The dynamic impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the movie market lifecycle: the moderating role of key creators’ activity on movie attendance

In a digital environment highly penetrated by social media, audiences' movie consumption decisions increasingly rely on online information, especially electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and the performance of the key creators. This study builds a “signal-route†model based on signal theory and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). The model reveals how eWOM and key creators' activity dynamically influence attendance across the movie market lifecycle through central and peripheral routes. Based on 210,284 pieces of movie-related data, we used an OLS regression model to test the impact of eWOM and the moderating role of key creators' activity. The results show that: (1) eWOM, as a central route signal, has a significant impact on attendance at all stages of the lifecycle, but its intensity changes over time; (2) The key creators' activity, as a peripheral route signal, significantly affects attendance in the early stages of movie market lifecycle, but its effect weakens in the later stage. (3) Key creators’ activity moderates the effects of volume, length, positive and anticipation, while its moderating effects on expertise and valence are not significant. This study enriches the application of signal theory and ELM in dynamic information environments and provides insights into movie marketing strategies.