How collectivistic values affect online word-of-mouth

Todd Pezzuti, James M. Leonhardt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research uncovers a social factor that helps to explain how a consumer’s cultural orientation affects the extent to which they engage in online word-of-mouth (eWOM). The first study aggregates archival data from 52 countries and finds a positive relationship between collectivism and the extent that consumers share product-related information on social networking sites; however, collectivism is not found to relate to the extent that consumers rate and review products online. A second study examines why collectivism is positively associated with sharing product-related information on social networking sites. Collectivism is measured at the individual level among consumers in two culturally distinct countries—India and the United States. The results demonstrate that a collectivistic orientation is positively associated with similarity among members of one’s online social network (i.e., homophily) and that homophily is positively associated with sharing product-related information on social networking sites. In an increasingly global online marketplace, these findings provide needed guidance on how culture affects eWOM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)436-453
Number of pages18
JournalInternational Journal of Market Research
Volume63
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • collectivism
  • culture
  • eWOM
  • homophily
  • social media
  • social networking sites

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