Investigating Influential Factors on Word of Mouth in Service Industries: The Case of Iran Airline Company

The purpose of current research is to assess the influential factors on WOM in the context of Airlines and to explore the factors that are likely to enhance the chances that receivers of WOM might be influenced by such information. The statistical population was passengers who have used Iran Airline Company's services during January and February 2013. Using a pilot study of 50 samples, 296 passengers were selected with convenience-sampling method. A self-administrated questionnaire were employed to collect data. To analyze data, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. Findings show that satisfaction, loyalty, perceived value, service quality, and trust have a significant impact on WOM. Further, WOM has influenced subjective norms, attitude towards company, and referral intention. Additionally, attitude towards company had a significant impact on referral intention. However, there was not found significant relationship between subjective norms and referral intention.