The relationship between e-WOM and consumer online buying behaviour

Abstract

The growth of active users on online interactive media platforms, such as electronic Word-of-Mouth, has had a significant impact on marketers as customers are more likely to trust unfiltered e-WOM from other consumers than marketer-influenced signals like branding. There is still a debate about the impact of e-WOM on consumer purchasing behaviour; this discrepancy could be attributed to various factors, including the context in which the studies were conducted, the methodological approaches used, and the time and spatial dimensions. Other factors contributing to the lack of consensus include the fact that online content is tailored to different occasions, social groups, and even different brands. The paper seeks to establish what e-WOM is and discuss its relationship with consumers’ buying behaviour process during online buying. The study was quantitative, descriptive, and crosssectional. The self-administered questionnaires were sent via email to 400 Durban University of Technology staff and students and only 288 questionnaires were received back. A review of the literature revealed a positive relationship between e-WOM and consumer buying behaviour. The empirical findings from the structural equation modelling, which demonstrated a positive, strong correlation between e-WOM and consumer buying behaviour, further support the literature. Marketers must design tactics to increase the likelihood of their businesses creating positive e-WOM in all e-WOM stages and capitalising on the power of any favourable reviews and testimonials received.