Who Does Generate e-WOM and Why? - A Research Proposal

E-WOM is a very popular topic among marketing researchers as it gives the chance for consumers to share their reviews almost totally freely. As more and more consumers' purchase decisions rely on the experiences of others shared on the Web, it has become more important to know what the motivation pattern behind the review writing activity is. There are three research questions in the focus of the present research proposal: (1) What kinds of personality traits are typical for those who generate e-WOM? (2) Why e-WOM is generated? (3) Can personality traits forecast with higher probability whether positive or negative reviews will be posted? The conceptual framework has been developed on an interdisciplinary basis: it is a combination of differential psychology and marketing. The big five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) are included in order to explain the intention to write electronic reviews. Moreover, a new variable called perceived informational effectiveness is introduced as a potential predictor of e-WOM generation activity.