The Impact of Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Consumers and Firms

Simon Monske investigates the influence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on consumers’ information search strategies as well as how firms can measure and strategically utilize eWOM. Based on pre-studies and an eye-tracking online experiment, the author empirically shows that consumers focus on product reviews in the beginning of information search and target product specifications before purchase decision. Moreover, Simon Monske evaluates a comprehensive firm survey and demonstrates that German firms would derive a competitive advantage by pro-foundly analyzing eWOM data but lack organizational processes to strategically utilize the gained insights.