Consumers’ acceptance of digital referrals
Nikkonen, Jonas (2022)
Nikkonen, Jonas
2022
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022042029775
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022042029775
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of the study was to research consumers’ attitudes towards digital referrals by using the AEWOM model. The purpose has been researched by using four different research questions and three hypotheses. The research questions that were used in the study were “what are referrals in marketing?”, “How and why do consumers rely on referrals?”, “What factors influences acceptance of electronic word of mouth?” and “To what extent can the variance in acceptance of electronic word of mouth be explained by these factors? (Which of these factors is the most influential?)”. These questions were answered in the literature review and in the empirical part of the study. The research questions supported the study and gave it a clear guideline to follow.
The literature review indicates that there are different kinds of traditional and digital referrals that can impact the consumers behavior and acceptance. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is the most common traditional referral, and plenty of companies have relied their marketing majorly on it. In general, consumers still use and rely on recommendations they receive in form of WOM, but with digitalisation a significant part of WOM has moved online, creating EWOM (Electronic word-of-mouth). Influencers, Recommendation systems and EWOM are the most common modern referrals from which consumers receive information about products and services. Consumers’ attitudes towards the usage of referrals are quite evenly divided both for and against them. Many consumers feel that referrals in general help them save time and make decisions by narrowing the options, while others want to keep their autonomy regarding decision-making by avoiding any external manipulation which could lead to impulse purchases.
The hypotheses that were used in the study assumed that message credibility, source credibility and tie strength have a positive impact on consumers’ acceptance on electronic word-of-mouth (AEWOM). To answer the hypotheses a quantitative study was implemented together with a multiple regression analysis. The independent variables that were used for the analysis were message credibility, source credibility and tie strength, while AEWOM was used as the dependent variable.
The findings of the thesis indicate that message credibility, source credibility and tie strength have a positive impact on AEWOM. The variable that impacted AEWOM the most is tie strength before message credibility and source credibility. However, all the variables were close to each other and therefore there cannot be claimed to be a clear difference between the variables. The findings were also compared to another study where same hypotheses were used, and same questions were asked in the questionnaire. The comparison between the two studies gave them both more credibility because the results were quite similar, showing that tie strength is affecting AEWOM more than the other variables.
The literature review indicates that there are different kinds of traditional and digital referrals that can impact the consumers behavior and acceptance. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is the most common traditional referral, and plenty of companies have relied their marketing majorly on it. In general, consumers still use and rely on recommendations they receive in form of WOM, but with digitalisation a significant part of WOM has moved online, creating EWOM (Electronic word-of-mouth). Influencers, Recommendation systems and EWOM are the most common modern referrals from which consumers receive information about products and services. Consumers’ attitudes towards the usage of referrals are quite evenly divided both for and against them. Many consumers feel that referrals in general help them save time and make decisions by narrowing the options, while others want to keep their autonomy regarding decision-making by avoiding any external manipulation which could lead to impulse purchases.
The hypotheses that were used in the study assumed that message credibility, source credibility and tie strength have a positive impact on consumers’ acceptance on electronic word-of-mouth (AEWOM). To answer the hypotheses a quantitative study was implemented together with a multiple regression analysis. The independent variables that were used for the analysis were message credibility, source credibility and tie strength, while AEWOM was used as the dependent variable.
The findings of the thesis indicate that message credibility, source credibility and tie strength have a positive impact on AEWOM. The variable that impacted AEWOM the most is tie strength before message credibility and source credibility. However, all the variables were close to each other and therefore there cannot be claimed to be a clear difference between the variables. The findings were also compared to another study where same hypotheses were used, and same questions were asked in the questionnaire. The comparison between the two studies gave them both more credibility because the results were quite similar, showing that tie strength is affecting AEWOM more than the other variables.
Kokoelmat
- 512 Liiketaloustiede [449]