Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

The Influence of eWOM within The Online Community on Consumers’

Purchasing Intentions-The Case of The Eee PC
Fang-Mei Tseng1 and Fang-Yu Hsu2

Department of International Business, Yuan Ze University, Taiwan

Graduate School of Management, Yuan Ze University, Taiwan

fmtseng@saturn.yzu.edu.tw1

s949410@mail.yzu.edu.tw2

Corresponding Author: s949410@mail.yzu.edu.tw

Abstract
The novelty of the study consists in applying eWOM communications and Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) in the context of online communities to explain user’s intention
toward innovative product / service. Our findings indicated that eWOM effect is a key
antecedent of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment. The
recommender’s levels of expertise, seeker’s levels of expertise, trust, and information quality
are also critical in building eWOM communication. The current study builds an effective
Internet marketing strategy, and guides managers in selecting an appropriate strategy for the
consumers in the online communities.

Keywords: electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), information quality, online community,

technology acceptance model (TAM), purchasing intentions

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

1. Introduction
Following the emergence and development of Web 2.0, online communities have
become a popular place for online users to search for and collect information on other
consumers’ shopping experiences, evaluations, and opinions (Kozinets, 2002; Park & Lee,
2009). They not only increase the speed at which information is transmitted, but also decrease
the information asymmetry. This phenomenon is the so-called electronic word of mouth
(eWOM) effect. Due to the eWOM communication of the online community mainly provides
user-oriented information that describes a product in terms of its usage, and also measures the
product’s performance from a user’s perspective (Bickart and Schindler, 2001; Chang and Liu,
2009), it is higher and more effective persuasive effect than traditional marketing tools (Katz,
Lazarsfeld, & Roper, 1955; Bickart, 2002). Most consumers have a tendency to read all
available and in-depth information, especially in the case of recently-innovated products.
Furthermore, around 74% of online users in Taiwan indicate that the evaluations of the online
communities or blogs are likely to influence their purchase intention (MIC, 2008). Therefore,
firms should build the effective Internet marketing strategy, and understand the eWOM effect
for the consumer’s purchase intention.
The technology acceptance model (TAM) is a popular model used to explain a user’s
adoption intention toward a new technology or product (Davis, 1989). Furthermore, Davis,
Bagozzi, and Warshaw (1992) have extended the original TAM to encompass the perceived
enjoyment experienced by consumers as a major factor that causes them to use a new
technology or product. In order to enhance the ability of TAM for online applications, TAM
needs to include the influences of the consumer’s intention via online interaction, i.e., eWOM
communication (Monsuwe, Dellart, & de Ruyter, 2004). However, few studies explore how
eWOM affects the consumers’ purchasing intentions. To address the observed gaps in eWOM
communication studies and TAM research, this paper engages in analyzing the eWOM effect
within online communities when customers decide/intend to purchase an innovated product.
The Eee PC, based on joint R&D conducted by Asus and Intel, is the first Netbook to be
introduced to the consumer market. Its emphasis on an ethereal surface, its convenience of
portability, ease of use, and low-price has brought about a wave of unrest in the Notebook
market. It is sought in a new market the demand for which has not yet been met, and it is also
observed that the demand for mobile Internet access has increased. The Eee PC seeks to
satisfy the consumer’s needs and might even transform his life into one in which portable
fittings are predominant. It is part of a disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation shifts
customer expectations and competition to new performance attributes and ultimately leads to
the failure of incumbents (Christensen, 1997). Furthermore, the Netbook was among the top
10 focal products in 2009 (TRI, 2009). Firms expect that the Eee PC can bring about a
universal and wide digital applications market. Therefore, this study chooses the Eee PC as
our research target and uses the determinants of the variables of eWOM communication as

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

the external variables to examine the individual’s acceptance behavior in regard to the Eee PC
in the online communities.
This paper is focused on deciding whether and how to integrate TAM with the eWOM
communication theory to analyze the influence when customers decide/intend to purchase a
new product in the online communities. Through this study, the researchers can identify
antecedents of TAM in regard to the consumers’ intention to purchase an innovated product
so that the managers can build an appropriate and valuable marketing strategy for the
consumers in the online communities.

2. Literature review
2.1 Word-of-mouth Communication
Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is a valuable marketing resource for consumers
and marketers (Hu, Liu, & Zhang, 2008), and it is becoming increasingly recognized as an
important form of the recommender-seeker relationship, the richness and strength of the
message and its delivery, and various personal and situational factors (Sweeney, Soutar, &
Mazzarol, 2008). The online communities’ members often possess rich knowledge or
know-how to solve the problems for seekers. The phenomenon of helping behavior among
members may become a major source and channel for information in the decision making
process for the purchase of products (Chu, 2009). Therefore, the eWOM has proved to play a
major role in influencing consumer purchasing decisions (Katz et al., 1955). The above
studies spell out the importance of eWOM communication for online marketing and
purchasing decisions of consumers.
The seeker’s level of expertise is the main characteristic of the seeker that is expected to
affect his or her susceptibility to influence (Bansal & Voyer, 2000). Previous studies
investigated the importance of the recommender’s and the seeker’s expertise based on the
influence that a recommender’s WOM had on a seeker, i.e., his perceived influence. The
findings supported the effect of the seeker’s expertise on the impact of perceived influence,
which was suggested to be negative (Gilly, Graham, Wolfinbarger, & Yale, 1998; Bansal &
Voyer, 2000; Wangenheim & Bayon, 2004). More specifically, if the seeker’s level of
expertise is high, he is less affected by the other’s recommendation (Herr, Kardes, & Kim,
1991). Therefore, we hypothesize the following:
H1: The seeker’s level of expertise negatively affects perceived influence.
The expertise of the source has frequently been mentioned as affecting the influence of a
piece of information (Herr et al., 1991; Yale & Gilly, 1995). Gilly et al. (1998) indicated that
either a positive or a curvilinear relationship exists between product knowledge and
experience and external search. Nevertheless, the evidence supports the existence of a
positive relationship between expertise and perceived influence. Therefore, we present the
following hypothesis:

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

H2: The recommender’s level of expertise positively affects perceived influence.

Nowadays the online communities are the key sources of knowledge sharing and
eWOM communications. Trust is an important factor and antecedent of behaviors in social
interactions (Lin, Weng, and Hsieh, 2003). It is defined as the information source is perceived
to be believable, trustworthy, and reliability by the information receivers (Petty & Cacioppo,
1986; McCole, Ramsey, & Williams, 2009). Moreover, trust has been found to significantly
affect the recipients’ perceptions and opinions when the recommender has specific expertise
(Wangenheim & Bayon, 2004). Thus, we offer the following hypothesis:
H3: The recommender’s level of expertise positively affects trust.
Within the context of the online environment, trust has a significant effect on consumer
behavior (Hoffman, Novak, and Peralta, 1999). When buying a product, consumers have a
tendency to collect all available information. The importance of information quality and trust
has been emphasized and has had a positively significant effect in previous studies on
information seeking (Rieh, 2002; Cheung, Lee, & Rabjohn, 2008). Based on the above
discussion, we hypothesize:
H4: Trust positively affects the information quality.
During the information seeking process, consumers are concerned about the detailed
information that they miss, resulting in their becoming less satisfied, less confident, and more
confused when provided with too much information. Some studies showed that information
quality had a positive valuable predictor of the perceived ease of use and perceived
usefulness of online communities (Lin & Lu, 2000; Lin, 2007). In the CMEs, customers’
purchasing decisions regarding a firm’s products and services can be determined by their
cognition of the information quality, i.e. perceived influence. The customers are willing to
purchase or adopt the new products/services when they perceive that the information meets
their needs and requirements. Consequently, we hypothesize the following:
H5: Information quality positively affects perceived influence.

2.2 Technology acceptance model

The technology acceptance model (TAM) was proposed by Davis (1989), and is one of
the better known models for explaining the intention to use a technology or product. A key
purpose of TAM is to provide a basis for tracing the impact of external variables on internal
beliefs and intentions. It involves two primary predictors, namely, the perceived ease of use
(PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU), in addition to the dependent variable behavioral
intention (BI). PEOU is the perception that a particular system or application is easy to use,
and PU is defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a technology would
enhance his or her performance (Davis, 1989). Davis et al. (1992) extended the original TAM
to encompass perceived enjoyment (PE) as an additional motivational determinant of
acceptance. PE is regarded as the extent to which the activity of using computers is perceived

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

to be enjoyable in its own right, apart from any performance consequences that may be
anticipated. It has been confirmed that PE is a major factor that drives consumers to use a
new technology (Davis et al., 1992). Therefore, we incorporate PE into the research model.
Depending on the expertise of the recommender and the seeker’s perception, sources, and
information quality, the same content will engender different levels of perceived influence.
TAM emphasizes the importance of how external variables can affect the individuals’
internal decision process when it comes to using a system within organizations (Saade & Kira,
2007). We therefore posit the following hypotheses:
H6a: Perceived influence positively affects perceived usefulness.
H6b: Perceived influence positively affects perceived ease of use.
H6c: Perceived influence positively affects perceived enjoyment.
TAM suggests that PEOU, PU and PE directly affect an individual’s behavioral
intention to use the product (Davis et al., 1989; Venkatesh & Davis, 1996, 2000; Venkatesh
& Morris, 2000). Moreover, PEOU has a strong linkage with PU and PE (Davis et al., 1989;
Venkatesh & Davis, 1996, 2000; Venkatesh & Morris, 2000; Kim, Ferrin, & Rao, 2008).
Thus, we expect that:
H7a: Perceived ease of use positively affects purchase intention.
H7b: Perceived ease of use positively affects perceived usefulness.
H7c: Perceived ease of use positively affects perceived enjoyment.
H8: Perceived usefulness positively affects purchase intention.
H9: Perceived enjoyment positively affects purchase intention.
The research model is based on concepts from eWOM communication and TAM
researches that consist of trust, the recommender’s and seeker’s levels of expertise,
information quality, perceived influence, and PE along with the traditional components of
TAM. There is both a theoretical and a managerial need for an in-depth study of the way in
which value is created in the consumer’s intention to purchase.

3. Methodology
3.1 Sample
In order to target the consumers who had already visited the online community within
the past six months, an e-survey was employed. The respondents were asked to complete the
questionnaire and allowed them to visit multiple communities. A total of 473 responses were
collected and 415 usable questionnaires, which were submitted by 207 males and 208 females,
were analyzed. The effective response rate was 87.7%, a good rate of return in survey
methodology. Of the respondents, 91.1% were under 35 years of age and 99.3% had a
bachelor’s degree from a college or university or above. It was shown that the respondents
were young and educated. The majority of the respondents were members of the communities,
and they had some experience in reading and writing comments within the online community.

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

3.2 Measurement instrument

The survey used a multi-item approach with each construct being measured by a few
items to determine the construct’s validity and reliability. The measurements of the construct
were measured on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to
“strongly agree” (7). Before conducting the main survey, we performed a pre-test and a pilot
test to validate the instrument. The pre-test included 50 graduate students who were
experienced online community participants, and often visited and commented on the online
community.

4. Empirical results
4.1 results and analysis
A structural equation modeling (SEM) technique is applied to test the results of
hypotheses testing. The measurements of the construct, the factor loadings, composite
reliability (CR), and the average variance extracted (AVE) are presented in Table 1. All items
exceed the recommended level of 0.5 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998). In this study,
the measurement scales was made in the stage of employing the confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) for the purpose of delineating more valid constructs. The Cronbach’s alphas of the
nine constructs were found to range from 0.79 (the seeker’s level of expertise) to 0.97 (the
intention to purchase), which shows that the measures were internally consistent because they
were all above the recommended criterion of 0.7 (Hair et al., 1998). The each CR and AVE is
above 0.7 and 0.5, respectively (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Discriminant validity are shown in
Table 2 which valuates through the squared root of the AVE for each construct. The results
suggest adequate convergence validity and discriminant validity for all measures.
Furthermore, no pair of measures had correlations exceeding the criterion (0.9 and above), as
suggested by Hair et al. (1998), implying that no multicollinearity existed among the various
constructs.
Table 1 Construct measurement
Construct Cronbach’s Supporting
Item Measures Loading
[CR, AVE] alphas literatures
ES1 I know very much about Eee PC. 0.79
The seeker’s level Bnsal and
of expertise (ES) ES2 I have had experienced about purchasing or using Eee PC. 0.91 0.79 Voyer
[0.94, 0.81] (2000)
ES3 I am the expert buyer. 0.81
I think that the recommenders on community are
ER1 0.77
The knowledgeable.
recommender’s ER2 I think that the recommenders on community are capable. 0.80 Bnsal and
level of expertise 0.91 Voyer
(ER) ER3 I think that the recommenders on community are expert. 0.86 (2000)
[0.88, 0.65] I think that the recommenders on community are
ER4 0.80
experienced and trained.
Trust I trust the information offered by members of the Venkatesh
Trust1 0.90 0.94
[0.87, 0.7] community. and Davis
Trust2 I trust community’s information to be true. 0.93 (1996)

Trust3 People on community are trustworthy. 0.86

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

I trust community’s information to be equitable and

Trust4 0.91
rational.
IQ1 Community offers clear and sufficient information 0.90
Information IQ2 Community offers relevant and necessary information 0.86 Kim et al.
quality (IQ) 0.91
IQ3 Community offers update information. 0.85 (2008)
[0.96, 0.89]
IQ4 Community offers information that satisfies my need 0.85
This comment has had an influence on my thinking about
PI1 0.95
Perceived Eee PC Wagnenheim
influence (PI) PI2 This comment has made me think about using Eee PC 0.96 0.95 and Bayon
[0.87, 0.7] (2004)
PI3 This comment influenced my decision to use Eee PC 0.93
PEOU1 It is easy to learn to use Eee PC 0.89
Perceived ease of Davis et al.
use (PEOU) PEOU2 It is easy to use Eee PC 0.92 0.89 (1989); Kim
[0.95, 0.86] et al. (2008)
PEOU3 It is easy to become proficient in using Eee PC 0.92
PU1 I find using Eee PC usefulness 0.88
Perceived
Kim et al.
usefulness (PU) PU2 Using Eee PC can improve my job/ learning performance 0.80 0.90
(2008)
[0.94, 0.83]
PU3 Using Eee PC can increase my job/ learning effectiveness 0.82
PE1 The process of using Eee PC is enjoyable 0.93
Perceived
Davis et al.
enjoyment (PE) PE2 While using Eee PC, I experienced pleasure 0.93 0.95
(1992)
[0.97, 0.92]
PE3 Overall, I believe that Eee PC is playful 0.92
Int1 I will definitely buy Eee PC in the future 0.96 Davis et al.
Intention to (1989);
purchase (Int) Int2 I intend to purchase Eee PC in the future 0.97 0.97 Venkatesh
[0.92, 0.75] and Davis
Int3 I expect to purchase in the future 0.95
(2000)

Table 2 Correlation Matrix

ES ER Trust PI PU PEOU PE Int IQ
ES 0.9*
ER -0.30 0.81*
Trust -0.41 0.77 0.84*
PI -0.59 0.55 0.69 0.84*
PU -0.30 0.55 0.61 0.42 0.91*
PEOU -0.30 0.52 0.59 0.52 0.58 0.93*
PE -0.32 0.62 0.67 0.55 0.71 0.58 0.96*
Int -0.28 0.53 0.57 0.50 0.59 0.52 0.76 0.87*
IQ -0.42 0.67 0.79 0.66 0.63 0.59 0.74 0.65 0.94*

Note:* values in the diagonal are square root of the average variance extracted (AVE).
The results of the structural model tested are illustrated in Figure 1. Using path analysis,
the predicted relationships among the exogenous and endogenous constructs were tested.
Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) was employed to estimate the structural parameters
of the model. Most of the model fit indices from the CFA demonstrated a good fit with
χ 2 (df ) = 806.4 (340), χ 2 / df = 2.37, the goodness-of-fit index (GFI)= 0.89, the root mean
square error of approximation (RMSEA)= 0.06, the adjusted goodness-of-fit index
(AGFI)=0.84, the normed fit index (NFI)= 0.98, and the non-normed fit index (NNFI)=0.99.

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

Although the χ 2 statistic exhibited a significant p-value, the relatively large sample size of
our study (N=415) offset the seriousness of the effect of the statistic on the validity of the
measurement model (Anderson and Gerbing, 1982). It is suggested that χ 2 / df should not
exceed 3, that NFI and NNFI should exceed 0.9 (Bentler and Bonett, 1980), and that GFI and
AGFI should be greater than the recommended value of 0.8 (Seyal, Rahman, and Rahim,
2002). Collectively, the results of the CFA satisfy the recommended level for the goodness of
fit, which implies that the measurement model generally fits the sample data well.
Perceived
The seeker’s level of usefulness
0.1***
expertise
-0.13*** (2.12)
(-3.22) 0.43*** 0.42***
(8.55) (8.14)
0.25*** -0.02
(2.49) 0.69*** (-0.27)
The recommender’s Perceived Perceived Intention to
level of expertise influence ease of use purchase
(12.14)

0.27***
0.93*** 0.70*** 0.62*** (4.97)
(11.53) (6.55) (11.02)
0.91*** 0.75***
(19.35) (14.26)
Informational Perceived
Trust
quality enjoyment

Figure 1 Results of structural model analysis

4.1 Discussion
This paper examined the structural equation model by testing the hypothesized
relationships among the variables for eWOM communication and TAM. In Figure 1, the
significance of the path loadings provides the results for all the hypotheses, except H7a. The
results significantly supported H1 and H2 by showing that the seeker’s level of expertise and
the recommender’s level of expertise were the predictors of perceived influence, which was
consistent with previous research on eWOM communications (Gilly et al., 1998; Bansal and
Voyer, 2000). This paper also hypothesized that trust would mediate the effect of the
recommender’s level of expertise with information quality, and the results showed a strong
linkage between the recommender’s level of expertise and trust, providing support for H3 and
H4. A probable reason for this finding is that a good recommender’s level of expertise with
the online communities can contribute towards the high information quality and trust in its
contents. The information quality significantly affected perceived influence, and supported
H5. In the online communities, trust is likely to prove helpful in determining the information
quality. Such information quality offers critical levers that can be used to influence the
seekers’ perceived influence regarding the value of eWOM communication. The more that
consumer’s trust in an online community, the less effort they have to make to scrutinize the
details of the online community to assess the online product reviews.
Furthermore, H6a to H6c were also supported and exhibited perceived influence has a
significant impact on the PEOU, PU, and PE. The PEOU was also found to significantly and

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

positively affect PU and PE, providing support for H7b and H7c. The results also showed that
PU and PE had significant effects on the intention to purchase, thereby supporting H8 and H9.
Moreover, the findings are in line with previous studies (Davis et al., 1989; Venkatesh &
Davis 1996, 2000; Venkatesh & Morris 2000; Kim et al., 2008). Contrary to expectations, the
PEOU had no influence on the purchase intention. Unexpectedly, PEOU was not found to
impact purchase intention as much as PU and PE. As noted earlier, our research target, the
Eee PC, is a new kind of notebook, referred to as a netbook. A netbook is a lightweight,
low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop suitable for web browsing, email and
general purpose applications, and is also regarded as a second notebook. According to the
survey of MIC (2008), the main reasons for purchasing an Eee PC or netbook are that it is
easy to carry and it can be used to access the Internet while on the move. The method of
operation of the Eee PC is similar to that of full-featured notebooks. Therefore, the results
have shown that PEOU did not have a significant impact on the intention to purchase.

5. Conclusions
While eWOM communication is a critical issue that has been addressed in prior research,
it is also important to comprehend the pre-adoption of an innovated product or technology
and the factors that drive them. The major contribution of this study is that it facilitates
understanding of consumers’ pre-adoption behavioral intentions via the eWOM
communication of online communities. The factors underlying eWOM communication affect
managerially relevant outcomes, namely, the value of the firm’s offering and the customers’
future purchase intentions. As a second contribution, we have also sought to find a theoretical
and practical explanation that will assist researchers and managers as they seek to understand
and manage the eWOM communication among online communities. Since new innovated
product development in uncertain environments is highly risky and more susceptible to
technological innovations than to meeting customer demand, the integration of the eWOM
communication of the online communities with market orientation serves to strengthen the
product design and technical competence of firms operating in uncertain environments. The
study reveals that firms should focus on existing innovations without ignoring customer
needs (Johne and Snelson, 1988). In addition, firms should develop an appropriate Internet
marketing strategy to manage the online community.
Although this study provides valuable insights into the TAM context, it has several
limitations. First, even though our results hold for the Eee PC, we did not observe a similar
set of results for other innovated products. Second, although we tested some popular online
communities in Taiwan, other platforms may play an important role in explaining the impact
of eWOM communication on consumer acceptance behavior, such as Amazon.com, Blogspot,
and the Bulletin Board System. Future research could consider some significant variables
between the dimensions of eWOM communication such as tie strength and similarity, and

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Fang-Mei Tseng and Fang-Yu Hsu

moderating variables such as the experience in the community.

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