Electronic Word-of-Mouth: A Comparison of Stated and Revealed
Behavior on Electronic Discussion Boards
John Fong, Suzan Burton
Macquarie
University, Australia
Abstract
The important influence of peer recommendations on consumer purchases has been strongly established. However, recent growth in electronic discussion boards has increased the potential for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) between people who have never met. This study examines and compares the extent of eWOM on electronic discussion boards within U.S. and China based websites. Using online surveys (N = 214) and observation of discussion postings (N = 3029), data was collected from the "Digital Photography" discussion boards on eBay, Yahoo, and Google (U.S. based websites) and EachNet, Sina, and Netease (China based websites). The findings indicated both similarities and differences in the information giving and seeking behaviors, with the U.S. participants more likely to provide information than Chinese participants, resulting in the U.S. based discussion boards containing a richer source of information relative to requests.
Introduction
A number of studies have shown that Word-of-Mouth (WOM) has an important influence on consumer purchases, and that this influence is particularly strong when a consumer is considering the purchase of a new product or service (Engel, Blackwell, and Kegerreis 1969; Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955). For example, Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) demonstrated that WOM was the most important source of information for purchasing new household items, while Engel, Blackwell, and Kegerreis (1969) showed that WOM was influential for consumers in selecting services such as an automotive diagnostic center.
Most previous studies of WOM have examined face-to-face WOM, but the recent growth of electronic discussion boards has created an additional channel for product recommendations and endorsements between people who have never met. Anecdotal reports have suggested that these online recommendations can be influential in subsequent choice (Goodman 2001; The Guardian 2004). However, there has been limited investigation of the content of electronic discussion boards, and the type of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on these sites, and no studies which have specifically analyzed and compared eWOM across sites based in different countries. This study draws on the current knowledge of virtual communities and investigates the extent of, and type of, eWOM through an ethnographic and textual analysis of these virtual communities. Discussion boards (a form of virtual community) are analyzed because they provide a venue where participants come together to give and seek information, and thus they provide an important channel for eWOM to take place.
This study presents an analysis and comparison of the information giving and seeking behavior of consumers from different cultural backgrounds on discussion boards. It contributes to the literature on cross-cultural analysis in a computer-mediated environment, and extends the literature on online behavior and different cultural practices of participants in a virtual community. The stated and revealed behavior of participants is compared using online surveys and observational methods, respectively. This study contributes to the knowledge of marketers by providing a better understanding of the differences in the behavior of consumers on discussion boards based in different cultures. Knowledge of these differences in behavior can potentially be used by marketers to overcome barriers to consumer choice.
Literature Review
eWOM and Discussion Boards
Prior research on WOM has largely focused on interpersonal (or face-to-face) influence (Anderson 1998; Bearden and Etzel 1982; Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955; Rogers 1983). However, with the advent of the Internet, consumers are increasingly turning to computer-mediated communication for information to use in their decision- making process (Dellarocas 2003; Kozinets 2002). Dellarocas (2003) found that online channels such as eBay (which acts as a marketplace for buyers and sellers to meet) is an important form of technology for building trust and fostering cooperation amongst consumers in these virtual communities. Hagel and Armstrong (1997) suggested that such virtual communities, which provide consumers with the ability to develop relationships, exchange information and buy and sell products, are a good source of eWOM for both consumers and marketers. Other examples of virtual communities (e.g. Yahoo and Google) have flourished on the Internet and researchers are increasingly recognizing that these virtual communities are an unexplored resource of eWOM (Evans et al. 2001; Godes and Mayzlin 2004; Pitta and Fowler 2005).
Virtual communities are an important source of eWOM because they host discussion boards and other online communication tools like chatrooms, newsgroups, and listservs which serve to draw together people with similar interests. Discussion boards in particular, present an opportunity for participants to share their experiences, opinions, and knowledge with others on specific topics, and thus allow eWOM between like-minded people to take place. These discussion boards cover diverse topics including digital cameras, comic books, automobiles, musical groups, motion pictures, cigars and almost any other interest that could be imagined. There are even discussion boards devoted to discussions about fast-food restaurants like Taco Bell and McDonalds (Kozinets 1999). This specificity of discussion topics means that participants have ready eWOM available on almost any potential purchase decision. Participants of discussion boards read and post messages that are sorted by date and subject, and also respond to discussion threads. The discussion postings and threads offer a good form of "written" digital conversation and thus provide a written record of eWOM for researchers to explore. Godes and Mayzlin (2004) used discussion boards to study the volume and dispersion of eWOM, while Evans et al. (2001) adopted a qualitative approach to investigate what consumers' attitudes were towards online interaction within virtual communities.
A recent study by Nelson and Otnes (2005) on the roles the virtual community plays in wedding planning found that discussion boards were being used by brides to solicit advice, opinions, and information, as well as to gain emotional support, social comparison, and camaraderie. The brides used the discussion board to exchange marketing-related information, recommend websites, and share stories, thus resulting in eWOM for other brides. They were in essence leaving a trail of product/service recommendations for other consumers with similar interests. The Nelson and Otnes (2005) study supported Kozinets' (1999) suggestion that discussion boards have wide exposure and influence because they are perused frequently by participants who share a similar interest. Bickart and Schindler (2001) suggested that this sort of information source may have greater credibility than marketer-generated information as the personal opinion and account of a participant who has experienced a product is judged to be a trustworthy source because the participant is a fellow consumer, perceived to have no vested interest in the product and no intentions to manipulate the reader.
Prior research on eWOM has therefore shown that discussion boards present an opportunity for people with similar interests to meet and share their opinions. The opinions presented form a potentially credible source of eWOM and this information may be influential to other participants on the discussion boards. However, there has been limited research on the extent of information giving and seeking across discussion boards based in different cultures.
Information Giving and Seeking on U.S. and China Based Discussion Boards
The large number of discussion boards being hosted on websites has made discussion boards a focus of some recent eWOM research (Godes and Mayzlin 2004; Kozinets 2002; Nelson and Otnes 2005). However, there has been limited research on the extent of, and type of eWOM on these discussion boards. For example, some discussion boards may be used to share experiences, and provide limited opportunity for eWOM. In contrast, other discussion boards may have high levels of information giving and seeking, which provides greater opportunity for eWOM to take place. This information giving and seeking behavior can result in both positive and negative eWOM, and may influence the subsequent purchase decisions of participants. Hence, discussion boards are a good source of information to investigate the information giving and seeking behavior, and the extent of influence that participants have on each other within virtual communities.
The extent of information seeking online is particularly important because it may be an indicator of intended purchase. A study of more than 10,000 participants from 82 countries found that demographics alone are not important predictors of online buying (Bellman, Lohse, and Johnson 1999). Instead, Bellman, Lohse, and Johnson found that the most important predictor of online buying behavior was online product information search. Consumers who had a ‘wired lifestyle' and used the Internet for most of their activities (such as reading the news, paying bills, etc.) naturally turned to the Internet to search for product information.
In the current study, U.S. and China based websites were compared because China's online communities are poised to become the second largest in the world, after the United States (CIA 2005). Chinese and Americans have been shown to display different information search behaviors due to social and cultural differences, yet there have been only limited studies of any differences in online behaviors. For example, in an offline cross-cultural study of information search, Doran (2002) found that Chinese consumers were likely to search more and rely more heavily on personal sources of information than American consumers, who did less directed search, and relied more on their internal knowledge and personal experience with products. Doran suggested that the Chinese, living in a collectivist culture, were less likely to make individual decisions and more likely to let reference groups influence choices, while the Americans were more individualistic and were more likely to make their final decisions alone. This supports Wong, Chan, and Leung's (2005) argument that collectivist societies regard information sharing as a way to share favors while individualistic societies tend to focus on self-reliance. Their findings suggested that the Chinese rely on information obtained within a reference group to a greater degree because it is seen as a "relationship-enhancement behavior". Individualistic societies, on the other hand, place a value on self-reliance, achievement, and independence which suggests that Americans may be more vocal online, and may offer more information than their Chinese counterparts (Ordonez de Pablos 2005).
One study has shown that Chinese engage in more WOM behavior than White Caucasians (Lam and Lin 2003). The authors suggested that this difference is associated with the Chinese group's cultural focus on "Guanxi" which tends to encourage information seeking and giving behavior. [The word guanxi originates from the Chinese culture and can be translated into "personal network", "connections" or "special relationship".] Information exchange has been found to be one of the key variables affecting guanxi (Leung, Wong, and Tam 1995). It is thus likely that people who are highly adapted to guanxi may exchange more information and therefore engage in more WOM. However, whether this same behavior extends to the online environment has not been investigated, and this study aims to investigate the extent of this behavior online and draw a comparison between Chinese and Americans.
In summary, the literature review shows that despite the known importance of (offline) WOM, there has been limited research on eWOM in virtual communities such as discussion boards. Furthermore, whether the information giving and seeking behaviors of discussants on discussion boards differ across different cultures has not been investigated. Although prior research has established that the Chinese appear to engage in more WOM, are more likely to be involved in information search, and rely more on reference groups for their purchase decisions, there has been no research on any difference in information giving and seeking behavior across electronic discussion boards based in the United States and China. Understanding any differences between the American and Chinese market segments is important to allow marketers to explain and possibly influence online buyer behavior, particularly in the rapidly expanding Chinese market. As such, marketers who are selling consumer products, and/or performing online marketing in these countries will increasingly need to investigate the various channels that consumers use to interact with each other and be aware of the possible implications that come with these channels.
Method
This study investigated the behavior of individuals who visited six discussion boards that have a focus on "Digital Photography". These discussion boards were based on six different web portals: eBay, Yahoo, Google, EachNet, Sina, and Netease. Of these six discussion boards, three were U.S. based (eBay, Yahoo, and Google) and three were China based (EachNet, Sina, and Netease). The languages used on the U.S. and China based discussion boards were English and Mandarin, respectively. [Mandarin (also known as "Putonghua") is the official language in China, although there are numerous dialects, such as Cantonese, spoken mainly in Hong Kong. The written language of Mandarin is commonly known as Chinese (simplified) and is used primarily in China while a different written form, sometimes referred to as Chinese (traditional) is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.] These discussion boards were selected because they are based on popular web portals and thus attract a high number of web traffic (Elgin 2004; Fannin 2003; Gomes-Casseres 2001; Kessler 2004).
The U.S. based discussion boards on eBay, Yahoo, and Google need little introduction as they have all managed to build global brands and create businesses with market capitalizations of over $50 billion since 1995 (Klein 2005). The China based web portals are less well known outside China, but all have large numbers of visitors. EachNet is the Chinese equivalent of eBay, with a similar layout, and provides a forum for Chinese language auctions and discussions. It was purchased by eBay in 2003 and currently has a total of 10 million registered users (Hof 2003; "Open Sesame to the Net Highway" 2005). Sina and Netease are both popular news portals in China and have approximately 127 million and 298 million registered users, respectively (Qiang 2004; Turner 2000; Web Industry Trends 2005).
Although the registered number of users of a Chinese language web portal is not indicative of the number of China based users (as some registered users may be from other Mandarin speaking countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore), it shows that the portal is frequented by a large number of individuals and as such, provides an opportunity for discussions (and potentially eWOM) to take place on its discussion boards. According to recent estimates, one fifth of the 90 million Chinese internet users regularly make use of discussion boards to read news, search for information, and debate current affairs (Qiang 2004). Therefore, discussion boards are a good source of information for product users or for potential purchasers who wish to find out more about a product before making a purchase, and thus provide a potentially important source of eWOM for purchasers close to the decision process, when eWOM is most likely to occur and is most likely to be influential (Kozinets 2002).
As the aim of this study was to generate a deeper understanding of eWOM, the research design was based on an examination of the contents of the respective discussion boards and a quantitative analysis of an online survey. Specifically, the research contrasts actual discussion postings (for the revealed behavior) and the findings from online surveys (for the stated actual behavior) of participants on the discussion boards in a bid to better understand the information giving and seeking behavior of discussants. Data was collected from all the "Digital Photography" discussion boards since digital cameras are considered to be a "technological product" with high consumer involvement (Poiescz and deBont 1995). Digital cameras are a common product category where consumers in both the United States and China are likely to do research on the internet before making a purchase and, as a consequence, online information giving and seeking behavior can be observed.
To determine the revealed information giving and seeking behavior of discussants, online observation was carried out on all the discussion boards, and all discussion postings that related to Digital Cameras were downloaded daily over a three-month period from March to May 2004. Postings were then examined and coded for a number of measures: Category of Postings, Information Giving and Seeking, Name and Type of Brand Mentioned, Country of Origin effects, and Length of Postings. Coding was performed by a bilingual research assistant and a reliability check was conducted by the bilingual first author. For the U.S. based discussion boards, 2060 discussion postings over a 90-day period from 656 participants were downloaded. For the China based discussion boards, 969 discussion postings over the same 90-day period from 540 participants were downloaded. In all, a total of 3029 discussion postings from 1196 participants were downloaded, coded and analyzed.
In addition, an online survey was conducted on all the discussion boards to determine the stated information giving and seeking behavior of respondents. The length of the survey was intentionally kept short and the number of questions limited to 14 to decrease non-response error due to respondent fatigue (Deutskens et al. 2004). The survey was initially developed in English and pre-tested, using a convenience sample of ten respondents to ensure readability, and to detect any logical errors of questions. Changes were made after the pre-test and the survey was retested. Since there were no further problems found at this stage, the survey was translated from English to Mandarin using the back-translation technique (Campbell and Werner 1970). To ensure translation equivalence, the bilingual first author translated the English version of the survey to Mandarin. It was subsequently back-translated into English by a bilingual research assistant. Both versions of the survey were compared and the minor discrepancies identified were amended. The Mandarin version of the survey was then pre-tested using ten Mandarin speaking individuals. This stage of testing did not identify any problems.
The English and Mandarin versions of the surveys were uploaded onto a separate website independent of the six discussion boards. A discussion posting encouraging interested participants to click on a URL (which brought the respondent to the separate website) was posted on each of the six discussion boards. To ensure that the posting remained current, the survey request was re-posted every two weeks. This increased the probability that all interested members of, and occasional visitors to, the discussion boards had an opportunity to participate in the online survey. The invitation to participate in the survey remained on the discussion boards of the six websites from October to December 2004. In the three month period, there were 157 respondents from the U.S. based websites and 57 respondents from the China based websites. In all, a total of 214 participants completed the online survey.
Results
Profile of Respondents
Characteristics of the online survey respondents, their use of, and evaluation of the discussion board information are shown in Table 1. A large majority of the respondents from both sites were male (82.2% for U.S. based discussion boards and 77.2% for Chinese participants). There was no significant difference in the gender of the respondents (chi-square = 0.668; p > 0.1), but an examination of the ages of the American and Chinese respondents showed significant differences (t = 9.78; p < 0.001). Chinese respondents were younger on average, with the largest group of respondents from the 25 to 34 age group (61.4%) while the U.S. respondents were on average older, between the ages of 45 to 54 years (42.7%). There was also a significant difference in the number of average visits per week to the discussion board (t = 4.59; p < 0.001). The U.S. respondents reported more visits to the discussion boards (5.53 mean visits per week) compared to the Chinese respondents (mean = 3.79).
Respondents were asked to rate the importance of information obtained from the discussion boards in their last purchase on a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being "Not important" and 7 being "Very important". There was a significant difference in the stated importance of information obtained from the discussion boards (t = 2.25; p = 0.025). Chinese respondents rated the importance of information obtained from the discussion board higher, on average (mean = 5.75) compared to their U.S. counterparts (mean = 5.37). However, a large majority of both groups appeared to view the information as important, with 91.8% of the Chinese and 86% of the U.S. respondents rating the importance of the information for their last purchase as 5 out of 7 or higher.
Table 1. Profile of Respondents
Information Seeking Behavior-Direct Requests for Digital Camera Recommendation
To investigate the stated behavior of information seeking, respondents were asked whether they had ever requested a recommendation about a particular brand or product on a discussion board. A total of 128 (81.5%) respondents from the U.S. based discussion boards and 48 (84.2%) respondents from the China based discussion boards reported that they had requested a recommendation at some time. There was no significant difference (z = 0.47; p > 0.1) in the proportion of respondents who had requested a recommendation across the two national groups. The online survey thus showed no difference in the stated information seeking behavior of U.S. and Chinese respondents.
The actual use of discussion boards was examined to assess the revealed behavior of information seeking by discussants on the six discussion boards. All discussion postings were coded to identify direct requests for digital camera recommendations and the percentage of requests for information, as a percentage of all postings on the website, was then calculated. The following is a typical example of a direct request for recommendation which was downloaded from eBay. Six participants responded, discussed and recommended a total of three brands of digital cameras:
"I'd like a recommendation/opinion on a digital camera for shooting Indoor Basketball games as well as using for eBay items. I need something that would capture fast indoor shots as well as close-ups. Any input as to Brand would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your input." [April 12, 2004]
Table 2 shows the results of the comparison of direct requests for recommendation across the U.S. and China based discussion boards. There was a significantly higher percentage of discussion postings containing direct requests for recommendation on the China based discussion boards (p < 0.001). The higher percentage on the China based discussion boards (21.9% as compared to 7.2%) suggests that the Chinese participants were more likely to request product recommendations and/or information, thus possibly increasing the likelihood of, and influence of, eWOM.
Table 2. Postings with Direct Requests for Recommendation
Information Giving Behavior-Giving a Digital Camera Recommendation
The stated behavior of the American and Chinese respondents was measured by asking whether they had ever given recommendations about a particular brand or product on a discussion board. Significantly more of the U.S. respondents (72.6%) stated they had given a recommendation about a brand or product, compared to 33.3% of the Chinese respondents (z = 5.47; p < 0.001).
To measure the revealed information giving behavior of the discussants, the percentage of discussion postings containing recommendations for digital cameras was calculated and recorded for all the websites. The following discussion posting is a typical example of a digital camera recommendation which was preceded by a request for recommendation (similar to that in the earlier section) that was downloaded from Google:
"I strongly recommend Canon Ixus if you can afford it... from my short time with it, it seems to do a great job. Anyway, if you do buy one, I'm convinced you'll love it." [May 12, 2004]
Table 3 shows the results of the comparison of direct digital camera recommendations across the U.S. and China based discussion boards. There was no significant difference in the percentage of discussion postings containing digital camera recommendations on the U.S. and China based discussion boards (p = 0.184). The similar percentages (17.2% as compared to 19.1%) suggest that the participants on all the discussion boards were equally willing to provide product recommendations when requested.
Table 3. Postings which Gave a Digital Camera Recommendation
Balance of Information Giving and Seeking Behavior
The balance of information giving and seeking
behavior on the websites was examined to investigate whether
discussion boards from either culture contained a higher percentage
of information or seeking. Chinese discussion boards contained
approximately equal proportions of information giving (19.1%
of postings) and seeking (21.9% of postings) (z = 1.46; p >
0.1). Individual Chinese participants were, however, significantly
more likely to have engaged in information seeking (84.2%) than
information giving (33.3%) (z = 6.45; p < 0.001).
U.S. discussion boards, in contrast, had a significantly higher
proportion of recommendations than requests (z = 9.93; p <
0.001) with more than twice the number of discussion postings
giving a digital camera recommendation (17.2%) than postings
requesting one (7.2%). Like the Chinese, the U.S. survey respondents
reported a higher percentage of past information seeking (81.5%)
than information giving (72.6%), but the difference was only
significant at the trend level (z = 1.89; p = 0.059). These
differences in the balances of information seeking and giving
meant that the U.S. sites were a relatively richer source of
recommendation, with more than two recommendations for every
posting (17.2% recommendations for 7.2% requests). Chinese requests,
in contrast, received less than one recommendation on average
per request, with 21.9% of postings containing requests, and
only 19.1% containing recommendations.
Discussion
This is the first study to examine and contrast the stated and revealed behavior of U.S. and Chinese participants on electronic discussion boards. It provides some important insights into eWOM on discussion boards and highlights the differences in online consumer behaviors in the area of information giving and information seeking.
The profile of the respondents who participated in the online survey indicates that a majority were males and this correlates with the profile of internet users in the United States and China (The Economist Intelligence Unit 2001). Although the Chinese respondents were generally younger, a common trait was the perceived importance of information obtained from the discussion boards. The importance placed on the information obtained was high for both groups of respondents but even higher for the Chinese, even though there were fewer responses, on average for each Chinese request compared to the frequency of U.S. recommendations. Despite this relatively low ratio of information giving to seeking, the high average rating of the importance of information obtained from the discussion boards reinforces previous suggestions from the literature that discussion boards are useful to the participants and may influence potential purchase decisions.
The results from the online survey also showed that the U.S. respondents visited the discussion boards more frequently (mean 5.53 visits per week) than the Chinese respondents (mean 3.79 visits per week). Kozinets (2002) has suggested four distinct virtual community "types" that categorize members of a virtual community, based on their strength of social ties and their interest in the consumption activity within the community: Tourists, Minglers, Devotees and Insiders. Tourists in general lack strong social ties and deep interest in the community. They only maintain a superficial or passing interest in the consumption activity. Minglers maintain strong social ties, but have minimal interest in the consumption activity. Devotees are the opposite of Minglers in that they maintain strong interest in the consumption activity but are less involved and thus have minimal social attachments to the community. Finally, Insiders are those who have strong social ties to the online group and to the consumption activity. They are often long-standing and frequently provide advice to other members.
In this study, the frequency of visits could be seen as a measurement of ‘social ties' while an ‘interest in the consumption activity' measured in this study could be indicated by the extent of information giving and seeking on the discussion boards. If so, the higher visit frequency and higher levels of information giving of the U.S. participants suggest that there are more Insiders than Devotees in the U.S. virtual communities while the reverse is true for the China based discussion boards. According to Kozinets' (2002) typology, Insiders are considered very knowledgeable about their topic area and this is partly supported by the study of the revealed behavior, with U.S. discussants being less likely to seek information. As a result, the expertise of the U.S. discussants may make them opinion leaders for their peers. Identifying such opinion leaders is important for marketers as these consumers may in turn influence other consumers in their purchase decisions.
Although the stated behavior of respondents from the survey suggests equal information seeking for both the U.S. and Chinese participants, the observation of the revealed behavior from the discussion boards suggests that the Chinese discussants appeared to request more product recommendations than the U.S. discussants. For example, there was a significant difference in the percentage of postings directly requesting recommendations for digital cameras on the Chinese discussion boards (p < 0.001); almost three times as many postings on EachNet, Sina, and Netease directly requested recommendations (21.9% as opposed to 7.2% on the U.S. discussion boards). This behavior could perhaps be related to the age of the Chinese participants. Sorce, Perotti, and Widrick (2005) found in a survey of attitude and age differences in online buying that younger consumers searched for more products online than did older consumers. Although a limitation of their study was the sample of only U.S. consumers and the limited nature of the sample (300 staff and students of a U.S. university), our study suggests that the Chinese respondents, being younger in age, exhibited similar traits to the younger U.S. consumers studied by Sorce, Perotti, and Widrick (2005), and thus were more likely to request product recommendations.
This study also found a significant difference (z = 9.93; p < 0.001) in the information density of the U.S. sites, with more than twice the number of discussion postings giving a digital camera recommendation (17.2%), than postings requesting one (7.2%). This was consistent with the stated behavior, with a higher proportion of U.S. respondents stating that they had given information (72.6%) than Chinese respondents (33.3%). Reichheld (1996) found that the element that correlated most with company growth was the willingness of customers to recommend a company or brand. Reichheld argued that consumers who recommend products to their friends incurred certain risks. If their friends act on their recommendation and try a product, the consumer may subsequently lose credibility should their friends be unsatisfied with the product. Although there is no face-to-face interaction on discussion boards, this social risk is still relevant in an online context, because participants engaging in product recommendations still need to maintain credibility so that their opinions will be taken seriously by others on the discussion board. The lower proportion of Chinese respondents giving recommendations may suggest that this social risk is weighed more heavily by Chinese respondents, resulting in higher relative importance for any one recommendation, as shown by the higher average reported importance of website information by the Chinese, even though there was less information available in response to each request.
While U.S. and Chinese respondents were equally likely to have requested information at some time, Chinese websites contained a higher proportion of requests for information (21.9% compared to 7.2% of U.S. postings). This suggests that the Chinese participants used the discussion boards more as a means to obtain consumer-based information rather than to provide recommendations about their experiences with products. This behavior is consistent with prior research that suggests that consumers visit discussion boards to interact with other consumers and look for opinions, seek facts, and recommendations from others (Evans et al. 2001; Pitta and Fowler 2005). However, because the U.S. respondents were on average older, and visited the discussion boards more often, they were perhaps more likely to engage in information giving behavior. This behavior may also reflect greater cumulative information on the U.S. based discussion boards over time, and a greater norm of information giving.
Limitations and Future Research
While the results show some important differences between participants on the six discussion boards, a limitation of this study is the inability to ascertain the true nationality of the participants on the U.S. and China based discussion boards. Although the discussion boards are based in the United States and China, respectively, it is unlikely that the participants represented only Americans and Chinese, since there are no barriers to inhabitants of other countries using these discussion boards. However, the results provide the first comparison of English and Mandarin speaking respondents on different language discussion boards.
The relatively small size of the survey also suggests caution in interpreting its results. Since there is no count of individuals visiting the discussion boards, the researchers lacked the ability to determine the true response rate, because the invitation to participate in the survey was posted on the discussion boards. Future surveys could be administered via an email list of the participants on the discussion boards as it enables greater control and possibly a higher response rate (Ilieva, Baron, and Healey 2002). However access to email lists of participants is problematic, and excludes unregistered visitors to the discussion board, so it is likely that the potential for nonresponse error will remain an issue for future studies.
Although, as discussed above, both the observation of discussion postings and online surveys have limitations, this study showed that the combined use of both methods can result in a richer understanding of the behavior of participants on the discussion boards. Given the lack of studies looking at eWOM on discussion boards based in different countries, our study has benefited from the two different methods which have shown both similarities and differences in the information seeking and giving behavior of participants from two different cultures. Future research may benefit from replicating this use of two data collection methods to see if the results from this study are replicated with other product categories on other discussion boards.
Conclusion
This study extended the literature on eWOM to include the information giving and receiving behavior of participants on electronic discussion boards based in different cultures. The U.S. and China based discussion boards were dominated by males and the Chinese participants were younger and on average visited the discussion boards less frequently. A large majority of both groups however, rated the importance of information obtained from the discussion board as 5 out of 7 or higher.
The findings also showed that discussion boards are certainly providing a venue for eWOM to take place. Stated information seeking behavior was similar for both groups but the revealed behavior indicated that the Chinese were three times more likely to request information. The Americans appeared to engage in more information giving than information seeking behavior and this could perhaps be attributed to their higher age and visit frequency. In conclusion, this study has contrasted the information giving and seeking behavior of consumers on U.S. and China based discussion boards. Increasingly, marketers will need to take into consideration the growth of electronic discussion boards, which have become an additional channel for product recommendations and endorsements between people who have never met. This eWOM is likely to have an influence on consumers' subsequent purchase choice, and understanding differences in the behavior of participants on different discussion boards can allow marketers to detect, and potentially overcome, barriers to consumer choice.
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About the Authors
John Fong is a Ph.D. candidate at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He is also an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate Accounting and Commerce Centre in the Division of Economic and Financial Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. John.Fong@mgsm.edu.au
Suzan Burton is an Associate Professor at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.Suzan.Burton@mgsm.edu.au
