| Online consumer behaviors are concerned by theorists and managers. As online shopping is accepted by more and more people, Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) becomes increasingly important for making decisions. Based on Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Cognitive Fit Theory, this study discussed the processing of eWOM information and its effect on consumer decision. We provided a new perspective to design reputation system of shopping sites and to manage marketing campaigns for online marketers.This study systematically examined the processing of eWOM and online decision-making by case study, semi-structured interview and laboratory experiment. The study was developed in four stages as following:(1) Case study for eWOM. In this part, we collected data from 24 shopping sites in China to learn the scenario of online shopping and focused on the contents and formats of eWOM. The results showed that there were several formats of eWOM, which mainly were text-based messages and digital-based messages. As for the text-based information, it was usually just one simple sentence.(2) Analysis for the process of online consumer behaviors. In this part, semi-structured interview and coding analysis of 30 online consumers were conducted to analyze the characters of online consumers' psychology and behaviors, as well as key factors that influenced decision-making. We concluded a model of consumers' process of selecting online dealers, during which reviewing eWOM was quite important. Moreover, we found that consumers relied on dealers' reputation, eWOM and the communication between dealers and themselves to build their trust toward online dealers and to make decisions.(3) Analysis for the effect of eWOM on consumer psychological variables. In order to study how psychological variables were influenced when consumers were facing with different eWOM information, we used laboratory experiment and simulated online shopping scenarios by Medialab. 118 students took part in the experiment. The results showed that information format, product category and the direction of eWOM had an interaction effect on perceived informativeness. For negative eWOM, text-based messages bring stronger perceived informativeness than digital-based messages; for positive eWOM, digital-based messages bring stronger perceived informativeness than text-based messages.(4) Analysis for the effect of consumer psychological variables on consumer decisions. We simulated online shopping scenario by Medialab to discuss the relations among consumer psychological variables, trust and purchasing intention. 118 students took part in the experiment. The results showed that perceived popularity had a significant effect on purchasing intention, while perceived informativeness and trust moderated this effect: the effect of perceived popularity on purchasing intention was stronger when perceived informativeness was stronger; the effect of perceived popularity on purchasing intention was stronger when trust attitude was stronger.To sum up, eWOM is a vital factor influencing consumer decision-making. Product category, information format and the direction of eWOM have an effect on perceived informativeness and perceived popularity. Perceived popularity has an impact on purchasing intention. We concluded that eWOM influenced purchasing intention through different processing routes. When consumers are more involved in information processing, central route is the main format and perceived informativeness will become an important factor. Since e-commerce is still emerging markets in China and the products sold online are most inexpensive, consumers are more likely to process information through peripheral route, and perceived popularity has a great impact on decision-making. In order to enhance consumers' purchasing intentions when they are considering more expensive products and to improve enterprise efficiency, online dealers should try to improve the informativeness of eWOM, and to promote construction and maintenance consumer trust. |
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