The Effect of Message Valence on e-WoM Spread: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Özet

This study aims to examine the effect of e-WoM message on the intention level of consumers to spread the word to other consumers in the presence of a moderated mediation interaction effect between risk perception and uncertainty avoidance levels of consumers. An experimental design was implemented, and the manipulated experimental condition was e-WoM message represented in two levels, negative and positive. The results indicate that, compared to negative ones, positive eWoM messages lead to higher intention to share the message with other consumers. However, in the presence of perceived risk, the positive direct effect of positive messages turns into a negative indirect effect when perceived risk mediates this relationship. Moreover, this negative indirect effect stabilizes with the uncertainty avoidance moderated relationship between e-WoM message and perceived risk. In the light of these findings, a two levels e-WoM communication strategy was proposed to maximize the benefits of positive customer feedbacks: Construction of a strong pool of positive eWoM messages generated by existing satisfied customers and the use of negative framing in the marketing communication messages targeted to prospect customers.