Customers Attitude Towards Electronic Word of Mouth and Its Effects on Brand Equity: Comparative Study

Introduction

The recent advancements in the internet technology have changed the way people communicate from the conventional to virtual frameworks. This has led to the emergence and increasing use of the electronic word of mouth (Shin, 2007). Nowadays people can share information and experiences on the Internet via chat rooms, e-mail, blogs, and fan clubs among others, unlike in prior days when people had to meet face-to-face to pass or seek information (Goldsmith, 2006). The electronic word of mouth can be described as the positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is provided to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet. Through the electronic word of mouth, informal communications are directed at consumers through Internet-based technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services, or their sellers.

Today, electronic word of mouth is a focal aspect of modern-day communication. The deepening penetration of information and communication technologies, as well as the increasing adoption of these technologies, further propelled electronic word of mouth through social media platforms. This study explored the attitudes of customers towards electronic word of mouth and its effects on brand equity from the perspectives of Egypt and UAE consumers. Consumers attitudes towards electronic word of mouth play a central role in determining the eventual consequences of this type of communication on brand equity because the general views and evaluations of consumers about a product or service influence his or her purchasing behavior. As an intention towards the behavior, attitudes influence the extent at which a person favors or does not support an evaluation of a brand (Ajzen, 2001). An individual is likely to have stronger behavioral intentions if the situation is favorable towards the behavior and vice versa. The idea is that electronic word of mouth communication can influence the attitudes towards a product and the behavior to purchase.

The activities of consumers online can be useful in building brand equity of goods and their companies. In the present study, we investigated the customer attitudes towards electronic word of mouth and subsequently, its role in the growth and development of brand equity using the case of Egypt and UAE. That this study found statistically no significant differences between the Egyptian and UAE online users regarding their attitudes to the electronic word of mouth communication provides evidence of some universal behavior of online customers. This is consistent with the general view from various studies that clients tend to show particular behavior when using electronic word of mouth on social network sites. These actions often result in their desire to develop, establish, and maintain social relationships with those within their social networks. Users of social media can share useful product information and product experiences they had with particular brands. Thus, via social connections, friends, relatives, and colleagues can persuade one another to make certain purchase-related decisions. The core of social network sites is the existing social connectivity, and it determines the variables that are related to the understanding of the electronic word of mouth communication processes (Smith, Coyle, Lightfoot, & Scott, 2007).

Enhanced social connectivity enhances the electronic word of mouth communication, which has a significant effect on the sharing of product information through the social networks. According to Mittal, Huppertz, and Khare (2008), this exchange of information by users on online platforms depends upon how formidable the social ties are among the members of the virtual community. In other words, strong ties from close friends and family members result in more intimate relationships within an individual's social networks and can provide substantial emotional support compared to less significant personal relationships such as general acquaintances on the social networks (Pigg, & Crank, 2004).

Social-demographic profiles across social groups may influence the consumer attitudes towards the electronic word of mouth. Within homogenous societies, it is expected that the consumer behavior is rather similar to the various age groups, education levels, and gender. This phenomenon has been explained through the homophily theory for interactions among individuals on certain attributes in social networks (Apicella, Marlowe, FFowler, & Christakis, 2012). The behaviors of members of a social network indicate that acquaintances in the networks tend to have similar social and demographic characteristics such as age, race, and gender. Also, such users have common perceptual attributes in beliefs and attitudes towards electronic word of mouth (Luo & Zhong, 2015). Consumer involvement in product information, reviews, and recommendations is proof that the people socializing on online sites have to a certain extent common characteristics that or social homophily (Mouw, 2006). People who do not share common qualities are unlikely to exchange information among themselves. Homophily facilitates easier passage of information between parties concerned, and it can increase information flows to a greater homophilous audience.

The electronic word of mouth has been suggested to have a positive influence on various aspects of brand equity such as brand awareness, brand image, brand association, brand quality, and brand loyalty. The total of the effects of the electronic word of mouth communication on these aspects is increased brand equity. In this regard, the activities that increase the positive attitudes of consumers towards electronic word of mouth communication are paramount.

From the context of brand awareness, customers hear about some brands or companies through electronic word of mouth. Customers pass then the information to others on online platforms about a good name or reputation. In the process, the brand or company become famous across the virtual community and become easier for customers to recall (Barreda et al., 2015). According to Sasmita and Suki (2015), electronic word of mouth has a positive effect on brand awareness among consumers. The experience that consumers get from brand usage experience creates more brand awareness, which implies that experiences set the precedence for brand awareness in some instances (Huang, & Sarigollu, 2014). The online users must have had good experiences to share information with others who have not yet had such experiences. As such, electronic word of mouth is likely to influence brand awareness by increasing recognition of the company and or product on virtual social networks (Baldauf et al., 2003).

Electronic word of mouth plays a critical role in increasing awareness about brands. It also influences the understanding the brand by the online users. The electronic word of mouth is a powerful tool that helps the marketers to make the potential customers aware of the existence of their products. The level of engagement of the electronic word of mouth is therefore important in influencing the level of brand awareness. Intense electronic word of mouth is likely to affect strong brand awareness and vice versa (Keller, 2008).

Electronic word of mouth is also thought to have a positive impact on brand association. This may be viewed from the lenses of customers willingness to purchase the brands they like online over other brands, recommend those brands over similar products, buying the products regularly, and the fact that the brands recommended to them by the virtual community become their preferred choices.

Consumers need to trust the opinions of other users in order to make purchase decisions regarding a brand reliably. Unlike in the traditional word of mouth where individuals can meet face-to-face to clarify issues about a company or product, consumers engaging in the electronic word of mouth cannot meet face-to-face with the senders of the message to develop the trust. Therefore, whenever the users read information, reviews, and recommendations about a brand, they depend on their expertise and involvement to determine the credibility of the electronic word of mouth communication. Electronic word of mouth credibility refers to the degree to which the online users perceive the product review, information, or recommendation to be authentic and believable (Cheung, Luo, Sia, and Chen, 2009). Based on their experiences and knowledge, customers with higher expertise can discern the credible electronic word of mouth communication quickly. Consumer involvement is associated with motivation to process information. Involvement can be temporary or long term. Situational or temporary involvement involves brief engagement with a product during the purchase decision-making process. On the other hand, enduring relationship is related to the long-term engagement with a company or its products/ services. The consumer may develop a personal interest in the product or business. As such, consumers with higher involvement are likely to seek further information about the product in the form of product information, reviews, or recommendations. Little wonder that consumers in this study stated that the goods they like online or recommended to them via virtual platforms are likely to be their preferred choice over similar products, which is important to fostering brand association.

Acceptance of electronic word of mouth is based on the social activity or views of members of the online communities. The users establish the credibility of electronic word of mouth quickly and develop the confidence of accepting the electronic word of mouth communication as contained in the product information, review, or recommendation. The activities described above affect the acceptance of the electronic word of mouth, which by extension is influential on brand association.

The electronic word of mouth affects brand loyalty among online (Severi, Ling, & Nasermoadeli, 2014). There are two types of attitudes, i.e., behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty influences people through recommendations and electronic word of mouth. The greater the brand equity, the greater the possibility that they would recommend the product to other potential consumers. There is a positive relationship between brand value component and user's intention to recommend (Odin, Odin, & Valetter-Florence, 2001; Yi & Jeon, 2003). Whenever consumers feel that they received value from the company, they are more likely to recommend the products or services to other people. Also, prospective clients are likely not to recommend the product if they hold negative views of the company, product or service.

Electronic word of mouth has a positive impact on brand loyalty, which is very important enhancing brand equity. The behavior of consumers towards the brand can be improved through positive electronic word of mouth (Mechinda, Serirat & Guild, 2009). Behavioural loyalty can be measured by the actual behavior of online consumers such as the frequency of their purchases. If the consumers perceive high value from the company, product or service, they are more likely to take the action of buying or re-purchasing the product as well as recommending to other potential consumers (Backman & Crompton, 1991; Konecnik and Gartner, 2007).

The socio-demographic profiles of a customer such as a gender, level of education, and nationality among others play an influential role in the perceptions about a brand loyalty (Stabler, 1995; Um & Crompton, 1990; Woodside & Lysonski,...