Is negative eWOM more influential than negative pWOM?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of various sources of negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and negative personal word-of-mouth (pWOM) on trust in the Word-of-mouth (WOM), attitude toward the service provider and purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from 336 Moroccan workers who responded to an online survey.

Findings

Results show that negative pWOM is more influential than negative eWOM in the form of written Facebook testimonials, written review site testimonials and written testimonials on a corporate website. However, there is a relative ranking of importance among eWOM sources, with review site testimonials found to be more influential than either Facebook or corporate website testimonials.

Research limitations/implications

This work responds to a call for research on differences and similarities between pWOM and eWOM. The findings extend understanding of the relative influence of negative pWOM and negative eWOM.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide guidance to service marketers in terms of strategies for deflecting negative WOM and allocating service recovery resources.

Originality/value

This study is the first to compare the relative influence of negative pWOM and eWOM in service consumption.

Citation

Bachleda, C. and Berrada-Fathi, B. (2016), "Is negative eWOM more influential than negative pWOM?", Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 109-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-11-2014-0254