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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects that reference prices and associated information sources (websites that consumers use to explore and their friends who have similar perspectives on value) have on deal evaluation and intention to disseminate electronic word of mouth (eWOM).

A stratified survey is conducted to empirically test the relations between reference prices, associated information sources (the top five Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) websites and top five Facebook friends with similar perspectives and values on consumption), deal evaluation, and eWOM intention. The study uses a Facebook API to help participants pick five Facebook friends to act as their favorite sources for advice on shopping.

The results suggest that consumers’ deal evaluations (as shaped by the recency effects of previous exposure to prices and the influence of Facebook friends and C2C websites) have carry-over effects on their eWOM intentions. The influence of Facebook friends and C2C websites on deal evaluation is as powerful as that of reference price, especially concerning the mean and the lowest prices.

The findings encourage marketers to invest their resources in targeting online groups, and suggest that C2C website marketers should set their offer prices between the mean and the lowest prices.

This study extends prior research on the motives for eWOM dissemination and elaborates an approach to initiate eWOM intention through deal evaluation.

The purpose of this study is to develop a theoretical model that integrates two different mechanisms to explain knowledge sharing. First, adapted from traditional reward systems, the calculative-based mechanism (CBM) serves as the benchmark. Second, the relational-based mechanism (RBM) plays a complementary role. RBM is founded on social interaction and consists of two social network constructs: relational deposits (i.e. network and valued network centralities) and withdrawals (i.e. network and valued network densities).

This study collected survey data in collaboration with a health-care organization. The data collected from 180 respondents were tested against the research model using a partial least squares analysis.

This study found the CBM to be beneficial for knowledge sharing. The findings support the RBM prediction of a positive relationship between the deposit construct and knowledge sharing, but fail to support the RBM prediction on the withdrawal construct. The RBM explained about 15 per cent more of the variance than the CBM. In addition, the withdrawal construct of the RBM predicts respondents’ beliefs in reciprocal obligation.

RBM does not as strongly associate with economic benefits as the CBM, but it still plays a noteworthy role in increasing the possibility of an individual knowledge sharing.

The study is the first to propose the concepts of relational deposits and withdrawals. The authors use a roster-based sociometric approach to collect the social network data and to benchmark the effect of RBM with that of CBM on individual knowledge sharing and his/her beliefs in reciprocal obligation.