Investigating community members’ eWOM effects in Facebook fan page

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the model of enhancing the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) effects through the virtual community by discussing the relationship among sense of virtual community, social influence and eWOM effects. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopted structural equation modeling to test the proposed model, and the structural model showed a good fit. This research sample consisted of 492 members who have used Facebook for at least half-a-year. Findings – The results indicated that sense of virtual community had effects on normative influence, informative influence, and perceived eWOM review credibility. Both social influence and perceived eWOM review credibility had effects on eWOM review adoption. Social influence in virtual community partially mediated the relationship between virtual community members’ sense of virtual community and perceived eWOM review credibility. Virtual community members’ perceived eWOM review credibility partially mediated the relationship between normative/informative influence and eWOM review adoption. Practical implications – This study discussed conclusions and managerial implications of the findings. Originality/value – This research filled a void that most of the previous studies in this area focussed on a single social interaction perspective. The authors argued that community studies should incorporate and distinguish SOVC and social influence factors.