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School of Business | Department of Marketing | Marketing | 2011
Thesis number: 12527
Hedonic and utilitarian search for electronic word-of-mouth and implications on purchase value
Author: Pöyry, Essi
Title: Hedonic and utilitarian search for electronic word-of-mouth and implications on purchase value
Year: 2011  Language: eng
Department: Department of Marketing
Academic subject: Marketing
Index terms: markkinointi; marketing; kuluttajakäyttäytyminen; consumer behaviour; internet; internet; tiedonhaku; information retrieval; päätöksenteko; decision making
Pages: 34
Full text:
» hse_ethesis_12527.pdf pdf  size:333 KB (340259)
Key terms: online information search; electronic word-of-mouth; hedonism; utilitarianism
Abstract:
Online information search is often seen as a highly utilitarian task but consumers' increasingly diverse ways of using the Web have brought forth more hedonic information search patterns. At the same time, the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on consumer purchase decisions is increasing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences between hedonic and utilitarian eWOM search patterns in the light of purchase value. Using survey data from 1660 customers of two travel agencies and structural equation modeling, the study finds that hedonic information search promotes the utilization of eWOM in buying decisions and that eWOM has a greater influence on buying among high-spenders. The findings suggest that hedonic information seekers form an important and valuable customer group and, thus, should be at the focus of online marketing and selling. Companies should encourage customers to search for valuable and experiential eWOM content and create metrics to identify consumers that do so based on their online information search behavior.
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