CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH ATTRIBUTES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
The rapid growth of online communication through social media, websites, blogs and other platforms has increased consumer awareness of electronic word of mouth. Consumers' desire for social contact, financial rewards, caring about other consumers, and the potential value of endorsements have all been highlighted as major motivators that affect how they behave when using electronic word-of-mouth. The main objective of the present study is to investigate consumer perceptions regarding the attributes of electronic word of mouth in Cuddalore district. The primary data for the study was collected using a multistage sampling technique. Five of the seven taluks of Cuddalore district have been selected for the first stage. For the second stage, convenience sampling was used to select 90 respondents from each taluk. A survey method was used to carry out this empirical investigation. The primary data, which forms a crucial part of the study, was collected from 450 respondents using the schedule method. The objectives of the study were taken into consideration when a schedule was developed using the Likert scale technique. 25 consumers participated in a pre-test of the schedule to assess the relevance of the questions. Considering the results of the pre-test, necessary changes were made to the revised schedule. Theses, journals, periodicals and unpublished publications were the secondary data sources. The top five attributes of electronic word of mouth, according to consumers, are that reviews and comments are up to date, that people can rely on EWOM to determine the effectiveness of a product, EWOM information about a product is convincing, the opinions and comments shared by others online are convincing, and the reviews and opinions shared online are reasonable. The study made recommendations on how to make electronic word of mouth more effective.
Electronic Word of Mouth, Online Reviews, Word of Mouth.