Cultural context in word-of-mouth activity

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how monetary incentives foster purchase intention in WOM settings. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates offering mobile coupons as an incentive and word-of-mouth (WOM) tool. An empirical study compares achievable effects on WOM behavior in an Eastern cultural context, which an Indonesian sample represents, and in a Western cultural context, which a German sample of incentivized WOM represents. Findings Providing senders and receivers’ with differing incentives leads to German consumers having an unfavorable attitude toward such incentives, but not for Indonesian consumers. Furthermore, Indonesian consumers base their decision to redeem mobile coupons more on their personal judgment and their overall deal proneness, while German consumers rely on their personal judgment and on others’ opinion. Research limitations/implications There is a need to explore more countries to enrich the Western and Eastern cultural perspectives. Practical implications Western firms should consider providing senders and receivers with the same incentives. Alternatively, a non-transparent strategy might be a solution. For firms located in Indonesia, or in other Eastern societies, the transparency of the provided incentives is not a main concern, because inequality is not a big issue in an Eastern society, while senders’ or receivers’ deal proneness character strongly influences their intention to redeem a coupon. Originality/value The use of a mobile coupon as a novel incentive and WOM tool.