Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication in Online Review Communities

Over the past several decades Online Communities (OCs) have captured the attention of many academics and business practitioners. There are a large number of different types of OCs serving different purposes. Online Review Communities (ORC) are seen as one instance of OCs and as one of the paramount developments of the Internet, which present many great opportunities to both businesses and consumers. From businesses’ perspective, they are seen as powerful tools for companies to increase their profits and market performance. From consumers’ perspective, ORC are seen as online platforms enabling people to engage in electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) communications that involves sharing information of products/services, which found to have a significant impact on their purchasing behaviour. A large body of empirical research found in the literature that focused on eWOM, the examination of these prior related works revealed that the issue of eWOM in ORC has not been resolved and still evolutionary. Particularly previous studies provide limited understanding of the factors influencing eWOM in ORC. The literature is contradictory on how eWOM can be measured. Further, Trust and Reciprocity found to be as two important antecedents of eWOM, yet the two constructs have been overlooked in eWOM research. The vast majority of discovered studies pay little attention to the multi-dimensional aspect of trust. Further, the relationship between trust and reciprocity found to be multifaceted and this has not been well recognised in prior eWOM research. Towards filling these research gaps, the present study proposes a theoretical model to further enhance our understanding of how reciprocity and trust may influence eWOM in ORC. The model is only theoretical and its implications yet to be tested with an ORC.