1.      The purpose of the research was to understand the role of spreading eWOM by incorporating SNS as a mode of communication. Over the past years, the SNS has been considered a reckoning force within the communication industry. It can be accessed through desktops, laptops, tablets and even smart watches. Due to the misunderstandings surrounding the perception regarding the purpose of eWOM in SNS based on the purchase intentions as well as the key antecedents, the research was conducted with the aim of understanding the consumption related activities that are associated with SNS. The goal of the study is to investigate the effects of the three antecedents of word of mouth based on SNS domain. It also examines the intentions attributed towards the purchase of SNS. The focus of the study is primarily on the three factors, which include the involvement of SNS as a risk-taking and self-reliant mechanism, purchase intentions, and as antecedents of eWOM.

2.     The author identifies the hypothesis that support the research objectives. The Elaboration Likelihood Model was used to show the relationship between outcomes of eWOM and its antecedents.

H1: eWOM is more effective when the message originates from other SNS users rather than advertisers. Company controlled channels are less influential when compared to SNS. Therefore, clients highly involved in SNS are more likely to engage in using eWOM on SNS thereby increasing the chances of purchase intentions (p. 112).

H2: Self-reliance users are less concerned about fitting in norms that fit a particular group. There is an immediate reward platform offered by SNS for people who are self-reliant when engaging in eWOM. Therefore, consumers that are self-reliant tend to take risks in both offline and online environments. They are also more likely to visit SNS sites and search for better ideas and products that interest them (p. 113).

H3: Risk-takers are quite distinct from other types of clients who include market enthusiasts and opinion leaders. Innovators adopt products at an early stage as compared to the rest. Provided risk takers are open to conceptualizing new ideas, SNS risk taking users are likely to respond positively to unidentified messages from unknown sources. They would be on the lookout for different concepts. Therefore, SNS provides different information and some may be tricky while some are not.

3.     The research question integrates tendencies to risk taking, SNS involvement and self-reliance.

What are the influence of the risk taking tendencies, SNS involvement and self-reliance towards the evaluation of a message received via SNS?

4.     Sampling method was used in this research. The sample size incorporated 260 participants. 13 respondents were removed due to time constraints. The final sample size included 45 percent male and 55 percent female. In terms of SNS usage, 20 percent used Twitter, 55 percent used Facebook, and the respondents had one of these SNS accounts.

5.     The participants comprised of students found within the larger metropolitan university located in the southwestern part of America. The student sample population was appropriate since young audiences are more inclined towards the use of SNS as compared to other forms of digital media.

6.     The questions answered include the involvement in social media, the usage of social media platforms, and the participation in eWOM, self-reliance, risk taking and SNS behavior. The respondents additionally answered questions relating to social media, purchase intention as well as demographics surrounding its use.

7.     The study extends human perception towards the effectiveness and influence of eWOM, and its potential influence towards influencing the choices of consumers. However, the research does not explain fully the association between self-reliance and the eWOM. It additionally does not expound on the relationship that exists between risk taking consumers and the eWOM. Since risk taking is related to product purchase, there is no form of link between eWOM and product purchase.

References

Alhidari, A., Iyer, P., & Paswan, A. (2015). Personal Level Antecedents of Ewom and Purchase Intention, On Social Networking Sites. Journal of Customer Behavior, 14(2), 107-125.