Impact of Electronic Word of Mouth on Brand Image and Purchase Intentions in the Food Industry

This study focuses on the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on brand image and purchase intentions in the food industry. It aims to find out the determinants that result in making online information useful to be adopted and the impact of eWOM on brand image and purchase intentions of consumers. The study also explores the factors that result in the adoption of information on social networks and its impact on brand image and purchase intentions of the recipient of information. The research is based on eWOM generated on a subject-dedicated social media platform where food lovers discuss and rate various features of eateries based on their personal experience.

1.0Introduction
1.1 Background
Word of Mouth (WOM) communication is defined as non-commercial voluntary form of face to
face exchange of information, which is derived out of consumers’ direct experience with a
product/service opted (Kietzmann and Canhoto, 2013) One of the study conducted by Lopez &
Sicilia portrays that WOM is considered as a potential mean of shaping consumer attitudes and
perception about a brand and it has greater influence on product/service adoption as compared to
any other form of traditional marketing (López & Sicilia, 2014). Considering the fact that
feedback out of word of mouth is majorly based on first-hand experience with any
product/service, it is regarded as more accurate and reliable information (Kietzmann and Canhoto,
2013).
Recent increased usage and popularity of social network sites (SNS) like Facebook, Twitter etc.
has entirely changed the picture of WOM; physical and face to face interaction is now not
mandatory for people to share their experiences; they can do same by sharing on purely digital
and ubiquitous platforms of social networks; as per the report “Digital in 2017” published by
Simon Kemp, around 50% of entire global population are the internet users and around 37% are
the active social media users (Kemp, 2018) . With the advent of information technology, the
reach and prospectus of WOM has been increased exponentially. This form of exchange of
knowledge on public platforms is known as Electronic Word of Mouth.
The increasing usage of social networks, due to rise in sophisticated technologies like 4G and
affordable smartphones, access to internet and social networks particularly has become like one
of the necessities for consumers now a day and it is now ridiculously common for buyers to look
for online reviews of a product/service prior to purchase and consumption. The findings of a
recent study state that online reviews are considered equally trustworthy as brand websites by
consumers (Li & Chen, 2016).
Increasing usage of social media and consumer awareness of brands has expanded the ways in
which eWOM can shape the consumer buying behavior, primarily due to wide availability of
counterfeit products and other risks associated in purchase of products/service, consumers here
usually look out for online reviews as a part of pre-purchase research. This dynamic increase in
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consumer’s choice for online feedback and reviews has alerted brands to focus on enhancing
their digital presence. There are numerous social media groups and communities that provide a
centralized digital space for specifically sharing and discussing relevant experiences by
customers; that’s why today eWOM has become a stable element for online marketing mix for
several brands and companies.
McKinsey and Company published a report about eWOM and it states that the scope of eWOM
in developing markets is relatively higher than traditional advertising (Bughin, 2010. And the
opinion acquired by eWOM plays a pivotal role throughout three stages of consumer decision
making process (i.e. Initial consideration set, Active evaluation and Moment of purchase).
(Bughin, Doogan, & Ve, 2010). Saudi Arabia being one of the developing nations, presents an
attractive scenario for brand managers to take advantage of this emerging trend of eWOM.
The use of word of mouth is also one of the main reasons that helps in making the decisions by
the consumers regarding their purchasing behavior. It has a greater influence on purchasing the
products that are expensive in nature, as most of the consumers try to conduct researches and
take more opinions regarding whether the product will suit them or not. The revolution in the
digital world has resulted in the word of mouth to not limit themselves to a one-on-one
communication pattern but it can help in reaching more number of people at the same time. The
level of information that is available now regarding the products in the modern world also help in
reflecting on the decisions that are taken by them with respect to the purchase of the goods. The
decision to purchase the products by the consumers is made through the recommendations and
the awareness that gets spread by the other consumers. The positive and negative sides of the
products are analyzed so that it can help the consumers in getting the maximum benefit.
According to the latest McKinsey report, there are three types of word of mouth marketing that is
experiential, consequential and intentional. The experiential marketing is the most powerful one
and helps the consumers in gaining a direct experience regarding the products and services and
its expectations as well. Consequential on the other hand takes place when the consumers are
depicted the marketing campaigns that are traditional in nature. This takes place when the
advertisements have a direct effect on the consumers and the campaign that is taken up can help
in influencing the behavior of the consumers. Intentional is where the companies take the help of
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endorsing the brands through the celebrities so that it can create a positive image among the
consumers after the product gets launched.
Considering the scenario in Saudi Arabia, where out of approximate population of 32.28 million
(Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 2014), around 65% of people are internet users, which is
about 20 million people and out of that, percentage of population present on Social media is
around 53% (Migael, 2016). The social media statistics of Saudi Arabia presents an attractive
scenario for brands to leverage on this competitive advantage. Around 60% of internet users in
country interact with brands online and 53% out of total population on social media is present on
Facebook, the number has been growing significantly every quarter and every 1 out of 5
Facebook users in country makes decisions that are influenced by Facebook. (Kemp, 2013)
The major problem in KSA is that the use of word of mouth marketing is not being delivered to
the right target customers. The McKinsey report had stated that 70 percent of the companies in
KSA are failing to attract customers due to the lack of technology. The use of proper information
system that will help in educating the customers regarding the products and services that the
company deals with will help in increasing the sale for the organization as well (Li & Chen,
2016). This is due to the fact that most of the companies are failing to attract the right customers
towards the products or the services. The use of the right marketing mix needs to be adopted by
the companies so that they can target the right audience through whom the products can be
marketed through word of mouth. This study will focus mainly on the right methods that needs
to be taken up so that the word of mouth marketing can be effective in nature. This will also
allow the companies in increasing their opportunity to have a better rate of return by selling the
right products to the right customers.
There are numerous industries in country that can take advantage of eWOM by adopting this
new trend. Food industry is one of the fastest growing industry in Saudi Arabia. The Food &
beverage industry in Saudi Arabia remains one of the most attractive in the region: KSA’s food
industry remains one of the most attractive in the region, with strong sales growth expectation
over our forecast period. On an average, KSA imports ~80% of its food requirement where food
accounts for ~15% of its total imports. Based on the governments’ initiatives (NPL) to overcome
obstacles on foreign investment, Saudi Arabia’s food processing sector is expected to attract
strong investment, particularly in the key segments, which are contributing to the growth in local
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food consumption. The expansion of the big organized food retailing and producer such as
AlMarai and Savola will continue to strengthen internal trade systems and local food production,
which is expected to contribute to lower cost, that can be passed on to consumers partially
offsetting impact of value added tax (VAT) (Saudi Food & Beverage Industry Report 2017).
There exists significant influence of eWOM on Food industry and this can be justified by
observing the increase in number of such online communities that are dedicated to discussion
about food; although this impact has not been studied so far but the influence can’t be denied.
1.2 Research Statement
“To determine the factors that result in adoption of information on social network and impact of
such adoption on brand image and purchase intentions of recipient of information.
1.3 Research Objective
 To find out determinants that result in making an online information useful to be adopted
 To determine the impact of electronic word of mouth on brand image of any
product/service
 To determine the impact does eWOM has on Purchase Intention of the consumers
1.4 Research Hypothesis:
Since this study follows two different research frameworks for research thus the entire study has
been divided into two stages. Each stage consists of hypothesis based on variables Below given
are hypotheses of study and research frameworks are discussed later in report.
Stage 1:
H0: Online Review on Social Media don’t impact the Brand Image of the Brand.
1.5 Purpose of the Study
As already established in this report that electronic word of mouth holds significant influence on
fast growing food sector and the number of such dedicated communities about food/eateries
discussion has been growing time to time; brands are starting to magnify their digital and social
media presence. But since there hasn’t been any study with respect to the topic, this research is
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being conducted to explore the entire phenomena and process of Electronic Word of Mouth in
Food industry.
The purpose of this study is to find out the extent to which consumers adapt and accept the
information available online and the determinants that result in such adaption. It also concludes
that how eWOM through social media sites among consumers influence the brand image. It is
aimed at conducting a quantitative investigation on overall phenomenon of eWOM.
In order to achieve specified objective, this study has been particularly focused on Electronic
Word of Mouth on Eateries (Restaurants, Hotels, Dhabas, Cafes and Take-outs) and for
accomplishing that purpose this research is based on eWOM0 generated on a subject-dedicated
social media platform, where food lovers usually discuss and rate the various features like
hygiene, taste, price, ambience etc. on the basis of their personal experience.
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1.6 Literature Review
The marketing that is done through word-of-mouth helps in generating the interest of the
consumers towards the products or services that are being offered by the company. It is through
the dialogues of the consumers that the product of the companies get marketed in a better manner
and increase its level of popularity as well in the market (Lee, Kim & Chan, 2011). It can be
defined as the process where the consumers refer their friends and relatives to the companies
whose products have provided them in increasing their level of satisfaction. It also refers to the
factor of pricing for the products, as the increase in the level of satisfaction may have a positive
impact on the prices that are set by the companies. The low prices of the products that may
increase the satisfaction level will be referred by the consumers more frequently to their friends
and relatives (Trusov, Bucklin & Bodapati, 2010).
Advent of communication technologies and increase in usage of internet globally has
transformed the arena of marketing and brand communication; it has also entirely changed the
metamorphosis of information sharing mechanism. Due to increasing ease of internet access
consumers are now no longer imprisoned by limited geographical accessibility or physical space,
internet has facilitated consumers with ubiquity and global reach. All of this dramatic change in
horizons of mainstream and electronic media has originated over the past decade (Alves,
Fernandes & Raposo, 2016)
This electronic revolution has provided business one more competitive edge to leverage upon,
because digital media provides brands with a centralized e-space to interact with their target
customers market their respective offering and create awareness at a very minimal cost. Such
interaction has been deemed as substantially potential contributor towards financial health of
brands and businesses.
Prior to this technological development, brands relied more on traditional form of
communication mediums for marketing and branding activities, besides Word of mouth
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communication was regarded as more potential driver behind consumer’s attitudes and purchase
intentions towards any brand and this stance has been validated by numerous studies and
researches.
With the progress of internet network which gives choices of information regarding a product
allowing a form of word-of-mouth communication that not only become a person-to-person form
of communication about a product or service (Lee, Kim, & Chan, 2011), but also capable to turn
into many forms of word-of-mouth communication that spread globally. This form of
communication is generally called Electronic Word of Mouth. The purpose of this literature
review is to focus on the e-WOM, its impact and the potential benefits it has for businesses. This
review will contain information gathered and analyzed from different peer reviewed articles and
studies to support the credibility of this paper.
1.6.1 General Marketing Communication
Studies has already established a positive influence of marketing communication on outcomes of
marketing like brand awareness, sales etc. As a matter of fact, marketing communications are
considered as the key drivers of brand equity, brand loyalty and brand awareness. Marketing
communication has been classified in several types and classes based on application and scope
by marketing gurus. This literature review focuses one of the major component of marketing
communication i.e. Word of Mouth.
1.7 Traditional and Electronic Word of Mouth
The terms of traditional word of mouth and electronic word of mouth are often used together,
when the scope and impact of consumer reviews on their attitudes and intentions is questioned.
Traditional Word of mouth is more generic and primary form of word of mouth terminology ever
coined, it is offline form of exchange of product/service related information between consumers,
this information is usually generated by consumers based on past experiences.
It is widely viewed, tested and accepted fact that word of mouth communication plays a very
grave role in influencing, shaping and development of consumer’s attitudes and behaviors; This
form of communication practiced holds more driving force towards product adoption than other
traditional forms of marketing communication. (Trusov, Bucklin, & Bodapati, 2010).
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Besides researches have also established the dominance of word of mouth communication over
other traditional sources such as editorial, advertisements etc., in terms of overall influence.
(Bickart & Schindler, 2011), the reason is merely because of it is regarded as more credible and
first-hand experience of any product/service. And this credibility also adds in the factor of
persuasiveness in the information, which ultimately impacts the decision-making process while
purchase of any product/service. A survey in the recent past found that majority of the consumers
or opinion seekers regard online opinions, reviews, comments to be equally trustworthy and
credible as that of the websites of particular brand or service (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013)
WOM has much more influence on the purchase intentions of the consumers in the professional
and services arena than that of other sources. One reason might be as people consider their
personal relationships more trustworthy and are more inclined to follow what people in their
relationship circle say (Arena, Rondan, & Ram\'\irez, 2013).
Technological advent and rise of internet communication has brought a less personal but more
widely accessible and geographically independent and ubiquitous form of word of mouth
communication which is known as electronic word of mouth or online word of mouth. (Mardon
& Belk, 2018)
(Bickart & Schindler, 2011) Has defined eWOM as “any of the affirmative or undesirable statement
left by the real, potential or previous customer about a brand/product or the company which is
accessible to the masses or institutions through internet sources”
This form of word of mouth, which is electronic by nature, is considered as more influential and
effective than traditional word of mouth because it is widely accessible and possesses higher
reach than the latter one. The traditional word of mouth is the predecessor to electronic word of
mouth which is the one to one verbal conversation between the encoder and the decoder (Alves,
Fernandes & Raposo, 2016)
The traditional pattern of WOM is generally practiced among the individuals who are closely
connected and have trust among each other (Guptaa & Harris, 2010) whereas eWOM is practiced
among the individuals who are strangers around the world besides their family and friends circle
and co-workers. Though there has been lot of research conducted on eWOM but still this area
requires more research to be conducted (Zhanga , Craciuna , & Shinb, 2010).
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Online consumer reviews or e-WOM and traditional WOM have three major differentiations.
First the impact of traditional WOM is not beyond the local social circle or network. Whereas the
impact of e-WOM or online reviews is beyond the local boundaries as anyone can access it on
the internet (Mardon & Belk, 2018). Secondly the WOM is not a variable decision for the offline
seller, but the online seller has a choice to post online review and comments on the product
website. Finally, the traditional WOM is spread by the immediate family, friends circle within
their acquaintance social circle, but e-WOM is spread by the former buyers of the product who
have prior experience of certain products or services (White, 2017).
Electronic word-of-mouth is, for all practical purposes, the online version of traditional word-of
mouth, which, formally defined as “all informal communications directed at (Mardon & Belk,
2018) the online environment; though, is no real limitation as consumers make opinions
available to the world through the Internet. Electronic word-of-mouth enjoys several
characteristics not shared by traditional WOM. Electronic word-of-mouth communications occur
in an anonymous, asynchronous online environment that allows consumers to share positive and
negative experiences.
WOM is the oldest mode of communication that results in achieving customer base. Due to
technology and innovation, marketers have acquired several new techniques to use e-WOM so as
to achieve customer base in the shape of e-referrals (Ahrens, Coyle, & Strahilevit, 2013).
Companies yearn to positive WOM as marketing tool that attracts its customers on following two
main bases.
 There is much credibility in WOM source through one’s friend, family or co-worker than
other advertisement modes including the company itself (Angela, Kabadayi, & Price,
2014)
 WOM does not require the heavy expenses or allocation of separate budget for it, as it is
found in other advertising sources. So, corroborating the WOM importance, the
advertisement is playing the declining role and impacting the decisions of consumers
(Mardon & Belk, 2018)
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1.8 Types of Electronic Word of Mouth Communication on internet
Communication in online and digital media usually takes place on diverse platforms as social
media networks, websites and blogs etc. However, these sources are significantly different from
each other in terms of reach, interface and properties and thus the effectiveness of electronic
word of mouth holds different potential on different mediums.
Consumers get more variety of information and material through online sources than that of the
traditional word of mouth which marketers could control with as per their effort. There are four
information sources online such the websites of brands and e-retailers (called controlled market-
controlled group), third party websites and the personal blogs (called non-market driven
sources). Consumers seek online information using the above four categories (Lee, Kim, &
Chan, 2011). Official websites of brand and e-retailers contain the reviews from product users;
the third-party websites such as Facebook, twitter, etc. contain the reviews from experts, whereas
the personal blogs mention one’s own reviews about the product (Lee, Kim, & Chan, 2011).
The credibility level of information regarding branded products varies due to the variance in
purpose and nature. The perceived expertise and trustworthiness are considered to be the two
sub-directions to the source credibility (Bickart & Schindler, 2011)
Generally, consumers are provided with accurate information about the brand and the brand
recognition information by the official or separate brand websites maintained by the relevant
company(s). Official brand websites can easily be searched online than those of third party
websites or personal blogs (Lee, Kim, & Chan, 2011).
The difference between social networks as Facebook, twitter etc. and other online consumer
communities (Amazon, Cnet, Hotmail, Review/Rating websites) is that it is possible for users on
formerly mentioned platform, to check the background of person dispersing the
information/content and it also allows to have word of mouth communication within the personal
friend network of a user and it is also possible to examine the list of people who have
liked/followed any product’s account/page, which can portray an individual’s interest; while in
latter it is not possible to identify or conduct a background check of person sharing content.
(Coulter & Roggeveen, 2012).While some of other studies present classification in another
pattern; as (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013) has specified different forms of electronic media
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channels that can affect the interpersonal relationships. There are the synchronous type and the
asynchronous type, the first one includes instant messaging, chat rooms and newsgroups
(Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012). While asynchronous includes blogs, emails, virtual communities and
websites (Mardon & Belk, 2018). All these are used to spread experiences and opinions about a
product or a place, they can be positive or negative depending on respective factors.
1.9 Electronic Word of Mouth on Social Media
The development of communication technologies also brought forward a rising popularity and
usage of social networks as means of communication. This fast-paced growth in social media has
minimized one of major barrier of communication which is physical presence and limited scope;
which means that consumers can talk to several people at times from any place on earth and this
has significant value in terms of brand communication.
Furthermore, consumers are now more inclined to acquire such information from social medial
platforms rather than traditional means like Television, Radio or magazines etc. (Alves,
Fernandes & Raposo, 2016) This theory is supported by one of research that dictates that around
70% of total internet users globally trust on word of mouth and reviews by other consumers on
social media networks. (Nielsen Global, 2014).
The reason behind increased prominence of social media is its cost effectiveness as compared to
traditional sources to access and gather information from consumer to consumer in an integrated
fashion. The stated role played by social media in practical world has been observed under an
experiment in which improvement in book reviews led to increase in sales of that book. And
same effect has been observed on box office revenues. In addition to the same context one study
has studied the impact of such online viral marketing on specific stages of decision making
process by consumers particularly recipients of information and found out positive relationship
(Mardon & Belk, 2018).
An example of this would be Pinterest who had also generated this same content so that it can
use the word of mouth process of marketing. The company had around 3000 followers in the
year 2010 who were loyal to the organization and the founder that is Ben Silbermann decided to
grow the company to a great extent. This was done based on getting the feedbacks from the
customers by organizing proper meetings with them. This helped the founder in connecting with
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the customers on a personal level so that the site can be built in a better manner. By the end of
2018, the company had a follower of over 200 million due to the word of mouth marketing that
was done by the founder. The company also started a campaign known as ‘Pin It Forward’ so
that it can motivate the customers in using the pin boards to request the friends in doing the
same. The use of interesting visuals allowed more number of people in joining the project so that
it can be of interest to them.
Online social network has been defined by (Coulter & Roggeveen, 2012) as a site which consists
of registered user accounts and where these users can share the information, create new content
for instance pictures, reviews, messages etc., consume the content that has been created by other
users. On such sites users create their own network, by adding other selected users to that
network; which is usually done as sending a request from one end and acceptance from other
end. At the completion of this process these two user profiles are connected on that social
network, this connection is normally known as Friend circle/ Friend Network, Follower etc. And
depending on privacy setting of a user, he/she can share/receive/view content from any one,
he/she wishes to.
Although different social networks possess different structure for communication, as on
Facebook and LinkedIn these communication linkages are bi-directional in nature, where as it is
uni-directional for Twitter.
The popularity of use of social networks for electronic word of mouth has been justified by fact
that technological revolution has also brought a change in buying pattern of consumers and now
it is ridiculously common for them to look for online reviews and comments on Social media
regarding any product/service prior to purchasing it. (Zhu & Zhang, 2010); This also impact their
purchase intention significantly (Alves, Fernandes & Raposo, 2016).
This study by (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012) emphasizes that electronic word of mouth on social
media networks has strong impact on brand image and which ultimately affects the purchase
intention of consumers. According to a study conducted in past “brand image can influence the
profits earned by any company, by impacting its cash flows; an impressive brand image can also
make consumer pay premium price.” (Mardon & Belk, 2018).
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The importance of this study in purchase of services is derived by fact that brand image is
formed on basis of consumption of any that service or past experiences of such consumption and
intangible factors as after sales service can’t be availed before any consumption, thus this whole
process involves risk of purchasing service and experiencing it. That’s why consumers now a
day are more leaned towards influences from e-WOM, to gain an insight of experience shared by
other consumers of same service on social media groups. (Mardon & Belk, 2018).
This extensive scope of social media has caused buzz in world of marketing and it has compelled
brands to focus more on independently generated content by consumers on social media
platforms in order to improve their marketing and branding practices and this also helps brand
manager in designing strategies to boost positive electronic word of mouth for their
product/services. (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & B. Sc, 2012).
The idea of using social media and other web tools has become a critical topic of conversation
(Huang, Tsang, & Zhou, 2011) and consideration for many businesses as well. (Huang, Zhang,
Liu, & Liang, 2014) refers to the industry leaders in strategic social media use as Social Corps.
He concludes that these progressive companies, like IBM and Dell, reap benefits such as better
access to information, richer user (customer) experiences, and improved Web metrics.
As businesses continue to witness the power and reach of the individual voice and the WOM
generated online; they are looking for ways to take advantage of the opportunity to use social
media as a communication platform and tool for developing and nurturing relationships with
consumers and vendors, thereby enhancing their brands and gaining better control over their
marketplace messages. Every year a budget of billions of dollars is set and spent on advertising
the different brands and services, and the ultimate objective or motive of marketing
communication seems stagnant over the years. (Groeger & Buttle, 2014).
Marketers work hard to spread the news about a company’s products and services in an effort to
gain the attention of an attractive target market in hopes that a large number of those consumers
will buy whatever it is they are selling; promotional tools (e.g., advertising, sales promotion,
direct marketing, etc.) are developed and implemented in the most effective and efficient
combinations possible to attain this fundamental task charged to today’s marketer (Alves,
Fernandes & Raposo, 2016)
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Generally traditional media is found to have stronger impact on brand awareness as compared to
eWOM on social media and latter was observed to have more positive influence on brand image
than former. Thus, traditional mediums of communications like TV, radio, newspaper should be
used to increase brand awareness, whereas presentation of company/brand on social media
should be more aimed at creating a positive image in minds of consumers. (Bruhn,
Schoenmueller, & B. Sc, 2012)
1.10 Electronic Word of Mouth and Facebook
One of the main reasons of Facebook’s proliferation seems to be the fact that the platform is very
easy to access and very user-friendly. In fact, there is really no criterion that has to be met in
order to start a Facebook account and to create or promote an event, which makes the platform
available to any individual or organization with Internet access (Alves, Fernandes & Raposo,
2016) However, this fact also entails a negative outcome if being abused. The unpopular
superabundance of event invitations and event related information constantly spreading to large
numbers of people, can lead to the overlooking and ignorance of relevant events (Arena, Rondan,
& Ram\'\irez, 2013)
Furthermore, the easiness to create and promote events on Facebook is a valuable asset as long
as the event promoter realizes the potential threats and knows how to best attract attention, and
separate the event from the crowd, in order to keep up with competition. When knowing how to
attract attention to the even accessibility to the enormous number of Facebook users are instantly
provided. The ability to let invited people inform and invite others can generate a substantial
amount of event participants or attendees over a very short period of time (Mardon & Belk,
2018)
This is, however, an outcome desired especially for larger events or virtual events. In the context
of B2B (business to business) and, specifically, in the franchise system, the relationship between
the franchisor and its franchisees is the key to success in order to obtain benefit services mutual
in the relationship (Lee, Kim, & Chan, 2011).
At the same time, they must measure the effectiveness of these tactics and perfect. These
challenges may seem formidable; unless they are turning to a platform entirely dedicated to
simplify communications direct one-to-one (Chen, Fang, & Lin, 2013). B2B (business to
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business, or business to business) - a sector of the market in which customers are other
companies, in contrast to the B2C market, involving interaction between companies and
consumers.
To date, B2B market is characterized by high competition, because of what branding in this
segment takes on strategic importance (Chu & Choi, 2011) giving the brand and the added
benefits of allowing the company to strengthen its position in the market (Gutierrez-Leefmans,
Nava-Rogel & Trujillo-Leon, 2016).
An example of this would be the consumers play an important role in generating the word of
mouth marketing for the companies, as it helps in meeting their expectations. This turns the
consumers in to ambassadors of the brand as well. A well-known example of this would be Coca
Cola, as the company had installed ‘Happiness Machines’ in the year 2012. These machines
provided the beverages to the customers in an exchange for hugging the machine or by
performing any other things such as performing or dancing in front of the machine. The
machines that were set up in Dubai also allowed the customers in making a phone call to their
relatives in exchange of the bottle caps instead of monetary figures. In another campaign that
was done, the company wanted to revive its sales through a campaign known as ‘Share a Coke’.
This was done with the names of the customers printed on the bottles so that it can encourage the
customers in purchasing it. The company also introduced the idea of hashtags in the online media
so that the customers can share their photos with the product. This had resulted in most of the
consumers in spreading the advertisements for the company. Most of the people saw others
performing the acts and felt motivated in doing it by themselves as well.
1.11 Consumer generated and Company generated eWOM on social networks
A study by (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & B. Sc, 2012) has classified electronic word of mouth on
social networks as of two major types which are consumer generated and company generated.
The findings of study identified a significant impact of online user generated eWOM on social
media platforms, on brand image; however, company generated eWOM communication was
found to have more weighted indirect impact on brand attitude and Purchase intention than user
generated electronic word of mouth and traditional marketing communications.
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The differential impact of electronic word of mouth generated by consumers and firm has been
established on the basis of source credibility, after a thorough consideration of various factors it
has been identified that firm created online communication on social media platforms increases
functional brand image and whereas another counterpart is suggested to affect hedonic brand
image more significantly.
Firstly, this strong impact of user generated communication in social media is justified by
principle of consumer involvement, studies have found out a direct and positive empirical
relationship between consumer involvement and level of positive electronic word of mouth
generated by consumers; Higher the level of involvement, increased level of positive electronic
word of mouth is anticipated by consumers on social networks. (Bughin, Doogan, & Ve, 2010)
Secondly user generated information is deemed as neutral and free of company’s influence that’s
why recipient of such information consider it as more credible and authentic sources of
information to use as benchmark to form their viewpoint and perception about brand.
Thus, companies should monitor the user generated communication relevant to its
product/service in order to know the consumer’s perception of brand and this information can be
extremely important while forming key marketing and branding strategies. (Gutierrez-Leefmans,
Nava-Rogel & Trujillo-Leon, 2016).
Netflix is another company that has used this type of marketing in a better manner. The company
capitalized on the idea of binge watching that was frequent among the customers by releasing the
episodes of the series all at once. This happened to attract more number of customers through the
word of mouth marketing technique. The company had also increased its level of awareness so
that the content can be generated through the feedback that are gathered from the user.
1.12 Electronic world of mouth and credibility of information
There are two kinds of information available to the customers purchasing online than those who
purchase offline. There is seller created communication using the traditional channel includes
advertisement, and other information comes from the online-reviews which are given by the
previous buyers of products or services who share their experiences, opinions and ratings about
such products.
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Online consumer reviews play two roles of informant and the recommender. The informant side
provides the user-oriented product information whereas the recommender the information is
provided in sort of recommendations by the previous buyers or users of such products (Watfa,
Najafi & Bakkar, 2013)
The information trustworthiness has a direct and positive relationship with the information
credibility (Bickart & Schindler, 2011). The information created by the consumer is more
credible than that of seller concerning the information trustworthiness (Alves, Fernandes &
Raposo, 2016)
Sellers never present the actual aspect of the product by hiding the inferior aspect of that product,
on the contrary the consumers existing online give honest reviews, they write both positive and
undesirable aspect of a certain product. This results online customer reviews to become more
reliable than that of the seller (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013)
Online referrals are contributed by the fewer people but the people taking advantage of such
referrals are more. eWOM provides the information about products and brands or services is
generally obtained from unknown sources or from consumers and users side rather than from the
manufacturer-controlled side or seller generated information (Reichelta, Sievertb, & Jacobb,
2014)
However different authors hold different frame of mind for credibility of information. According
to one author, the e-WOM may seem not much credible as that of traditional WOM because
there is no face to face interaction; the source is not very well known
There are different features of an information source that may shape the characteristics of the
credibility which may include the source expertise and trustworthiness. The extent to which the
consumer’s decision process is influence by the WOM is derived by the credibility of that source
(Funches, Foxx, Pa, & Kim, 2010). The source of information or the information contributors are
most of the time unknown but even though the contributors’ recommendations yet have the
power to impact the decisions of consumers (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013)
Trustworthiness can be increased by facilitating with the contributor’s information such as the
duration of membership, summary of their comments and reviews in the past (Watfa, Najafi &
Bakkar, 2013). Electronic WOM possesses higher credibility, empathy and relevance to its
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consumers than that of the information sources induced by the marketers and the e-WOM has
been facilitated by launching several websites (Finne & Grönroos, Communication-in-use:
customer-integrated marketing communication, 2017).
Another company also uses the consumer generated work of mouth technique that is Apple. It
has been able to increase its brand image in the market due to the latest technologies that they
use within the products. The cameras provided in the mobile phones helps in clicking pictures
with greater level of clarity, which has intrigued the customers to a great extent. This has
generated a phenomenon among the customers to buy the product for its camera quality. The
company also started campaigns related to iPods and iMac so that it can relate the customers to
the products. The customers were discussing about the products, as the campaigns mainly
focused on how it helped in solving their daily issues. The use of excellent customer service also
helped the company in improving the knowledge of the customers regarding the products so that
they can even educate the other people regarding the attributes that are provided by the brand in
the products. The simplicity through which the advertisements were made help the people in
connecting the products with their daily lives.
1.13 Benefits of Electronic Word of Mouth
In order to fully understand e-WOM, it is important to understand how it evolved or got birth
(Daugherty & Hoffman, 2014). Electronic word-of-mouth is the desired (usually positive)
outcome of social media (SM), one of the most talked-about phenomena in the popular press
(Christodoulides, Michaelidou, & Argyriou, 2012)
Heavy budgets in millions of dollars are spent by the business people on social media (Coulter &
Roggeveen, 2012), yet there continues to be a general lack of empirical research on the topic
(compared to a plethora of traditional WOM research) (Faisal, 2016). Presumably, there aren’t as
many academic articles for social media as there are for many other marketing concepts because
the conversation is taking place on the Web (Abrantes, Seabra, Lages, & Jayawardhena, 2013).
This is an example where academia is playing catch-up with practitioners; therefore, this
research serves to fill a current void in this fruitful area of study by adding to what the industry
already knows about the connection between relationship marketing (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, &
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B. Sc, 2012), Internet technology, and sales success (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013). Now that
the relevance of the topic of study has been established.
The value of e-WOM is also very high because of the electronic transactions conducted during
the word of mouth communication (Alves, Fernandes & Raposo, 2016). The negative usage of
the term known as “Word of Mouth” does not lead to favorable consequences for the people
(Angela, Kabadayi, & Price, 2014).
The benefits of using eWOM is that it helps the companies in sharing information with the
people so that they can have a better knowledge regarding the products or the services that the
organization is dealing in. The customers can also provide feedbacks to the company through
this medium, which will help in changing the products or the services according to the needs and
preferences of the customers. The use of this technique will also result in increasing the level of
trust among the customers with respect to the company and its products. It also helps in
influencing the decision of the consumers regarding the purchase of the products (Daugherty &
Hoffman, 2014).
There are many opportunities that the company also gets in using the eWOM techniques such as
it helps in monitoring the process within the company so that potential customers can be
identified. The analysis will help the company in gaining proper insights regarding the feeling of
the customers after they are using the products or the services provided by the company. The
negative feedbacks need to be assessed by the company so that the development of the product
can be done in an efficient manner (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013).
1.14 Electronic Word of mouth and Purchase intention
Internet has its reach globally where information about brands, products is widely open to the
consumers thorough the different countries but still it shows that online consumer behavior is not
similar on the internet but it may vary by cultural or cross-cultural values (Kietzmann &
Canhoto, 2013)
Nevertheless e-WOM plays vital role in decision making process of consumers if the information
is considered credible by ones who seek online reviews (Christodoulides, Michaelidou, &
Argyriou, 2012). It has been interpreted from studies in past that this form of marketing
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communication impact consumers impressively and serve as a hard axis for making purchase
decision. As one of study believes that eWOM has the direct impact on a company’s sales
(Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013)
Research studies also suggest that eWOM has widely hit the purchasing behaviors of consumers
and online opinion seekers via internet. (Bickart & Schindler, 2011). The written communication
such as online posts, recommendations, reviews, texts, instant messages etc. has more impact
than the oral communication which result coming up new and interesting information about the
products and brands to discuss about; In particular (Berger & Iyengar, 2013).
While this impact on purchase intention is dependent on numerous variables or factors, which
have been identified by researchers over the period of time. For instance, a study by (Mardon &
Belk, 2018) believes that “argument quality” is most affected by the comprehensiveness and
relevance to construct the research model, it makes them important influencers for adoption of
information. The findings of this study have been complemented by one other study which
believes that from computer-mediated-communication context, there are two propositions to
information adoption model: one is that information adoption model considers the information or
argument quality as the central influence and the secondly the source credibility as the peripheral
influences (Funches, Foxx, Pa, & Kim, 2010)
Additionally, as per a research conducted by (Watfa, Najafi & Bakkar, 2013) e-WOM consumers
can potentially reach a mass audience instantly with content that is savable, permanent, and
transcends space and time. In another research that was carried out by (Wallace, Buil, & De
Chernatony, 2014) electronic word-of mouth is also not as limited as traditional word-of-mouth,
which is only effective within limited social contact boundaries where the influence quickly
diminishes over time and distance.
Contradictorily some of past studies believe that eWOM establishes a core information
exchange; the real impact received will differ from consumer to consumer. The similar source
can result in differentiation of responses in different receivers (Hennig, Walsh, & Walsh, 2013)
While a study by (Coulter & Roggeveen, 2012) has identified three major factors that impact the
consumer’s decision-making process, when he/she is exposed to any form of electronic word of
mouth. These three factors are Source, Message and Channel related.
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Extensive amount of literature is available on influence of source of information in online word
of mouth, and this has been branched into two prominent sub factors which are Source Expertise
and Tie Strength. Expertise of a source can be a pivotal indicator of credibility of information, if
the source of information is deemed to be well knowledgeable about the subject, the information
is perceived as more credible and reliable (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012) That’s why product related
information is more like to be regarded as credibly if the source of information is expert of
subject. It is application in both traditional as well as electronic word of mouth.
Strength of tie between Source and Recipient of information also holds considerable influence in
terms of compliant to any information. If the tie between parties is strong, then recipient of
information will feel closer to source of information and which increases the tendency to
conform to the information by source and he/she will respond more positively towards message.
However, this principle is relatively less important in online social media sphere than in offline
word of mouth arena.
Gutierrez-Leefmans, Nava-Rogel & Trujillo-Leon, 2016 urged marketers to look outside of their
organizations, to scan their environment carefully, and to adapt to what they find. He said
marketers should be less self-centered and transition to a consumer-centric approach. Moreover,
(Podnar & Javernik, 2012) in their research implied that it did not support the product-centered
view of the firm; rather, he suggested that businesses be seen as a means to satisfy customers.
(Wu & Wang, 2011) imply that if this is the case, it makes sense that companies would want to
develop and nurture a relationship with customers in order to best serve them
Research on the relationship between social networking sites specifically Facebook and sales are
therefore warranted (Yeh & Choi, 2011). In the meantime, the implication to authors (and to
anyone who is trying to increase the sales of their experience goods) is to spend limited time
trying network with potential customers on social networking sites (Roy, Lassar, Butaney, Lee,
& Hausman, 2014). Rather, efforts should focus on generating electronic buzz through online
rating systems and social media tools that require more consumer engagement (such as
participating in topic-relevant consumer blogs and in online conversations via other online
publishing tools and aggregators like social news sites) (Zhang, Ma, & Cartwright, 2013)
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1.15 Research Strategy
The interviews and the survey that ate conducted in a process of research along with the analysis
of case study and action research are the various strategies that are taken up in the research
process. The case study helps in giving opportunities so that the researcher will be able to gather
information regarding the case studies that are in relevance to the topic of the research (Mackey
& Gass, 2015). The action research process will also help the researcher in finding the issues that
are available regarding the topic that has been taken up for the research. The surveys will help
the researcher in taking the opinions of the respondents through the questions that are close
ended and the interview process is where the answers are recorded by asking questions to a
certain section of the people. These strategies allow the researcher in finding the objectives that
are taken u for the process of research in a proper manner (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).
This study will be conducted through a questionnaire-based survey, which will be conducted on
food groups on Facebook, where people voluntarily provide their opinion and reviews with
regards to food outlets and restaurants. The questionnaire will be circulated amongst potential
customers and active members on groups through convenience sampling. The questionnaire will
consist of direct questions, which will be designed to effectively achieve the objectives of this
research study and answer the research question that are designed in this research.
In order to obtain desired objective of study, an online quantitative survey questionnaire was
developed and distributed to the group members of a WOM-dedicated and locally popular
Facebook group namely “Foodies for Life” that is specifically designed for people to discuss and
share their experiences related to Food. The members also voluntarily provide quality reviews on
restaurants, Cafés, Dhabas, Khokas and Take-outs etc. in Saudi Arabia to anyone seeking such
reviews prior to experiencing it.
The reason behind choosing this group is based on detailed analysis of posts and topics discussed
on this forum, which portrayed the seriousness, high relevance and quality response rate.
Besides that, the extensive and wide reach of this group over the social media (more than 12,000
members) has been an impressive and fit-for-task factor. The questionnaire contained all close
ended questions that were designed on Likert scale in order to keep the responses in defined
limits.
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1.15.1 Population of the Study
The population of our selected group “Foodies for Life” for our research study is 12,738, which
also represents the population of our study.
1.15.2 Sample Size and justification for Sample Methodology
Total population or numbers of “Foodies for Life” group members are approximately 12000 and
with 95% confidence interval; sample size for study totaled up to 383 respondents. The method
of sampling selected was convenience sampling, keeping in mind the geographical variation of
population to study. Thus, a questionnaire was floated on selected consumer community and
around 383 responses were recorded and after filtering out the improper/faulty responses, total
number of quality responses stood at 244. The demographic data has been chosen, as it will help
the research process to be authentic in nature and that the researcher can get a better idea
regarding the issues that are present in KSA with respect to eWOM.
1.16: Research Philosophy
The philosophies of research can be divided in to three types such as pragmatism, interpretivism
and positivism. The interpretivism philosophy is the one that has provided the researcher in
taking in to consideration the different point of views along with their opinions so that the
research can be done in a proper manner and in accordance to the topic taken up for the research.
It helps the researcher in understanding the various opinions based on which the research process
can be conducted (Glesne, 2015). The philosophy that is known as positivism is based on certain
observations that can be quantified so that it can help in carrying out the process of the research
in a scientific manner. It will allow the researcher in doing the testing on a scientific manner so
that the data can be verified in a proper manner. The pragmatic philosophy is based on the
combination of both the philosophies so that the observation can be quantifiable and meaningful
as well (Brinkmann, 2014).
This particular research has been based on the positivism philosophy, as it has allowed the
researcher in taking in to account the various aims and objectives that are taken up in the process.
The use of the scientific approach along with the tools of statistics has helped in analyzing the
data so that the viewpoints and the opinions of the respondents can be taken in to consideration
during the process of research as well.
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1.17: Research Approach
The inductive and the deductive approach are the most common forms of research approaches
that can be taken up by the researcher. The approach that is inductive in nature is a combination
of tools that will help in setting up of new observations and patterns so that the research can be
conducted in a proper manner. It will help in giving more emphasis on the concepts and theories
that needs to be developed within the process of research so that the quality of the research can
be increased (Flick, 2015). The researcher has to take in to consideration the observations so that
the conduction of the analysis can be done properly. It will also allow the researcher in laying
emphasis on the aims and objectives along with the phenomena of the research. Apart from this,
the deductive approach is the one where the researcher will be using the theories and concepts
that are established by other authors so that the objectives of the research can be understood in a
proper way (Silverman, 2016).
The research process has been based on the deductive approach so that the researcher is in a
position to provide the evidences of the findings that are based on the analysis, which helps in
increasing the word of mouth marketing among the consumers regarding certain brands. It will
also allow in taking up the information in a proper way so that the aims and objectives can be
aligned with that of the process of research.
1.18: Research Design
There are basically three types of designs in a research process namely descriptive, explanatory
and exploratory. The design that is exploratory in nature helps in testing the hypothesis that has
been taken up in the research with the objectives as well. The use of the theories and concepts
can be done by the researcher so that the hypothesis can be tested (Vaioleti, 2016). The
explanatory type of the research process is the one where the information that is gathered is in
relevance to the topic of the research sob that the process can be completed properly. It allows
the researcher in providing proper justification regarding the incidents that are taking place based
on the different events so that the process of research can be conducted properly (Smith, 2015).
The descriptive type of research is a combination of the features that are present in the
explanatory and exploratory research design. It helps the researcher in testing the hypothesis and
the objectives and aims that has been taken up in the research process based on the incidents that
has taken place in the process of research as well (Panneerselvam, 2014).
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This process of research has been done according to the descriptive design that has helped in
explaining the concepts and theories along with a proper description regarding the incidences
that will be taking place in the future. The researcher will be able to understand the effects and
causes that has been taken up in the rationale of the research process.
1.19: Limitation of the Study:
The limitations of this study which should be kept in mind while interpreting and implicating the
findings of this study, are as follows:
 Response Quality: Quality of responses can’t be controlled in this study as respondents
may be biased in their responses or would have filled the questionnaire out of formality
without properly deciphering the meaning of questions.
 Single tool of research: Since the research uses only one tool of the survey and which is
questionnaire to measure, investigate and explore all constructs. This infers that the
research findings may be exposed to common method bias.
 Sampling method: In order to acquire responses, the study uses convenience sampling
method rather than random sampling, which limits the other meaningful dimensions to
analyze the findings of research.
 Type of Consumer Community: This study is conducted on one type of consumer
community on internet that is a consumer community group functioning on Facebook.
Thus, the research findings are limited in terms of application as it can’t be generalized
for same impact on other type of consumer communities on internet, where eWOM takes
place, for instance twitter, brand websites, blogs etc.
 Simplicity of Research Framework: The research had adopted model from past studies,
and the intentional simplicity of model can be a vital limitation for study. As supported
by multivariable regression analysis conducted on first model. Addition of other
important and relevant constructs can significantly strengthen the relationship between
predictor and dependent variable.
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2.0 Theoretical Framework
The study is based of two different frameworks that have been adopted from past studies that
were conducted on same topic.
2.1 Diagrammatic Presentation
Stage-01
Information Adoption Model (Sussman & Siegal, Informational influence in
organizations: an integrated approach to knowledge adoption, 2013)
Figure 2: Framework 2
Stage-02
(Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012)
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Figure 1: Framework 1

2.2 Explanation of Framework
In the first stage the Figure 4.1 is the information adoption model by (Sussman & Siegal,
Informational influence in organizations: an integrated approach to knowledge adoption, 2013)
which represents that what different variables are responsible for the information usefulness,
perceived by the online opinion seekers when seeking such information via internet. This model
consists of two main areas one is the Argument Quality and the other one is the Source
Credibility. Argument quality is the influence which is central in nature derived from the
information shared; source credibility is the peripheral influence which is concerned or
dependent upon the person who is sharing such information online.
On the second framework in Figure 4.2 which is suggested by (Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012), which
states that once eWOM is spread among the consumers or opinion seekers it either results in the
direct purchase intention of those who are seeking information online, it creates the brand image
of that product/service that results in the purchase intention of the consumers.
2.3 Definition of Variables of Framework
Information adoption
This is the practice in which people intentionally with a certain motive get engaged in utilizing
that information existing online. This is one of the behaviors which are practiced by the online
consumers existing in the online forums (Pitta & Fowler, 2015). The use of the online platform
by the consumer will result in gaining better knowledge regarding the attributes that are present
so that they can influence the other consumers in purchasing the same product as well. The tool
of online marketing allows the company in attracting the customers as well.
Information usefulness
It is the perception of and individuals seeking information online that with the use of new source
or technology will add up in the better performance. This is the key factor that results in the
information adoption with both present and future self-reported utilization of the framework
(Davis F. , 2010; Davis F. , 2011). The information that will be gathered from the online
platform by the customers regarding the company and the products will be useful to them, as it
will allow them in purchasing the products in a better way. The usefulness of the product will
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allow the customers in educating others regarding the attributes that are present in the product so
that they can purchase it as well.
Argument quality/information quality
It is the convincing force of opinions shared which are entrenched in an informational
communication (Bhattacherjee & Sanford, 2016). It is the assessment of results which is
systematically shaped according to the user perception (Negash , Ryan , & Igbaria, 2012). The
quality of information that is present on the online platform provides the customers in getting a
better knowledge so that the word of mouth marketing can be increased for the brands produced
by the company. This will also result in referring the company by the loyal customers to their
friends and relatives so that it can generate better income for the company.
Relevance
Consumers most of the time prefer information that is of their specific purpose, if the
information doesn’t fulfill their need or purpose they generally go through the information
without going into details or reading whole pages. Users want to find the information that they
want quickly and with little effort (Nah & Davis, 2012). The detailed information that will be
provided by the company on the internet will result in upgrading their knowledge regarding the product
so that they can be interested in the product and refers the company to their near ones as well.
Timeliness
It is when the information available online is current and up to date It will be more useful (Madu
& Madu, 2012). The information that is being provided by the company needs to be changed on a
continuous manner so that the upgraded version can be available to the customers if they are interested in
purchasing the product. This will also decrease the fraudulent activities that are being taken up by the
company, as the transparency of the information regarding the product will result in increasing the
knowledge of the customers.
Accuracy
It defines that how reliable a certain message is. Accuracy also denotes the thinking of opinion
seekers that the information shared is true (Wixom & Todd, 2015). The accuracy of the
information that is being provided by the company will help the customers in being updated with
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the latest products that are available in the market. It will also result in measuring the reliability
of the messages that are being circulated by the company to the consumers and understand the
extent to which they are true. This will also help in generating the word of mouth marketing
among the customers.
Comprehensiveness
It refers to the extent to which certain information shared is complete as per the requirement of
the opinion seekers (Alves, Fernandes & Raposo, 2016). The information provided in the internet
by the companies needs to be according to the requirement of the customers so that they can
understand their needs and demands accordingly with respect to the product that they are
interested in. The complete information that is provided by the companies will allow them in
meeting the requirements of the customers so that they can be influenced in purchasing the
product.
Source Credibility
It denotes to the message credibility perceived by the recipient about the person or source from
which information is coming, it has no relation with the message information itself (Chaiken S. ,
2010). It is the degree to which an opinion seeker considers the information encoder as reliable,
trustworthy, authentic and knowledgeable (Petty & Cacioppo, 2015). It will help the opinion
seekers in increasing their level of trust towards the company with the credibility of the source. The use of
the correct information in the online platform will result in providing accurate information to the
customers so that they can have a better knowledge regarding the product that they want to purchase.
Electronic Word of Mouth
“Any affirmative or undesirable statement left by the real, potential or previous customer about a
brand/product or the company which is accessible to the masses or institutions through internet
sources” (Hennig, Gwinner, Walsh, & Gremler, Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion
platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet?, 2014; Godes &
Mayzlin, Using online conversations to study word-of-mouth Communication, 2012). The use of
this marketing will enable the consumers in increasing the level of profits for the company by
advertising the products of the company to their friends and relatives. This will allow the
company in increasing its level of output in the market where they are operating as well.
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Brand Image
It is the consumers perception regarding a product/brand resulted by the brand relations existing
in the minds of the consumers Invalid source specified.. The image of the brand will also be
affected through the word of mouth marketing, as it will help in increasing the sales of the
product in the market. It will help the company in gaining a competitive advantage in the market
as well so that no other companies can compete with the brand.
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3.0Analysis:
Reliability of research tool
Since the research tool used by us in this study is Questionnaire, so Cronbach Alpha was used to
test the reliability of our questionnaire. Initially a pilot study was conducted in which 20
questionnaires were filled by respondents that belonged to our target population and on the basis
of those responses reliability was checked. The findings of Cronbach Alpha using SPSS were as
follows:
The value of Cronbach Alpha is greater than 0.07, which signifies the strong reliability of our
research tool.
Respondents Demographics Summary
Measure Particulars Occurrence Percentage
Gender Male 153 63
Female 91 37
Age 18-24 168 69
25-31 45 18
32-38 21 9
39-45 9 3.6
45 and above 1 0.4
Education Level Intermediate/A-Level 27 11
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Table 1: Reliability Statistics
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach’s Alpha N of Items
.929 32

Undergraduate 135 55
Postgraduate 77 32
Ph.D. 5 2
Occupation Student 162 66
Professional 48 20
Self-employed 18 7
Servicing 7 3
Retired 0 0
Others 9 4
Table 5.1
Table 2: Respondent Demographic Summary
Habit of the Respondents Eating Out
Measure Value Frequency Percentage
Do you dine out or make order for home
delivery of food
Yes 239 98
No 5 2
How frequently do you look for reviews on
“Foodies For Life” Facebook page
Very Rarely 11 4
Rarely 29 12
Occasionally 114 47
Frequently 72 30
Very Frequently 18 7
Table 3: Habit of the Respondents Eating Out
Table 5.2
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Demographical analysis of Respondents
Respondents’ Age and Gender
37.30%
62.70%
Gender
Female
Male
Figure
5.1
Table 4: Gender
69%
18% 9% 4% 0%
18-24
25-31
32-38
39-45
45 and above
Figure
5.2
Table 5: Age Group
The response rate of female was lower than the male respondents; questionnaire was distributed
among both male and female genders equally. The ratio as per the gender of responses came out
female with 37% (91 responses) and the male respondents with 63% (153 responses).
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Most of the responses were recorded by the age group of 18-24 with ratio of 69% (168
responses), later was the age group between 25-31 years old with 18% response rate (45),
similarly 32-38 with 9% (21 responses), and age group 39-45 with 4% (9 responses) response
rate.
Respondents’ Education and Occupation
11%
2%
32%
55%
Respondents' Education
Intermediate/A-Level
Ph.D.
Postgraduate
Undergraduate
Table 6: Education
Most of the respondents were with education level of Under graduation with approximately 66%
response rate (135 responses), postgraduates with responses rate of 32% (77 responses), and the
ratio of Ph.Ds. was 2 % and Intermediate/ A-Level with 11%.
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Figure 5.3

4%
20%
7%
3%
66%
Respondents' Occupation
Others
Professional
Selfemployeed
Servicing
Student
Table 7L Occupation
Looking at the above data, 66% were the students by profession (162 responses), 20%
Professionals (48 responses), 7% self-employed (18 responses), 4% were servicing by
occupation, and 3% responded as others.
Respondents Habits visiting Foodies For Life page for online reviews
30%
47%
12%
7% 5%
Respondents Frequency of visiting Saudi Arabia Food Diary
Facebook Page
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Very Frequently
Very Rarely
Figure 5.5
Table 8: Frequency of visiting Saudi Arabia Food Diary Facebook Page
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Figure 5.4

In the above chart, most of the respondents with 47% response rate (114 responses) said they
visit Foodies For Life page occasionally, only 30% of the respondents (72 responses) visited
frequently and 5% (18 responses) replied that they visit it very frequently, 12 % who visit rarely.
As already established in diagrammatic presentation of theoretical frameworks, this study has
been divided into two different stages thus the analysis is also divided into two separate
stages/sections. The analysis with respect to stages is given below:
3.1 Analysis-01
Stage 1 of study which is based on first theoretical framework ( See Figure 2.5), has been further
divided into two parts on the basis of type of variables; in Part 1: Information usefulness is a
dependent variable and this study determines relationship between variables that can make an
Information (Online Review) useful. A total of 6 such predictors of Information Usefulness have
been identified for investigating the relationship with dependent variable. And in Part 2:
Information adoption is dependent variables, whereas Information usefulness is independent
variable. The analysis of each part is explained below:
Part 1:
In order to accept or reject null hypotheses related to part 1 of Stage 1 i.e. H01 to H06; correlation
and multiple regression were conducted to determine the relationship between Information
usefulness (Online Reviews) and various other potential predictors that included Relevance,
Timeliness, Accuracy, Source Expertise and Source Trustworthiness. Findings of correlation are
provided in table below:
Correlation table 1
Informatio
n
Usefulness
Information
Usefulness
Relevance Timelines
s
Accuracy Comprehensivenes
s
Source
Expertise
Source
Trustworthiness
Pearson
Correlation
1 .261** .330** .329** .235** .259** .225**
Sig (2-
tailed)
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
Table 9: Correlation
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**. Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (2- tailed) Table 5.1
Table 5.1 summarizes descriptive statistics and analysis results. As it can be seen that
Information (Online Reviews) Usefulness is positively and significantly correlated with criterion,
indicating that those with higher score on these variables tend to have higher Information
Usefulness.
Upon conducting the multiple regression with all 6 predictors of Information Usefulness being
dependent variable; following statistics were obtained from SPSS:
Model Summary:
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the
Estimate
1 .377a .142 .120 .74354
Table 10: Summary
a. Predictors: (Constant), Relevance, Timeliness, Accuracy, Comprehensiveness, SourceExpertise, SourceTrustworthiness
Table 5.2
The value for R square obtained under Model summary explains that collectively all of 6
predictors account for 14.2% variance in Information usefulness.
ANOVAb:
Model Sum of squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1. Regression 21.707 6 3.618 6.544 .000a
Residual 131.027 237 .553
Total 152.734 243
Table 11: ANOVA Test
a. Predictors: (Constant), Relevance, Timeliness, Accuracy, Comprehensiveness, Source Expertise, Source
Trustworthiness
b. Dependent Variable: Information Usefulness Table 5.3
The table of ANOVA given above provides the collective significant figure for all 6 predictors
and dependent variable, the value which is less than 0.05 level suggest that “At least one
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independent variable is a significant predictor of the dependent variable”. This provides us with
stance that the model is not bust and further analysis can be continued.
Coefficientsa
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients
t Sig.B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) 1.767 .266 6.641 .000
Relevance .079 .071 .084 1.109 .268
Timeline .154 .075 .172 2.057 .041
Accuracy .173 .096 .170 1.799 .073
Comprehensive -.017 .089 -.017 -.194 .846
Source Expertise .093 .077 .096 1.208 .228
source Trustworthiness -.062 .090 -.061 -.683 .495
a. Dependent Variable: Information Usefulness Table
5.4
Table 12: Coefficients
Multi variable regression model with all 6 predictors produced R2 = 0.142, f (6, 237) = 6.554,
p<0.01. As can be seen in table 5.4, only Timeliness has significant positive regression weight,
this indicates that online reviews that are up to date tend to make an Online Information
(Review) more useful after controlling for other variables in model.
The multivariable regression analysis of part 1 of stage 1 provides with results that null
hypotheses of following predictors are accepted:
 Relevance of information
 Accuracy of Information
 Comprehensiveness of Information
 Source Expertise of Information source
 Source trustworthiness of Information source.
And the only predictor, whose null hypothesis was rejected, is Timeliness; that provides us with
insight that timeliness plays an important role in making an online review more useful and the
findings are valid as per general observation in social media network in Saudi Arabia. People are
usually more concerned about how up to data an online information or review is.
Part 2
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In part 2 of stage 1 we establish the relationship between Information usefulness and Information
Adoption, with former being independent variable (Predictor) and latter being dependent
variable. The correlation data of Information Adoption and Information usefulness portray that
both variables are positively correlated although their level of correlation is moderate and any
changes in one may lead to changes in other and vice versa.
Correlation of the dependent variable and predictor produced following results:
Correlation table 2
Information Usefulness Information Adoption
Information Usefulness Pearson Correlation 1 .399**
Sig (2- tailed) .000
Table 13: Correlation Table 2
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (2- tailed) Table 5.5
Upon conducting linear regression with one predictor of Information Usefulness and dependent
variable of Information Adoption, above data tables were obtained. The value for R square
obtained under Model summary explains 15.1% of variance in Information Adoption is obtained
due to Information Usefulness.
Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .393a .154 .151 .69329
a. Predictors: (Constant), Information Table 5.6
Table 14: Summary Model 2
ANOVA table given below provides significant value for one predictor (i.e. Information
Usefulness) and one dependent variable (Information Adoption), which is less than 0.05 level
and justifies that independent variable is significant predictor of dependent variable.
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ANOVAb
Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 21.202 1 21.202 44.111 .000a
Residual 116.318 242 .481
Total 137.520 243
a. Predictors: (Constant), Information_Usefulness Table
5.7
b. Dependent Variable: Adoption
Table 15: ANOVA Test 2
Linear regression with 1 predictor produced R2 = 0.154, f (1, 242) = 44.111 and p <0.01. As can
be seen in tables below that predictor of Information Usefulness has significant positive
regression weight, this indicates that online reviews/information with higher perceived
usefulness will be highly adopted by the recipient of that information.
Coefficientsa
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients
t Sig.B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) 2.370 .187 12.661 .000
Information_U
sefulness
.373 .056 .393 6.642 .000
a. Dependent Variable: Adoption Table 5.8
Table 16: Coefficients
3.2 Analysis-02
The stage 1 and stage 2 are connected in manner that former studies and explores the entire
process of adoption of an online review and factors behind that adoption and assuming that once
information (Online review) has been adopted, now we study what is the impact of that online
review on consumer purchase intention and Brand image of product/service in the mind of
recipient of that information (Online review).
Thus in 2nd stage, we move by taking assumption that electronic word of mouth has been adopted
now we study the relationship between three components given in model above.
Stage 2 has been divided into 2 parts as well; in the first part we perform cross table analysis for
proving H02 and H03 (see in model), whereas in 2nd part we perform linear regression to find H01
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Part 1:
In part 1 of stage 1, cross tab analysis was done to analyze the responses comparatively. Upon
conducting cross tab analysis of three following variables in from of 3 questions, the output in
SPSS produced a meaningful and desired results. Three factors analyzed through cross tab
analysis were:
1. Impact of Online reviews on Brand Image– H01
2. Level of such impact on Brand image of any product /service.
3. Impact of Brand Image on Purchase Intention – H03
The cross tab analysis produced following tables using SPSS:
Reviews_BrandImage * Impact_reviews_BrandImage Cross tabulation
Impact_reviews_BrandImage
TotalNo Impact Minor Impact Neutral Moderate Impact Major Impact
Reviews_BrandImage Yes Count 2 27 26 116 56 227
% of
Total
.8% 11.1% 10.7% 47.5% 23.0% 93.0%
No Count 5 3 4 4 1 17
% of
Total
2.0% 1.2% 1.6% 1.6% .4% 7.0%
Total Count 7 30 30 120 57 244
% of
Total
2.9% 12.3% 12.3% 49.2% 23.4% 100.0%
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Table 5.9

Table 17: Cross-tabulation 1
It can be observed that out of 244 respondents, 227 believe that electronic word of mouth or
online reviews do impact the brand image of any product /service; which is around 93% of total
responses. And out of these 227 responses total 172 believe that online word of mouth or online
reviews possess significant impact on brand image, which is around 70% of total 244 responses.
This explains that majority of people believe that online review do impact the brand image of
any product/service and the level of such impact is also considered as significant by majority of
respondents.
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Figure 5.6
Table 18: Bar Chart for Brand image

Reviews_BrandImage * BrandImage_PurchaseIntention Cross tabulation
BrandImage_PurchaseIntention
TotalNo Impact Minor Impact Neutral Moderate Impact Major Impact
Reviews_BrandImage Yes Count 1 25 36 115 50 227
% of Total .4% 10.2% 14.8% 47.1% 20.5% 93.0%
No Count 5 4 6 1 1 17
% of Total 2.0% 1.6% 2.5% .4% .4% 7.0%
Total Count 6 29 42 116 51 244
% of Total 2.5% 11.9% 17.2% 47.5% 20.9% 100.0%
Table 5.10
Table 19: Purchase Intention
On conducting cross tab analysis between impact of online word of mouth (Online reviews) on
brand image and impact of brand image on Purchase Intention, findings were obtained as out of
22 respondents who believe that word of mouth does impact brand image, around 165
respondents, which is around 67% of total respondents (n = 244) believe that this brand image in
43 | P a g e
Figure 5.7

turn impacts their purchase intention of the product/service relevant to online review. This
explains that significant number of people are impacted by online reviews and their perception of
brand image is also impact and once their perception about any brand influenced, it will
definitely impact their purchase intention.
Part 2:
In part 2 of stage 2 of study, we try to justify relationship between electronic word of mouth and
its impact on Purchase intention of recipient of information. For this purposes, Purchase
intentions is taken as dependent variable whereas Information adoption (Electronic Word of
Mouth that is adopted) is taken as predictor of dependent variable. In order to test the
relationship correlation and linear regression tests were conducted using SPSS. Following data
tables were obtained as a result:
Correlations
Information_adoption Purchase_Intention
Information_adoption Pearson Correlation 1 .552**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 5.11
Correlation test of predictor and dependent variable portrays that both variable has significant
and positive correlation between them and the level of correlation is very strong between them
which signifies that any change in one variable will result in change in other variable and vice
versa.
Linear regression of the one predictor and one dependent variable produces following results:
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Model Summary –Table 1
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .552a .305 .302 .51736
a. Predictors: (Constant), Information_adoption Table
5.12
The model summary signifies that adoption of an online review (Electronic Word of Mouth) is
responsible for around 30% variance in Purchase Intention variable, as portrayed through R
square value. That is a very significant impact of predictor on dependent variable.
ANOVA table given below provides significant value for one predictor (i.e. Information
Adoption) and one dependent variable (Purchase Intention), which is less than 0.05 level and
justifies that independent variable is significant predictor of dependent variable. Thus the model
is not bust and further analysis can be done.
ANOVAb– Table 2
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 28.425 1 28.425 106.198 .000a
Residual 64.774 242 .268
Total 93.200 243
a. Predictors: (Constant), Information_adoption Table 5.13
b. Dependent Variable: Purchase_Intention
Coefficientsa – Table 3
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig.B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) 1.859 .161 11.526 .000
Information_adoption .455 .044 .522 10.305 .000
a. Dependent Variable: Purchase Intention Table 5.14
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By taking Information adoption as independent variable and Purchase intention as dependent
variable, the regression tool using the only predictor produced R2 = 0.305, f (1, 242) = 106.198,
p<0.05. As can be seen that Information usefulness possess significant positive regression weight
with p value being significant at <0.05 level.That rejects the null hypothesis between the
variables and deduces to the conclusion that online reviews (eWOM) that are adopted will
significantly and strongly impact the purchase intention of recipient of that information. This
rejects the null hypothesis of part 2 of stage 2.
4.0 Conclusion:
The study investigated the 6 predictors of usefulness of online review/ information that were
provided in framework and it was found out that collectively Relevance, Accuracy, Timeliness,
Comprehensiveness, Source Credibility and Source Trustworthiness explained 14% of variance
in usefulness of online review/information. Out of these 6 precursors to usefulness of online
review/information, only timeliness portrayed significant positive impact on usefulness of that
online review/information. This suggests that consumers are mostly influence by timeliness
factor of online review, if the review posted is up to date, it is going to be perceived more useful
here in digital sphere of Saudi Arabia.
Empirical analysis of the study also infer that once an online review is adopted, it will have
potential and strong impact onbrand image and purchase intention of the product/service being
discussed in that review.
Key points from findings of the study can be concluded as follows:
 Timeliness of an online review has significant and positive impact on making that review
useful
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 Usefulness of online review has significant and positive impact on adoption of online
review.
 Electronic word of mouth has potential impact on Brand Image
 Electronic word of mouth has significant and positive impact on Purchase Intention
5.0 Recommendation:
The research concluded that electronic word of mouth can have significant impact on brand
image and purchase intentions of consumers receiving that information and looking at increasing
popularity of social networks and emergence of dedicated consumer communities to discuss
about brands and their experiences with brands, it is recommended to brand managers to
carefully monitor this emerging trend of social media; e-marketers in particular can take full
advantage of this trend to boost their sales and interaction with consumers.
Following are key takeaways recommended out of this study:
 Brand managers of Eateries should increase timeliness factor in their social media
marketing strategy by posting up to date content/information on such consumer
communities
 E-Marketers should join such discussion groups/forums and interact with consumer by
starting conversation with them and providing them with information on latest
deals/offers going on at their respective eateries.
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The patterns of consumer information sharing process should be understood and specific
strategies should be designed for cashing that pattern. Secondly the brands should focus on being
most up to date in such consumer communities and should introduce new offers time to time in
order to remain updated source of information; this would increase the adoption of such reviews
and would indirectly impact the sales very positively. E- Food delivery services that act as an
intermediary between food brands/eateries and consumers can and should take advantage of this
research and incorporate the philosophy in their social media marketing strategy to increase
adoption of information and respectively increase their sales.
6.0 Benefits of the Study
Past studies and practical observation imply the fact that electronic word of mouth does impact
the brand image and purchase intentions of any individual and consumers tend to provide
reviews about their respective experiences online, which are viewed and/or adopted by multiple
number of people in circle of that person and since this study, which aimed at observing the
consumer communities or groups on Facebook which are purely dedicated to discussing reviews,
helps us in understanding the complete process and influence of eWOM in Saudi Arabia.
Besides Saudi Arabia recently observed massive development in telecom by bringing 3g and 4g
services to end consumers, that has significantly impacted the tele-density and internet user
statistics in country and as already established that food is a growing industry in Saudi Arabia
and metro cities like Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are becoming business hubs for
investors to invest in food categories. Thus, due to non-availability of any research that
determines the impact of eWOM on food industry (Saudi Arabia), it was needed to bridge the
gap and conduct a comprehensive research on the subject.
This study is a value addition to past studies conducted with regards to electronic word of mouth.
The value addition may be signified by the fact that this study connects models from two
different past studies in order to investigate the complete phenomena of electronic word of
mouth; which starts from determining the variables impact adoption of information in an online
consumer community on Facebook to impact of this adopted information on brand image and
purchase intention of adopter/recipient of such information in an online setup.
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Besides the research framework by Sussman and Siegel (2003) was tested on the manner in
which individual are influenced by electronic word of mouth received via email. This study uses
that same model in a completely different mean of electronic word of mouth medium. And same
is the case with use of second model by Jalilvand and Samiei (2012), which was originally used
at to test electronic word of mouth about automobile sales and its impact.
7.0Implications of Study
Only a limited number of studies have been conducted in past to determine the underlying
factors behind adoption of an online review or electronic word of mouth and only a limited
number of studies have determined the impact of electronic word of mouth on brand image and
purchase intentions; this study however combined both model of electronic word of mouth i.e. it
investigated constructs leading to adoption of electronic word of mouth and its impact on brand
image and purchase intention.
The findings of this study are expected to be fruitful for brand managers of Food industry in
order to generate positive electronic word of mouth for their offerings and increasing consumers’
purchase intentions towards brand. As the study found out that timeliness of online reviews is
significant was most vital element to influence adoption of electronic word of mouth, thus brand
managers of different eateries can join these consumer communities and can provide most up to
date information about their latest offerings, deals, discounts and any other changes.
In this way potential target audience of that brand will adopt the provided information and in turn
will increase the recipient’s purchase intention and brand image for that brand. Besides this
philosophy can be application for social media based electronic marketers; posting most up to
date reviews and information about brand will result in positive brand image about brand since
these up to date reviews will be highly adopted.
The findings of this study hold significant managerial implication as already established that
scope of digital media has been growing exponentially and it is now very important for brands to
ensure their strong positioning on social media as now majority of their customer base in present
at one single place. This study can provide brand managers with guidelines to create strategic
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digital marketing strategies to leverage upon increasing potential of social media and to stand out
among competitors.
8.0Areas of further Study
Electronic word of mouth is a very diverse and comprehensive field of study with uncountable
number of streams to market one’s brand. There are numerous areas of study which can be
considered for future research. Some of the major areas are as follows:
 Research Framework: For future studies, more comprehensive research framework can
be adopted that should include other missed out important constructs.
 Type of Consumer Community: For the purpose of future study, other type of
consumer communities (Sources of eWOM) can be tested for instance the efficacy of
eWOM can be tested on other type of social networks, blogs, brand websites and
consumer websites that are related to category.
 Population of Study: In future more diverse, large and randomly selected sample of
target population with diversification in age groups, occupation etc. should be used to
obtain unbiased, symmetric and more precise findings.
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