The influence of trusting social media electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) source and attitude on intention to follow the eWOM: A study of the Malaysian travellers with the moderating role of gender

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of trusting social media electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) source and attitude on the intention to follow the eWOM among Malaysian travellers. In addition, this study will look into the role of attitude as a mediator and gender as a moderator....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nur Thara Atikah Zainal
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/8955/1/mt0000000332.pdf
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Summary:The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of trusting social media electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) source and attitude on the intention to follow the eWOM among Malaysian travellers. In addition, this study will look into the role of attitude as a mediator and gender as a moderator. The belief-attitude-intention framework by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) was used as a foundation in this study with inserting the moderating role of gender in the framework. By using a survey method, a total of 370 questionnaires were distributed physically in Kota Kinabalu and via online for locations outside of Kota Kinabalu. From the 370 distributed questionnaires, approximately 270 were valid. The findings indicated that trust in eWOM source (honesty, competence, and benevolence) has significant influence on the attitude toward eWOM and intention to follow eWOM. Furthermore attitude also has positive influence on intention to follow eWOM. However, results indicated that attitude partially mediates the relationship between trust in eWOM source and intention to follow eWOM. Lastly, there are no gender differences on how Malaysian travellers trust in eWOM source. The findings have managerial and theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are provided to overcome limitations of the study.