Whether and How Prepurchase Word of Mouth Affects Postpurchase Word of Mouth

Dao, Hung M ORCID: 0000-0003-4691-2753, Bhoumik, Kshitij and Igarashi, Reika (2024) Whether and How Prepurchase Word of Mouth Affects Postpurchase Word of Mouth. Journal of Interactive Marketing.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10949968241227923

Abstract

<jats:p> Consumers often purchase new products based on online reviews and recommendations from both friends and strangers. Previous studies have extensively explored the effects of word of mouth (WOM) on the prepurchase stage, but little is known about whether WOM from friends or strangers can alter consumers’ postpurchase behavior. The authors propose that positive WOM from distant (vs. close) others increases consumers’ intention to share negative WOM when the product/service fails to perform to their satisfaction due to two distinctive motivations. First, consumers perceive that positive WOM from distant others might mislead more people, and, consequently, consumers expect their negative WOM to have a greater impact on helping others. Second, when receiving positive WOM from close others, they are less willing to publicly contradict the close others’ WOM even though they believe the WOM is misleading. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate the main effect of interpersonal closeness on negative WOM intention, while Study 2 reveals the dual mediating effects of anticipated impact and relationship norm. Studies 3 and 4 validate these mechanisms by showing the moderating role of the self-construal level while ruling out the role of impression management. This research offers practical implications for WOM management across different social ties. </jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Management
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	09 Jan 2024 11:56
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2024 15:54
DOI:	10.1177/10949968241227923
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3177780