IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jmkthe/v26y2016i1p64-85.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How the source of word-of-mouth influences information processing in the formation of brand attitudes

Author

Listed:
  • Kristiina Herold
  • Anssi Tarkiainen
  • Sanna Sundqvist

Abstract

Word-of-mouth (WOM) can be a powerful, persuasive source of information, but relatively little is understood about how consumers utilize information in service evaluations and how the source of WOM (e.g. friends, family) affects attitudes. The importance of WOM is acknowledged in the services context; however, the research field of higher education has found some inconsistent results concerning the impact of WOM. The aim of this study, with its focus on information processing, is to enhance the understanding of these varying results with data from international master's degree applicants. By means of structural equation modeling, the results suggest that the processing of WOM differs depending on the source and the difficulty of evaluation criteria. Information through some sources of WOM is mainly cognitively processed, whereas in others information is processed more as simple cues. Overall, insights are provided into the impact of WOM, and higher education marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristiina Herold & Anssi Tarkiainen & Sanna Sundqvist, 2016. "How the source of word-of-mouth influences information processing in the formation of brand attitudes," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 64-85, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jmkthe:v:26:y:2016:i:1:p:64-85
    DOI: 10.1080/08841241.2016.1146387
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/08841241.2016.1146387
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/08841241.2016.1146387?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Childers, Terry L & Rao, Akshay R, 1992. "The Influence of Familial and Peer-Based Reference Groups on Consumer Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(2), pages 198-211, September.
    2. John G. Lynch Jr., 2006. "Accessibility-Diagnosticity and the Multiple Pathway Anchoring and Adjustment Model," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(1), pages 25-27, June.
    3. Sha Yang & Mantian (Mandy) Hu & Russell S. Winer & Henry Assael & Xiaohong Chen, 2012. "An Empirical Study of Word-of-Mouth Generation and Consumption," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 952-963, November.
    4. East, Robert & Hammond, Kathy & Lomax, Wendy, 2008. "Measuring the impact of positive and negative word of mouth on brand purchase probability," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 215-224.
    5. Herr, Paul M & Kardes, Frank R & Kim, John, 1991. "Effects of Word-of-Mouth and Product-Attribute Information on Persuasion: An Accessibility-Diagnosticity Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(4), pages 454-462, March.
    6. MacKenzie, Scott B & Spreng, Richard A, 1992. "How Does Motivation Moderate the Impact of Central and Peripheral Processing on Brand Attitudes and Intentions?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(4), pages 519-529, March.
    7. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    8. Katrin Obermeit, 2012. "Students' choice of universities in Germany: structure, factors and information sources used," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 206-230, December.
    9. Brown, Jacqueline Johnson & Reingen, Peter H, 1987. "Social Ties and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(3), pages 350-362, December.
    10. Goodrich, Kendall & Mangleburg, Tamara F., 2010. "Adolescent perceptions of parent and peer influences on teen purchase: An application of social power theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 1328-1335, December.
    11. Darby, Michael R & Karni, Edi, 1973. "Free Competition and the Optimal Amount of Fraud," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 67-88, April.
    12. Syed Alwi, Sharifah Faridah & Kitchen, Philip J., 2014. "Projecting corporate brand image and behavioral response in business schools: Cognitive or affective brand attributes?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2324-2336.
    13. Martin, William C. & Lueg, Jason E., 2013. "Modeling word-of-mouth usage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 801-808.
    14. Bearden, William O & Etzel, Michael J, 1982. "Reference Group Influence on Product and Brand Purchase Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(2), pages 183-194, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Diptiman Banerji & Ramendra Singh & Prashant Mishra, 2020. "Friendships in marketing: a taxonomy and future research directions," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 10(3), pages 223-243, December.
    2. Päivikki Kuoppakangas & Kati Suomi & Paul Clark & Chris Chapleo & Jari Stenvall, 2020. "Dilemmas in Re-branding a University—“Maybe People Just Don’t Like Change”: Linking Meaningfulness and Mutuality into the Reconciliation," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(2), pages 92-105, May.
    3. Lien Thi Kim Nguyen & Tom M. Y. Lin & Hoang Phuong Lam, 2021. "The Role of Co-Creating Value and Its Outcomes in Higher Education Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Yin, Chin-Ching & Tang, Yun-Chia & Chiu, Hung-Chang & Hsieh, Yi-Ching & Lai, Yi-Ting, 2023. "Telling an authentic story by aligning with your product type and price," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    5. Krishnamurthy, Anup & Kumar, S. Ramesh, 2018. "Electronic word-of-mouth and the brand image: Exploring the moderating role of involvement through a consumer expectations lens," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 149-156.
    6. Shankar, Amit & Jebarajakirthy, Charles & Ashaduzzaman, Md, 2020. "How do electronic word of mouth practices contribute to mobile banking adoption?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Juran & Kang, Seungmook & Lee, Ki Hoon, 2021. "Evolution of digital marketing communication: Bibliometric analysis and network visualization from key articles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 552-563.
    2. Sebastian Schneider & Frank Huber, 2022. "You paid what!? Understanding price-related word-of-mouth and price perception among opinion leaders and innovators," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 64-80, February.
    3. Yang, Jun & Mai, Enping (Shirley), 2010. "Experiential goods with network externalities effects: An empirical study of online rating system," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1050-1057, September.
    4. Hasan Ashraf Khan & Yasir Kamal & Shehroz Saleem, 2016. "Peer Influence on Young Adults' Products Purchase Decisions," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 8(SE), pages 83-92, March.
    5. Bastos, Wilson & Moore, Sarah G., 2021. "Making word-of-mouth impactful: Why consumers react more to WOM about experiential than material purchases," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 110-123.
    6. Sebastian Schneider, 2022. "Price-related consumer discussions in China and the United States: a cross-cultural study investigating price perceptions and word-of-mouth transmission," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(3), pages 274-290, June.
    7. Pan, Lee-Yun & Chiou, Jyh-Shen, 2011. "How Much Can You Trust Online Information? Cues for Perceived Trustworthiness of Consumer-generated Online Information," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 67-74.
    8. Pescher, Christian & Spann, Martin, 2014. "Relevance of actors in bridging positions for product-related information diffusion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1630-1637.
    9. Lim, Boon C. & Chung, Cindy M.Y., 2011. "The impact of word-of-mouth communication on attribute evaluation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 18-23, January.
    10. Koji Ishida & Lisa Slevitch & Katia Siamionava, 2016. "The Effects of Traditional and Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Destination Image: A Case of Vacation Tourists Visiting Branson, Missouri," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Gentina, Elodie & Butori, Raphaëlle & Heath, Timothy B., 2014. "Unique but integrated: The role of individuation and assimilation processes in teen opinion leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 83-91.
    12. Pescher, Christian & Reichhart, Philipp & Spann, Martin, 2014. "Consumer Decision-making Processes in Mobile Viral Marketing Campaigns," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 43-54.
    13. Endo, Seiji & Yang, Jun & Park, JungKun, 2012. "The investigation on dimensions of e-satisfaction for online shoes retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 398-405.
    14. Obal, Michael & Kunz, Werner, 2016. "Cross-cultural differences in uses of online experts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1148-1156.
    15. Sipilä, Jenni & Herold, Kristiina & Tarkiainen, Anssi & Sundqvist, Sanna, 2017. "The influence of word-of-mouth on attitudinal ambivalence during the higher education decision-making process," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 176-187.
    16. Senecal, Sylvain & Kalczynski, Pawel J. & Nantel, Jacques, 2005. "Consumers' decision-making process and their online shopping behavior: a clickstream analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(11), pages 1599-1608, November.
    17. Baumeister, Stefan & Nyrhinen, Jussi & Kemppainen, Tiina & Wilska, Terhi-Anna, 2022. "Does airlines’ eco-friendliness matter? Customer satisfaction towards an environmentally responsible airline," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 89-97.
    18. Helen Arce Salazar & Leon Oerlemans, 2016. "Do We Follow the Leader or the Masses? Antecedents of the Willingness to Pay Extra for Eco-Products," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 286-314, July.
    19. Briggs, Elten & Janakiraman, Narayan, 2017. "Slogan recall effects on marketplace behaviors: The roles of external search and brand assessment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 98-105.
    20. Sofie Bitter & Sonja Grabner-Kräuter, 2016. "Consequences of customer engagement behavior: when negative Facebook posts have positive effects," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 26(3), pages 219-231, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:jmkthe:v:26:y:2016:i:1:p:64-85. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/WMHE20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.