Effect of online word-of-mouth and product tangibility on consumer attitude and behavioural intention.

• Main Authors: Liang, Jianshun., Teo, Hon Wui., Yao, Yixiu.
• Other Authors: Chung, Cindy Mann Yien
• Format: Final Year Project
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Management::Communication
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/10338
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Word-of-Mouth (WOM) communication is increasingly being recognized as one of the most effective and persuasive tools in affecting consumer attitude and purchase decision. Till today, a great deal of research has been conducted to examine the impact of negative WOM (NWOM) and positive WOM (PWOM) on consumer attitude. However, little research focused on WOM in the online context. Given the emergence of the Internet, consumers are increasingly volunteering product experience and information online, as well as relying on the Internet to seek opinions before making a purchase decision. As such, this research investigates the impact of NWOM and PWOM in affecting both consumer attitude and behavioral intention, in the online context. In addition, this research also examines the impact of WOM on tangible and intangible products. Findings from this research replicated existing literature that NWOM is more potent in changing both consumer attitude and behavioral intention than PWOM, in the online context. Furthermore, results indicated that online WOM is more effective in changing consumer attitude for intangible than tangible products. However, for behavioral intention, there is no significant evidence to imply that online WOM is more effective for intangible than tangible products.