, G., Ko, D., & Yuen, S. Y. V. (2010). Online word of mouth and consumer
variables and measurement error: algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing purchase intentions. International Journal of Advertising, 29(5), 687e708. http://
Research, 18(3), 382e388. http://doi.org/10.2307/3150980. doi.org/10.2501/S0265048710201427.
Foxall, G. R. (2005). Understanding consumer choice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Mac- Rauniar, R., Rawski, G., Yang, J., & Johnson, B. (2014). Technology acceptance model
millan. http://doi.org/10.1057/9780230510029. (TAM) and social media usage: an empirical study on Facebook. Journal of En-
Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic terprise Information Management, 27(1), 6e30. http://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-04-
word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to 2012-0011.
articulate themselves on the Internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), Reichelt, J., Sievert, J., & Jacob, F. (2014). How credibility affects eWOM reading: the
38e52. http://doi.org/10.1002/dir.10073. influences of expertise, trustworthiness, and similarity on utilitarian and social
Infosino, W. J. (1986). Forecasting new product sales from likelihood of purchase functions. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20(1e2), 65e81. http://doi.org/
ratings. Marketing Science, 5(4), 372e384. http://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.5.4.372. 10.1080/13527266.2013.797758.
Kim, E., Sung, Y., & Kang, H. (2014). Brand followers' retweeting behavior on Riffai, M. M. M. A., Grant, K., & Edgar, D. (2012). Big TAM in Oman: exploring the
Twitter: how brand relationships influence brand electronic word-of-mouth. promise of on-line banking, its adoption by customers and the challenges of
Computers in Human Behavior, 37, 18e25. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.04. banking in Oman. International Journal of Information Management, 32(3),
020. 239e250. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.11.007.
Knoll, J. (2015). Advertising in social media: a review of empirical evidence. Inter- See-To, E. W. K., & Ho, K. K. W. (2014). Value co-creation and purchase intention in
national Journal of Advertising, ((ahead-of-print, 1e35. Retrieved from http:// social network sites: the role of electronic word-of-mouth and trust - a theo-
www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.brunel.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1080/02650487.2015. retical analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 31(1), 182e189. http://doi.org/10.
1021898#.VVnx2bntmko. 1016/j.chb.2013.10.013.
Kozinets, R. V., de Valck, K., Wojnicki, A. C., & Wilner, S. J. (2010). Networked nar- Sekaran, U. (2006). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John
ratives: understanding word-of-mouth marketing in online communities. Wiley & Sons.
Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 71e89. http://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.74.2.71. Shen, X. L., Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (2013). What leads students to adopt
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research ac- information from wikipedia? An empirical investigation into the role of trust
tivities. Education and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607e610. http://doi.org/ and information usefulness. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(3),
10.1177/001316447003000308. 502e517. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01335.x.
Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2006). The influence of recommendations and consumer Shu, M. L., & Scott, N. (2014). Influence of social media on chinese students' choice
reviews on evaluations of websites. Information Systems Research, 17(4), of an overseas study destination: an information adoption model perspective.
425e439. http://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1060.0107. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 31(2), 286e302. http://doi.org/10.1080/
Lee, H., Kim, J. W., & Hackney, R. (2011). Knowledge hoarding and user acceptance of 10548408.2014.873318.
online discussion board systems in eLearning: a case study. Computers in Hu- Sohn, D. (2014). Coping with information in social media: the effects of network
man Behavior, 27(4), 1431e1437. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.047. structure and knowledge on perception of information value. Computers in
Lee, K.-T., & Koo, D.-M. (2015). Evaluating right versus just evaluating online con- Human Behavior, 32, 145e151. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.12.006.
sumer reviews. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 316e327. http://doi.org/10. Sundaram, D. S., Kaushik, M., & Webster, C. (1998). Word of mouth communica-
1016/j.chb.2014.12.036. tions: a motivational analysis. Advances in Consumer Research, 25, 527e532.
Lee, E.-J., & Shin, S. Y. (2014). When do consumers buy online product reviews? Sun, B., & Morwitz, V. G. (2010). Stated intentions and purchase behavior: a unified
Effects of review quality, product type, and reviewer's photo. Computers in model. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(4), 356e366. http://doi.
Human Behavior, 31(1), 356e366. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.050. org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2010.06.001.
Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S., & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned Sussman, S. W., & Siegal, W. S. (2003). Informational influence in organizations: an
behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and Social Psychology integrated approach to knowledge adoption. Information Systems Research,
Bulletin, 18(1), 3e9. http://doi.org/10.1177/0146167292181001. 14(1), 47e65. http://doi.org/10.1287/isre.14.1.47.14767.
McKnight, H., & Kacmar, C. (2006). Factors of information credibility for an Internet Tarhini, A., Arachchilage, N. A. G., Masa’deh, R., & Abbasi, M. S. (2015). A critical
advice site. In Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii International conference on system review of theories and models of technology adoption and acceptance in in-
sciences (Vol. 6, pp. 1e10). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE. http://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS. formation system research. International Journal of Technology Diffusion, 6(4),
2006.181. 58e77. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJTD.2015100104.
Miller, K. (2002). Communications theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts (2nd Tarhini, A., Hone, K., & Liu, X. (2013). Factors affecting students' acceptance of e-
ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. learning environments in developing countries: a structural equation modeling
Morrison, D. G. (1979). Purchase intentions and purchase behavior. Journal of approach. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 3(1),
Marketing, 43(2), 65e74. http://doi.org/10.2307/1250742. 54e59. http://doi.org/10.7763/IJIET.2013.V3.233.
Nabi, R. L., & Hendriks, A. (2003). The persuasive effect of host and audience re- Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology
action shots in television talk shows. Journal of Communication, 53(3), 527e543. acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2),
http://doi.org/10.1093/joc/53.3.527. 186e204. http://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926.
Naylor, R. W., Lamberton, C. P., & West, P. M. (2012). Beyond the “like” button: the Venkatesh, V., Morris, M., Davis, G., & Davis, F. (2003). User acceptance of infor-
impact of mere virtual presence on brand evaluations and purchase intentions mation technology: toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425e478.
in social media settings. Journal of Marketing, 76(6), 105e120. http://doi.org/10. http://doi.org/10.2307/30036540.
1509/jm.11.0105. Wallace, D., Walker, J., Lopez, T., & Jones, M. (2009). Do word of mouth and
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory knowledge of organizational creation. Orga- advertising messages on social networks influence the purchasing behavior of
nization Science, 5(1), 14e37. http://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.5.1.14. college students? Journal of Applied Business Research, 25(1), 101e110.
Olshavsky, R. W. (1985). Perceived quality in consumer decision making: an inte- Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media peer communication and impacts on
grated theoretical perspective. In J. Jacoby, & J. C. Olson (Eds.), Perceived quality: Purchase intentions: a consumer socialization framework. Journal of Interactive
How consumers view stores and merchandise (pp. 3e29). Lexington, MA: Lex- Marketing, 26(4), 198e208. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2011.11.004.
ington Books. Wathen, C. N., & Burkell, J. (2002). Believe it or not: factors influencing credibility on
€
Ozkan, S., Bindusara, G., & Hackney, R. (2010). Facilitating the adoption of e-pay- the web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,
ment systems: theoretical constructs and empirical analysis. Journal of Enter- 53(2), 134e144. http://doi.org/10.1002/asi.10016.
prise Information Management, 23(3), 305e325. http://doi.org/10.1108/ Wolny, J., & Mueller, C. (2013). Analysis of fashion consumers' motives to engage in
17410391011036085. electronic word-of-mouth communication through social media platforms.
Park, D.-H., Lee, J., & Han, I. (2007). The effect of on-line consumer reviews on Journal of Marketing Management, 29(5e6), 562e583. http://doi.org/10.1080/
consumer purchasing intention: the moderating role of involvement. Interna- 0267257X.2013.778324.
tional Journal of Electronic Commerce, 11(4), 125e148. http://doi.org/10.2753/ Xu, Q. (2014). Should i trust him? the effects of reviewer profile characteristics on
JEC1086-4415110405. eWOM credibility. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, 136e144. http://doi.org/10.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and 1016/j.chb.2014.01.027.
peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag. http://doi.org/ Yang, T. (2012). The decision behavior of Facebook users. Journal of Computer In-
10.2307/2749280. formation Systems, 52(3), 50e59. Retrieved from http://ir.lib.pccu.edu.tw/
Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a handle/987654321/24272.
determinant of argument-based persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Yang, F. X. (2013). Effects of restaurant satisfaction and knowledge sharing
 I. Erkan, C. Evans / Computers in Human Behavior 61 (2016) 47e55 55

motivation on eWOM intentions: the moderating role of technology acceptance Zhang, K. Z. K., Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (2014). Examining the moderating
factors. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 18, 1e35. http://doi.org/10. effect of inconsistent reviews and its gender differences on consumers' online
1177/1096348013515918. shopping decision. International Journal of Information Management, 34(2),
Yiu, C. S., Grant, K., & Edgar, D. (2007). Factors affecting the adoption of Internet 89e98. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2013.12.001.
banking in Hong Kong-implications for the banking sector. International Journal Zhang, J. Q., Craciun, G., & Shin, D. (2010). When does electronic word-of-mouth
of Information Management, 27(5), 336e351. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt. matter? A study of consumer product reviews. Journal of Business Research,
2007.03.002. 63(12), 1336e1341. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.12.011.

View publication stats