The influence of eWOM communications: An application of online social network framework

Drawing on Online Social Network (OSN) Framework (Brown, Boderick, & Lee, 2007), this study examines the role of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in consumer review websites by investigating its effects on the decision-making process of consumers. OSN framework postulates that individuals consider the websites to be primary “actors” and develop social relationships with the websites themselves rather than the other online participants. This study proposes and empirically tests an integrative model of three social network constructs associated with the website (i.e., tie strength, homophily, and source credibility) and their relationship to consumers' evaluations associated with attitudes and perceived influence of eWOM effectiveness. An online survey with a sample size of 793 respondents revealed that the homophily and tie strength between a website and a consumer are important drivers of source credibility, which in turn influence attitude toward the reviews as well as the website. The attitudes formed through the perceptions of tie-strength, homophily and source credibility ultimately determines the influence of eWOM consumers' purchase decisions.