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The consumer as advocate: Self-relevance, culture, and word-of-mouth

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  • Cindy Chung
  • Peter Darke

Abstract

This research examined the relation between self-relevance and word-of-mouth (WOM). The results of two studies suggest consumers are more likely to provide WOM for products that are relevant to self-concept than for more utilitarian products. There was also some indication that WOM was biased, in the sense that consumers exaggerated the benefits of self-relevant products compared to utilitarian products. Finally, self-relevance had a greater impact on WOM in individualist cultures than collectivist cultures, consistent with differences in the way self-concept is typically construed by these groups. Implications for marketing strategies concerning WOM are discussed. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Cindy Chung & Peter Darke, 2006. "The consumer as advocate: Self-relevance, culture, and word-of-mouth," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 269-279, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:17:y:2006:i:4:p:269-279
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-006-8426-7
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    5. Ho, Jason Y.C. & Dempsey, Melanie, 2010. "Viral marketing: Motivations to forward online content," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1000-1006, September.
    6. Ayalla Ruvio & Richard P. Bagozzi & G. Tomas M. Hult & Richard Spreng, 2020. "Consumer arrogance and word-of-mouth," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1116-1137, November.
    7. Frooghi; R.; Afshan; S.; Waseem; S. N.;, 2016. "The Integration of Loyalty, Satisfaction, and Relationship Commitment Models to Predict Customer Retention in Pakistani Telecom sector," South Asian Journal of Management Sciences (SAJMS), Iqra University, Iqra University, vol. 10(2), pages 56-79, Fall.
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    14. Islam, Towhidul & Meade, Nigel, 2015. "Firm level innovation diffusion of 3G mobile connections in international context," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 1138-1152.
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    16. Matthew Philp & Martin A. Pyle & Laurence Ashworth, 2018. "Risking the self: the impact of self-esteem on negative word-of-mouth behavior," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 101-113, March.
    17. Sung Youl Jun & Tae Wook Ju & Hye Kyung Park & Jacob C. Lee & Tae Min Kim, 2023. "Information distortion in word-of-mouth retransmission: the effects of retransmitter intention and source expertise," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(5), pages 1848-1876, November.
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