Understanding why consumers engage in electronic word-of-mouth communication: Perspectives from theory of planned behavior and justice theory

• Consumers’ positive and negative eWOM Intentions are related to diverse antecedents.
• Consumers who intend to post positive eWOM are more driven by attitude.
• Consumers who consider posting negative eWOM are more driven subjective norm.
• For negative experience, satisfaction is largely driven by distributive justice.
• For positive experience, interactional and procedural justice influence satisfaction.

Word-of-mouth has been recognized as a dominant factor in shaping consumer behavior. However, what drives consumers to post their positive and negative purchasing experiences in the online environment remains an important but largely neglected issue. Building on the theory of planned behavior, the justice theory and the social psychology literature, this study aims to investigate the antecedents of consumers’ intention to engage in eWOM communication. Specifically, we separate negative and positive eWOM into two distinct concepts since the motivations underlying consumers’ decisions to post positive and negative eWOM are likely to be different. Through an experience survey, respondents were required to reflect on recent positive or negative shopping experiences. The findings reveal that intentions to engage in positive and negative eWOM communication are associated with different antecedents. Consumers who intend to post positive eWOM appear to be more driven by underlying attitudinal factors, whereas those who consider posting negative eWOM are more driven by social pressure. In addition, consumers’ feelings of satisfaction are largely driven by their perception of distributive justice for negative shopping experiences. In contrast, satisfaction is significantly influenced by the perceptions of interactional and procedural justice for positive shopping experiences. Our results provide insights and implications for scholars and managers.