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Why do people speak about products online? The role of opinion leadership

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Abstract

In an online social networking services (SNS) community, a group of users that have great influence on the other users are called opinion leaders. They have received much research attention because they are capable of influencing other people’s purchasing behaviors. In this research, we investigate various motivational factors that influence SNS users’ electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) intention. In addition, we examine the role of opinion leadership in e-WOM intention. By using survey methodology approach based on prior research, we collected data from 405 SNS users in the U.S. This research utilized the partial least squares technique for analysing empirical data. We find that intrinsic motivational factors embracing altruism, self-efficacy, and self-expression universally influence SNS users’ e-WOM intention regardless of opinion leadership. However, extrinsic motivational factors comprising economic rewards, reputation feedback, and social ties only influence SNS users’ e-WOM intention through opinion leadership. This research fills a gap in the literatures by establishing a comprehensive research framework including intrinsic and extinct driving forces on E-WOM intention. It emphasizes the significance of opinion leadership in the context of SNS users’ purchasing behaviour. This study constructs a research model to discern the differences in the magnitude of impact between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors on e-WOM intention via opinion leadership. Our results confirm that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations positively affect SNS users’ perceived opinion leadership. Our research findings imply that firms need to strengthen their efforts in fostering users’ perceived opinion leadership to utilize e-WOM in SNS community if they want to use extrinsic motivational factors to promote e-WOM behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ewha School of Business, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Sangmi Chai & Bomi Choi

  2. Sogang Business School, Sogang University, 35 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Minkyun Kim

  3. Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    T. C. E. Cheng

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  1. Sangmi Chai
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  2. Bomi Choi
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  4. T. C. E. Cheng
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Correspondence to Minkyun Kim.

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Appendix 1 Measurements

Appendix 1 Measurements

Construct

Item

References

e-WOM intention

a. You intend to share information about products/services with friends and other users more frequently

[116, 117]

b. You intend to make an effort to share information about products/services with friends and other users on SNSs

c. You intend to share with SNS friends and others who ask about information about products/services

d. If your friends on SNSs were shopping for products/services, you would recommend certain products/services to them

e. If you were helping a family member(s) or a close relative to make a decision on shopping for products/services, you would recommend certain products/services.)

Opinion leadership

a. Friends and other users on SNSs ask you about products/services before they choose one for themselves

[19, 106]

b. Your opinions change other users’ minds on SNSs

c. Friends and other users on SNSs think that you have a lot of information regarding products/services

d. When choosing products/services, other people turn to you for advice on SNSs

e. Friends and other users on SNSs have chosen products/services based on what you have told them.)

Economic rewards

a. You expect to receive monetary rewards in return for sharing products/services information

[87]

b. You expect to receive additional financial benefits in return for sharing products/services information with others

c. You expect to receive additional gifts for sharing some products/services information with others

d. You expect to receive additional coupons for sharing products/services information with others

Reputation feedback

a. You can earn respect from others by sharing information about products/services with others

[107]

b. You can gain more recognition from others by sharing information about products/services with others

c. You can improve your reputation with others by sharing information about products/services with others

Social ties

a. You maintain close social relationships with other SNS users by sharing information about products/services

[22, 64, 118]

b. You spend a lot of time interacting with other SNS users by sharing information about products/services

c. When you share information about products/services with other SNS users, you know them on the personal level

d. You have frequent communication with other SNS users by sharing information about products/services.)

Self-expression

a. When you share information about products/services on SNSs, you intend to reveal yourself (personal life, personal experiences, personal shopping list or wish list etc.)

[4, 5, 110, 120]

b. When you share information about products/services on SNSs, you intend to reveal positive aspects about yourself

c. When you share information about products/services on SNSs, you consider your occupation

d. When you share information about products/services on SNSs, you consider your personal impressions on others

Altruism

a. You enjoy sharing information about products/services with friends and other people

[107, 117, 123]

b. You enjoy helping friends and other people by sharing information about products/services

c. It makes you feel good to help someone by sharing information about products/ services

Self-efficacy

a. You are confident in your ability to provide information about products/services that others will consider valuable

[107, 117]

b. You have the expertise that helps you to provide valuable information about products/services for other people

c. It makes a difference whether or not you share information about products/services with other people

d. Most other friends on SNSs cannot provide more valuable information about products/services than you can

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Chai, S., Choi, B., Kim, M. et al. Why do people speak about products online? The role of opinion leadership. Inf Technol Manag 24, 1–17 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-022-00359-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-022-00359-7

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