The Paths from Word-of-Mouth"Breeding"to Actual Consumption and the Underlying Key Factors—A Qualitative Study Based on Constructivist Grounded Theory
In recent years,an emerging word"breeding"has been widely used among Chinese consumers on the Internet.Building on constructivist grounded theory,this study develops a theoretical model revealing the paths from word-of-mouth"breeding"to actual con-sumption and the underlying key factors.First,the theoretical model identifies four key factors affecting word-of-mouth"breeding":in-formation source characteristics,message characteristics,product characteristics and audience characteristics.Second,word-of-mouth recommendation may lead to"breeding"through informational influence,normative influence or value expression influence.Third,word-of-mouth"breeding"can be specifically demonstrated through consumers'curiosity,consumption expectation,purchase intention,and plan of consumption.In particular,there is a time difference between word-of-mouth"breeding"and actual consumption.The time difference may be caused by various reasons and lead to consumers'coping behaviors.After word-of-mouth"breeding",consumers may either actually consume or give up consumption.The findings of this research not only contribute to the theory of word-of-mouth recom-mendation and interpersonal influence,but also have important practical implications for marketers to understand the effects of word-of-mouth in the era of digital media,and help consumers understand their own consumption decision-making process and behaviors.
word-of-mouth"breeding"interpersonal influencegrounded theoryqualitative research
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
