Three Essays on Consumer Behavior in Virtual Community: Ewom, Online Trust, and Dynamic Impacts on Brand Selection

This dissertation, "Three Essays on Consumer Behavior in Virtual Community: EWOM, Online Trust, and Dynamic Impacts on Brand Selection" by Yiyan, Stella, Li, 李藝燕, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled Three Essays on Consumer Behavior in Virtual Community: eWOM, Online Trust, and Dynamic Impacts on Brand Selection submitted by Stella Yiyan Li for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in June 2007 As increasing numbers of people log into Virtual Communities (VCs) to meet new friends and solve problems, VCs have become an important social phenomenon that attracts research attention from different disciplines. Existing consumer research focuses on the individual motives behind participation in VCs and how brand-based VCs affect consumers' brand loyalty, but neglects the roles of the other important form of VCs, the product-based VCs. Moreover, the dynamic influences remain open to questions. By incorporating social capital theory and emerging theories relevant to VC research, this thesis aims to advance knowledge about the dynamic influences of product-based VCs on consumer behaviour in terms of eWord-of Mouth (eWOM), trust formation, and brand selection. The first study examines eWOM in VCs. WOM is a highly respected form of marketing information. However, because it is difficult to study WOM in the face-to-face context, researchers have limited understanding of its sources of effectiveness or its effects beyond product and brand communications. By conducting a netnography of beauty product enthusiasts in China in order to understand eWOM, the findings of this iistudy reveal four categories of responses: (1) sources of social capital, (2) brand choice facilitation, (3) persuasion knowledge development, and (4) consumer reflexivity. The thesis also proposes a model and offers a set of postulates to guide future research directions. The second study tests the antecedents and consequences of trust formation in VCs. IS research investigates the domains of interpersonal and system trust using streams of research based on different paradigms. Considering the continuous proliferation of VCs, this thesis proposes an integrative model that combines both trust components. Drawing insights from social capital theory, this study extends the research context to a VC sponsored by a commercial portal. Furthermore, it postulates that (1) structured VC contents and members' cognitive and relational motivations are antecedents to both trust components; (2) interpersonal trust is distinct from, and an important driver of, system trust; and (3) both trust components stimulate member online loyalty which enhances value for the sponsoring portal. Tests of the model's hypotheses using an online survey of 899 VC members support propositions in this study and offer both research and managerial implications. The third study examines the dynamic influences of VCs on brand selection. Various studies prove that brand-based VCs strengthen participants' brand loyalty. What remains unclear is how product-based VCs affect consumers' brand selection and how those impacts evolve over time. Using a longitudinal study of 277 members from the same VC, I demonstrate that individual motives (informational and social) and susceptibility to VC normative influence not only enhance consumers' loyalty toward a favourite brand but also increase variety-seeking intentions and consideration set size in iiibrand selection. Informational motives play dominant roles in enhancing variety-seeking intenti