Abstract:
The emergence of social networking websites and the advancement made in IT have created a favorable environment for people to connect and interact with one another. This led to a new form of communication: electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) which overcomes the limitations of word of mouth (WOM, since it reaches a much larger audience all over the world. Despite the fact that e-WOM is a fairly recent phenomenon, there is considerable research on this topic. However, the multiple valence of electronic word of mouth makes it very difficult to pin down this concept and offer a clear definition. E-WOM is connected to various aspects such as: user generated content, user’s engagement in social media, opinion sharing, social media marketing, and so on. Considering the ample area that e-WOM may influence, this article proposes an integrative conceptual model that will help define electronic word of mouth and it’s possible role in the decision making process online. Applying the methodology suggested, a more indepth research can be conducted to pre-test and eventually test the model of electronic word of mouth.
