Influence of Electronic Word-Of-Mouth on Restaurant Choice Decisions: Does It Depend on Gender in the Millennial Generation?

Abstract

Given the exponential growth of eWOM, especially among the millennial generation, an analysis of the consultation behaviour of online opinions is essential to better understanding the decision-making process. The aim of this proposal is to analyse how the motivations towards eWOM consultation contribute to the final adoption of eWOM, especially in the restaurant context, exploring the relationship chain “motivations to consult eWOM—intention to consult eWOM—adoption to consult eWOM”. Moreover, studying the moderating effect of gender in this chain is argued. Based on a sample of 341 millennials with experience in reading online reviews and visiting restaurants, a causal model was estimated through PLS estimation in the geographic area of Ecuador. The results confirm that millennials’ motivations influence directly their intention to consult eWOM and indirectly on eWOM adoption. In addition, gender does not show a significant effect on the chain of effects. Given that virtual platforms have the potential to influence men and women equally, the communication efforts of restaurants focused on this target audience and carried out on social media must focus on aspects other than gender.