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Word-of-Mouth Communication

Satisfactory Essays

Word-of-mouth communication (WOM) has received an endless amount of scholarly interest over the years and now with the emergence of the Internet, the research focus has shifted to eWOM otherwise known as electronic word-of-mouth. For this particular investigation eWOM will be the main focus with an emphasis on the microblogging platform Twitter.
Arndt originally defined WOM in 1967 as “the oral, person to person communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives as non-commercial, concerning a brand, a product or a service” (Arndt, 1967). WOM has been known as an effective marketing tool which impacts on consumer decision making and behaviour, even greater than that of advertising (Arndt, 1967; Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955).
Previous research unanimously acknowledges the important role of WOM in shaping consumer’s attitudes and purchasing behaviour (Bone, 1995; Brown and Reingen, 1987).
WOM not only provides information concerning product quality and performance, but also reveals the intricate psychological and social consequences of the purchase decision (Cox, 1963). As such WOM represents one of the most influential sources of marketplace information for consumers (Arndt, 1967; Alreck and Settle, 1995) and has been shown to have a significant effect on product choice (Richins and Root-Shaffer, 1988; Kiel and Layton, 1981; Arndt, 1967; Katz and Lazarfeld, 1955). WOM has considerable influence on consumer behaviour due to its perceived source

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