Consumer Behaviour and Social Network Sites: The Impact of Negative Word of Mouth(Routledge Focus on Business and Management)

This book provides a solid understanding of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) by taking the reader through the process of information diffusion from rumour generation in times of traditional word of mouth (WOM) to negative social eWOM and examining how consumers process it. Consumer Behaviour and Social Network Sites tackles different themes relating to negative eWOM. Drawing on both intensive scientific research and professional examples, it bridges the gap between the academic and professional worlds. The book contrasts negative social eWOM to traditional WOM while discussing the specificities of different social networking sites in diffusing such information. It looks at why and how consumers decide to create, share and react to negative social eWOM, suggesting that there are more reasons than are commonly presumed for consumers to articulate themselves on these platforms. It also provides an appreciation of web users' behaviours with regards to negative social eWOM and how it can alter their decision-making journey. The book concludes with several strategies and key takeaways to deal with and prevent negative social eWOM. Most books on WOM are purely professional and lack the theoretical contextualization of the issue. Moreover, they often provide insights on brand-to-consumer conversation but not consumer-to-consumer (C2C) communication. This short book provides marketing academics, students and practitioners with an important insight into these C2C communications that can potentially be harmful to brands.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Once upon a word… 2. … social media amplified the voice for WOM 3. People started talking negatively about brands on SNS… 4. … this impacted other consumer’s reactions 5. So how can you deal with NSWOM? Conclusion

About the Author :
Sarah Zaraket received her PhD in Management Sciences at Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Paris, France. She conducts research on consumer behaviour on social media and has taught several courses on digital marketing, research methodology and innovation. Sarah is the founder of a digital marketing agency based in Paris and has assisted many brands in successfully building their social media strategies.

Review :
"The effect of positive and negative word of mouth is a major player in an offline or online brand’s reputation. While many academic studies have paid much interest in positive word of mouth, this book highlights the importance of studying negative word of mouth in social media contexts. Being amongst the few to contextualize NEWOM in academic literature, this book adds value to today's social media communications studies. It is highly recommended to academics and professionals who wish to gain in-depth understanding on the topic." - Ghalia Boustani, Ph.D. Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne "Consumer Behaviour and Social Networks is a powerful and timely investigation that offers captivating insights into the workings of the human mind on a subject still unexplored and unknown to many: Why do consumers take on social networks to spread negative word of mouth about brands? As a global marketer, this compelling research has opened my eyes as to better understanding the underlying reasons consumers choose to voice and spread negative reactions on social networks but more importantly how it can be avoided. Dr. Sarah Zaraket’s detailed studies and results are told in engaging ways of storytelling which makes it relatable and delightful to read. This book should be an essential reading and guide for all marketing professionals, business owners but most importantly consumers." - Janane Haddad, Marketing Manager, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA "Since people tend to believe negative WOM more than positive WOM, it is important to understand it in order to manage it. Sarah Zaraket 's book is very useful in understanding such negative behavior and its impacts on brand reputation. Through a rich literature review, it clearly identifies the sources and the mechanisms of such negative word of mouth. It also explains how to deal with this Negative e-WOM." - Regine Vanheems, Université de Lyon 3 "This book is the ultimate reference on electronic word of mouth and its negative impact on businesses. Dr Sarah Zaraket goes deep into an aspect of online marketing that we so far know little about. A must-read to all marketing professionals and academics who want to be equipped with all the right resources to understand and react to negative word of mouth on social media. The future (and present) of businesses relies on this understanding." - Hicham Zaraket, Founder of The Rocket Marketing "This book integrates in the context of social media, the electronic word of mouth (eWOM) as a powerful and essential tool for the marketing strategy. It bridges the gap between theory and practice through a strong conceptual framework that can be useful for professionals as well as academics and students. By integrating consumer-to-consumer interactions it proposes new insights for brands that wants to understand the reason why consumers want to react to the negative e-WOM." - Héla Cherif-Benmiled, Associate professor at University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne