Abstract
Opinion leaders and eWOM are becoming two of the most effective ways to launch a brand on social media by creating viral marketing. However, how much influence does an opinion leader’s eWOM (OL eWOM) have on consumer purchasing decisions? This research looks at the role of OL eWOM as well as the effect of its valence and product type on the decision to buy or not buy from a realistic experimental online store design. In total, 300 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of five scenarios in a 22 experimental arrangement. Results show that OL eWOM influences consumer online decisions when purchasing experience-type goods and the valence of eWOM is positive. However, if we compare the OL eWOM with a control group, then OL eWOM does not have a significant influence. This research provides novel empirical evidence for the limited influence of OL in modeling shopping behaviors in e-commerce contexts.
Highlights
An opinion leader (OL) is a consumer who provides information that influences the consumption decisions of others by obtaining essential information through research and shaping their own opinion before making it public [1]
With the massification of online social networks, from being transmitters of communication they have become content generators. This phenomenon is known as eWOM, which is not exclusive to OLs but can be generated by any user of a social network, with the difference that OLs have access to a greater number of followers and greater communication capacity
What scope have these communications posted by an OL (OL eWOM) about the purchase decisions of his/her followers?
Summary
An opinion leader (OL) is a consumer who provides information that influences the consumption decisions of others by obtaining essential information through research and shaping their own opinion before making it public [1]. Its importance in product promotion [2] and product introduction [3] has been exploited by practitioners and studied by researchers in traditional marketing strategies. They have received less attention in terms of their effect on online consumer decisions. According to the Global Web Index [4], almost 97% of online adult users have at least one social media account, 91% are Facebook users, and people spend an average of 2 h and 43 min a day on social networks and messaging. A total of 87% of users engage in social media to keep up with their friends and read the news to fill the time.
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