Ripple Effect: How Empowered Involvement Drives Word of Mouth (Forschungsgruppe Konsum und Verhalten)

Traditional advertising is struggling, while word of mouth - the most trusted source of product information - is expanding into entirely new dimensions on the Web. For more than sixty years, scholars have been researching word of mouth, yet surprisingly few have investigated how to stimulate it. This book seeks to close that gap. Based on involvement and empowerment research, it is the first scientific study that links word of mouth to a participatory marketing approach, thus providing an answer to what may be marketing's most pressing questions: how to harness the power of blogs, Facebook, and the Social Web. Front Cover......Page 1 Foreword......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Contents......Page 10 List of Figures......Page 15 List of Tables......Page 16 1.1.1 Advertising Under Pressure......Page 17 1.1.2 The Decline of Mass Advertising Effectiveness......Page 18 1.1.3 Consumer Empowerment on the World Wide Web......Page 21 1.1.4 The Evolving Field of Consumer Marketing......Page 22 1.1.5.1 The Need for New Approaches......Page 23 1.1.5.3 Collaborative Marketing......Page 24 1.1.5.4 Word-of-Mouth Marketing as a Response to the Challenges......Page 25 1.2.1 Introduction......Page 26 1.2.2 Terminological Diversity......Page 27 1.2.3 “Awareness Word of Mouth” vs. “Evaluation Word of Mouth”......Page 28 1.2.4.1 Product-based Word-of-mouth Stimulation......Page 30 1.2.4.2 Advertising-based Word-of-mouth Stimulation......Page 33 1.2.4.3 Relationship-based Word-of-mouth Stimulation......Page 34 1.2.5 Overview: The Awareness Word-of-Mouth Marketing Framework......Page 36 1.3.1 Value of Word of Mouth Communication to the Firm......Page 38 1.3.2 Online Word of Mouth......Page 40 1.3.3 Influentials and Their Role in Spreading Messages......Page 41 1.4.1 How Can Marketing Stimulate Word of Mouth?......Page 42 1.4.1.3 “What Makes People Talk?”......Page 44 1.4.2 The Word-of-Mouth Marketing Model......Page 45 1.4.3 A Neo-Behaviourist Perspective......Page 47 1.4.4 Study Overview......Page 49 2.1.2 Early Word-of-Mouth Research in Marketing......Page 51 2.2.1 Focus on Personal Influence: Opinion Leader Research......Page 52 2.2.2 Focus on Networks: Tie-strength......Page 53 2.2.3 Focus on Personal Experience: Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction......Page 54 2.3 Definition......Page 56 3.1 Four groups of Word-of-Mouth Drivers......Page 59 3.1.2.1 Participation......Page 60 3.1.3 Post-Purchase Triggers for Word of Mouth......Page 61 3.1.3.3 Emotions......Page 62 3.1.3.4 Network Externalities......Page 63 3.1.4.1 Involvement......Page 64 3.1.4.3 Other-involvement......Page 65 3.1.4.5 Category Involvement......Page 66 3.1.4.6 Purchase Involvement......Page 67 3.1.4.7 Firm-stimulated Word of Mouth......Page 68 3.2 Summary......Page 70 4.1.1 Different Levels of Cognitive Processing......Page 73 4.1.2 Definition......Page 74 4.2.2 Situational vs. Enduring Involvement......Page 75 4.3.2 Message......Page 76 4.3.3 Media......Page 77 4.4.1 Overview......Page 78 4.4.2.2 Richins & Root-Shaffer (1988)......Page 79 4.4.2.3 Venkatraman (1990)......Page 80 4.4.2.4 Wangenheim & Bayón (2007)......Page 82 4.5.1 Involvement as Internal and Individual-specific......Page 83 4.5.2.1 File, Judd & Prince (1992)......Page 84 4.5.2.2 Mancuso (1969)......Page 85 4.6 Summary: Involvement......Page 86 5.2.2 Empowerment in Healthcare......Page 89 5.2.3 Empowerment in Human Resources Management......Page 90 5.4.1 Conceptual Considerations, Dimensions of Empowerment......Page 91 5.4.2 Measuring Empowerment......Page 93 5.5.2 Empowered Involvement Defined......Page 94 5.6 Summary......Page 96 6.1.2 Two Stages of Empirical Analysis......Page 99 6.2.2 Sample Selection......Page 100 6.2.3 Experimental Treatment and Data Collection......Page 101 6.2.6 Results......Page 103 6.2.7 Limitations......Page 105 6.3.2 Hypotheses......Page 106 6.3.3.1 Collaboration with Word-of-Mouth Marketing Company......Page 108 6.3.3.2 Blog Launch Project Description......Page 109 6.3.3.5 Control Group......Page 110 6.3.4.1 Measuring Empowered Involvement......Page 111 6.3.4.2 Measuring Word of Mouth......Page 112 6.3.4.3 Questionnaire Introduction and Wording......Page 113 6.3.5.1 Empowered Involvement as a Formative Construct......Page 115 6.3.5.2 Four Dimensions of EmI Measured Reflectively......Page 117 6.3.5.4 The Structural Path Model of Empowered Involvement and Word of Mouth (Measurement and Structural Model)......Page 118 6.3.6.1 Varianceand Covariance-based Algorithms......Page 120 6.3.6.2 Selection Criteria......Page 121 6.3.6.3 Assessing the Reflective Measurement Models......Page 122 6.3.7.1 Descriptive Statistics......Page 128 6.3.7.2 PLS Analysis......Page 131 6.4.2 Insight for Community Marketing......Page 134 6.4.3.2 Impact......Page 135 6.4.3.4 Competence......Page 136 6.4.4 Performance Measure......Page 137 7.1.1 Linking Engagement Marketing and Word of Mouth......Page 139 7.1.3 Stimulating Empowered Involvement......Page 140 7.1.3.3 Tremor: Impact......Page 142 7.1.3.5 A Basic Empowered Involvement System......Page 143 7.2.1 From Transaction-Orientation to Interaction-Orientation......Page 145 7.2.2 Interaction With a Ripple Effect......Page 146 7.2.3 The Customer As A Co-Worker......Page 147 7.3.1.2 Complete Set of Cognitions, Ways to Stimulate Them......Page 149 7.3.1.5 Cross-Cultural Applicability......Page 150 7.3.2 Further Research: Selection of Participants......Page 151 References......Page 153 Practically every marketing trade journal is buzzing “word of mouth” these days. Many practitioners consider peer-to-peer communication to be the new panacea for many, if not all of the problems that advertising is currently facing. The academic community has also rediscovered the subject as one that is highly relevant and crying out for scientific investigation and substantiation. However, four years ago, when Martin Oetting began his research project, this was not at all clear. He was intrigued by the early, weak signals he had picked up during his professional career in advert- ing, and he was motivated by a strong belief in the value of his overall ideas. He - cided to embark on a research project that has become a most valuable contribution to the field of word-of-mouth marketing. In choosing a topic well before it would - come of mainstream interest, Martin Oetting proved that he is sensitive to market d- continuities, and to the potential they provide for academic research. In his dissertation, Oetting deftly applies the framework of the positivistic tra- tion. The introductory chapters provide an overview of current changes and their major consequences in the field of marketing. The importance of word of mouth is illustrated with reference to contemporary market developments and marketing pr- tice. Everyone in marketing is talking about word of mouth (WOM). At a time when traditional advertising is struggling, conversations between consumers ́ the most trusted source of product information ́ have taken on an entirely new dimension on the Internet. While considerable research on the effects and spread of WOM has been carried out over the past sixty years, surprisingly few scholars have tried to find out how to stimulate it. Martin Oetting seeks to close that gap. Based on involvement and empowerment research, this is the first scientific study connecting word of mouth with a participatory marketing approach, thus providing an answer to what may be marketing ́ s most pressing question: how to strategically harness the power of blogs, Facebook, and the Social Web