“E-WOM effect through social media and shopping websites on purchase

intention of smartphones in India”

Asif Iqbal
Noor Alam Khan
AUTHORS Azam Malik
Mohammad Rishad Faridi

Asif Iqbal, Noor Alam Khan, Azam Malik and Mohammad Rishad Faridi (2022).
E-WOM effect through social media and shopping websites on purchase
ARTICLE INFO
intention of smartphones in India. Innovative Marketing , 18(2), 13-25.
doi:10.21511/im.18(2).2022.02

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/im.18(2).2022.02

RELEASED ON Tuesday, 12 April 2022

RECEIVED ON Saturday, 18 December 2021

ACCEPTED ON Thursday, 31 March 2022

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JOURNAL "Innovative Marketing "

ISSN PRINT 1814-2427

ISSN ONLINE 1816-6326

PUBLISHER LLC “Consulting Publishing Company “Business Perspectives”

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NUMBER OF REFERENCES NUMBER OF FIGURES NUMBER OF TABLES

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© The author(s) 2022. This publication is an open access article.

businessperspectives.org
 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

Asif Iqbal (India), Noor Alam Khan (India), Azam Malik (Saudi Arabia),
Mohammad Rishad Faridi (Saudi Arabia)

E-WOM effect through

BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES
LLC “СPС “Business Perspectives”
social media and shopping
Hryhorii Skovoroda lane, 10,
Sumy, 40022, Ukraine websites on purchase
www.businessperspectives.org
intention of smartphones
in India
Abstract
This study analyses the comparative effects between E-WOM on online shopping plat-
Received on: 18th of December, 2021
forms and social networking platforms on consumers’ purchase intention of smart-
Accepted on: 31st of March, 2022 phones in India. The E-WOM effect on buying intention has become an important
Published on: 12th of April, 2022 context for many researchers due to its increasing importance in today’s world of
digitalization. This study aims to assess the influence of E-WOM factors on these two
platforms, including E-WOM credibility, E-WOM attitude, E-WOM quantity, and
© Asif Iqbal, Noor Alam Khan, Azam
Malik, Mohammad Rishad Faridi, 2022 E-WOM format, on purchase decisions of smartphones. The data were collected us-
ing a questionnaire from 361 respondents in Uttar Pradesh, India. Multiple regres-
sion has been applied to empirically measure the influence of independent factors
(E-WOM credibility, E-WOM attitude, E-WOM quantity, and E-WOM format) on the
Asif Iqbal, Scholar, Faculty of
Commerce and Management, dependent factor (consumers’ purchase intention). The result indicates that E-WOM
Department of Commerce and Business credibility, E-WOM quantity, and E-WOM format on online shopping platforms have
Management, Integral University, India. more impact than E-WOM on social media on the purchase intention of smartphones.
Noor Alam Khan, Ph.D., Assistant
This study aids online companies in understanding the purchase patterns of consum-
Professor, Faculty of Commerce ers, and E-WOM on online shopping platforms is more effective in terms of credibility,
and Management, Department of quantity, and format as compared to E-WOM on social networking platforms toward
Commerce and Business Management, buying intention of smartphones.
Integral University, India.
Azam Malik, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Keywords E-WOM credibility, E-WOM attitude, E-WOM quantity,
Department of Human Resource E-WOM format, purchase intention
Management, College of Business
Administration, Prince Sattam bin
Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of JEL Classification M30, M31, M37
Saudi Arabia. (Corresponding author)
Mohammad Rishad Faridi, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department
INTRODUCTION
of Marketing, College of Business
Administration, Prince Sattam bin
In the current scenario, marketers endeavor to identify the purchase
Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of decision of consumers to understand consumers’ thoughts, feelings,
Saudi Arabia.
and selection patterns from different alternatives. Customers always
yearn for their satisfaction with past purchases. A variety of factors
contribute to consumers’ purchase intention, such as social, economic,
psychological, and personal ones (Mehyar et al., 2020). However, mar-
keters try to promote and push their products and services through
several advertisement mediums to lure the attention of consumers in
which verbal communication between customers about any product
has been the most powerful medium among different forms of sell-
ing techniques (Keller & Fay, 2012). Consumers have a propensity that
can be affected by what they perceive or learn from others like family,
This is an Open Access article, friends, and relatives, i.e., WOM (word-of-mouth). Previous research-
distributed under the terms of the ers have observed that word-of-mouth messages are more persuasive
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license, which permits than the standard form of circulars (Trusov et al., 2009). With the
unrestricted re-use, distribution, and advancement of digital marketing, traditional WOM has gained a new
reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited. perspective of sharing views and experiences with a huge audience,
Conflict of interest statement: i.e., E-WOM. It is defined as an online form of communication or re-
Author(s) reported no conflict of interest views given by consumers about various commodities that influence

http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/im.18(2).2022.02 13
Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

the purchase decision of other consumers. Different opinions of consumers can be circulated between
the end number of online shoppers instantly within seconds through E-WOM (Brown et al., 2007). Due
to these positive sides of E-WOM, many researchers have shown interest in online word-of-mouth and
administered a substantial volume of studies concerning E-WOM and its outcome on consumers’ buy-
ing intentions (Cheung & Thadani, 2012; King et al., 2014). The effects of E-WOM on social media have
also been widely studied, but very little attention has been paid to the comparison of E-WOM on social
networking platforms and e-commerce websites.

With the emergence of web2.0, the online reviews given by users of e-commerce websites have be-
come very influential in purchasing goods. According to the S-O-R framework (Stimulus-Organism-
Response framework), the positive online opinions adjoined and collective responses with ratings signif-
icantly influence purchase intentions (Mo et al., 2015). Social media has also emerged as an essential plat-
form in affecting consumers’ buying intention in terms of sharing online reviews. Online shopping in India
is snowballing as it is at its record height in 2021 with 780.27 million internet users despite stagnant
consumer expenditure and abatement of the economy caused by Covid-19. Online shopping platforms
are anticipating a sturdy rise in sales in the current years. It was shown that consumers have increasing-
ly employed social platforms to acquire details regarding unknown brands (Naylor et al., 2012). Social
platforms have initiated more exposure to E-WOM in the sense that individuals can share product
views and opinions with known and familiar people compared to other online platforms. Therefore,
social media are considered a valuable platform for E-WOM and consumer purchase decision-making.

The current study seeks to determine the comparative E-WOM effect between online shopping plat-
forms and social networking platforms on the buying intention of smartphones in Uttar Pradesh, India.
This study consists of four components of E-WOM, including E-WOM credibility, E-WOM attitude,
E-WOM quantity, and E-WOM format affecting purchase intentions of smartphones.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW E-WOM (electronic word-of-mouth) since it

can reach millions of people immediately with-
Research in E-WOM towards purchase deci- in a few seconds. The growth and expansion of
sions is comparatively scarce in India compared the web give rise to the development of online
to other foreign countries. However, due to the word-of-mouth (WOM), known as electronic
extensive usage of online platforms and social word-of-mouth (E-WOM), which is considered
media, research on the impact of E-WOM on the utmost and most effective form of conver-
online platforms toward consumer purchase sation among consumers for making any pur-
decisions has become one of the important is- chase decision (Huete-Alcocer, 2017). E-WOM
sues in India. Word-of-mouth has been a crucial is any positive or negative comments posted by
part of changing the consumer’s mind toward consumers online about any product or a com-
any product or service. It is a way of advertis- pany, which can reach millions of people via the
ing any good or service to consumers based on internet (Hennig-Thurau & Walsh, 2003).
their experiences. WOM can be defined as an
exchange of information with friends and rel- In the current digital marketing era, online
atives or consumers related to any product or word-of-mouth towards any product or service
a company. Huang et al. (2007) identified the has become the medium of communication be-
growing influence of WOM, and it has been ac- fore making any purchase decision. E-WOM
knowledged by marketers to be an effective and has become very important for marketers to at-
trustworthy form of marketing communication. tract the attention of consumers to their offer-
Orthodox WOM is more reliable and recogniz- ings. Therefore, many researchers showed inter-
able as it is a trustworthy source of communi- est in the effect of electronic word-of-mouth on
cation. However, with the advent of digital plat- any product or service. Doh and Hwang (2009)
forms, traditional WOM has been replaced by identified how consumers assess E-WOM infor-

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 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

mation about any product. They found that cus- tronic word-of-mouth on purchase intentions.
tomers usually rely on E-WOM messages with Kudeshia and Kumar (2017) examined the effect
high credibility. In addition, one or two nega- of social E-WOM (Facebook) on attitude toward
tive messages play an important role in devel- the brand and purchase intention of consumers.
oping a positive attitude towards the E-WOM In addition, positive reviews on Facebook affect
website and E-WOM credibility. Nadarajan et al. consumers’ brand attitude and purchase inten-
(2017) studied the influence of negative E-WOM tions. Yan et al. (2016) identified the relationship
through the qualitative method and its effect on between the adoption of E-WOM from e-com-
consumer intentions of switching mobile ser- merce websites and social media. The result fo-
vice providers. The study found that negative cused on the adoption of E-WOM based on cog-
E-WOM messages are more effective than pos- nitive cost theory. E-WOM usefulness and credi-
itive ones, which leads to consumers switching bility were the two main factors that affected the
intentions to mobile service providers. Manes adoption of EC-E-WOM and SM-E-WOM. The
and Tchetchik (2018) investigated the impact of results showed that the impact of credibility on
E-WOM in reducing asymmetric information the adoption of both kinds of E-WOM is more ef-
in online hotel booking. The results showed fective than that of usefulness. According to the
that the volume of online reviews based on list- information acceptance model (IACM), E-WOM
ed prices positively impacts hotels with high on- on shopping websites is more effective as com-
line ratings compared to hotels with low online pared to E-WOM on social media toward online
ratings. purchase intentions (Erkan & Evans, 2016). The
study showed that credibility, quality, useful-
Social media has become a vital and effective ness, adoption, needs, and attitude toward in-
tool for marketers to promote their products formation are factors of E-WOM that affect the
and services. It not only allows people to com- consumers’ purchase intention on social media.
municate with the target audience but can also Alhidari et al. (2015) identified three critical an-
be used to create brand awareness and generate tecedents of E-WOM, namely self-reliance, in-
product sales. Previous studies have shown that volvement, and risk-taking, and their influence
individuals’ online opinions on social media play on social networking sites and purchase inten-
an important role in customer decision-making tion. The result indicated that involvement and
toward any product. According to the proposed risk-taking positively affect E-WOM.
expectancy-value theory (EVT), credibility and
social capital (social interactions within so- Moreover, E-WOM plays a mediating role be-
cial networks) significantly influence consumer tween involvement on social networking sites
engagement with E-WOM on social network- and purchase intentions. Ladhari and Michaud
ing sites (Gvili & Levy, 2018). MajlesiRad and (2015) examined the effect of E-WOM on
Shoushtari (2020) determined the impact of Facebook toward hotel booking intentions, the
marketing strategy through E-WOM and social user’s trust, attitudes, and website perceptions of
networking sites on the purchase intention of booking a hotel. The study revealed that positive
luxury brands. The results confirmed that the Facebook comments significantly influence ho-
number of likes, shares, famous followers, posi- tel booking intentions, the user’s attitude, trust,
tive comments, the form of a marketing post, and and website perceptions rather than negative
the content of a marketing post were the factors Facebook comments. Javier and Correa (2014)
that significantly affected E-WOM marketing explored the influence of E-WOM on the inter-
and social networking sites toward the purchase net and SNS across different product types in
intention of luxury brands. Saleem and Ellahi customer buying behavior, including gender as a
(2017) examined the outcome of electronic word- mediating variable. The study discovered differ-
of-mouth on the purchase intention of fashion ences between the perceptions obtained from the
products on Facebook. The results showed that internet and SNS. Also, females prefer SNS rec-
homophile, trustworthiness, expertness, infor- ommendations over internet recommendations
mational influence, and high fashion involve- more than males on purchasing mobile phones
ment play a significant role in affecting elec- and travel services. Finally, Thoumrungroje

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Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

(2014) concluded that people are influenced to purchase intention of cell phone brands through
consume eye-catching products that are not re- brand image. The results revealed a significant
quired but impulsive due to extensive use of so- impact of E-WOM on the purchase intention.
cial media and reliance on E-WOM.
Moreover, brand image is more effective in
The purchase decision is directly affected by forming consumer perceptions of purchasing
consumers’ online reviews on different online cell phones. Park and Lee (2008) identified that
platforms. There are many factors of electron- E-WOM has a significant impact on consum-
ic word-of-mouth that affect consumers differ- ers’ behavioral intention based on consumer
ently based on their perception of importance. involvement, review quantity, and review type.
According to Mehyar et al. (2020), E-WOM Also, information overload has a positive influ-
quality and E-WOM quantity positively affect ence on purchase intention as a large number of
consumers’ purchase intention, while E-WOM reviews show the product’s popularity. Farzin
credibility has no such impact on purchase in- and Fattahi (2018) examined that information-
tentions. Ismagilova et al. (2020) proposed a me- al influence, sense of belonging, consumer trust,
ta-analysis and weight analysis to identify the altruism, moral obligation, and self-efficacy are
relevant factors of E-WOM on customer buying significant factors of E-WOM that affect the
intention. The study found that E-WOM use- brand image and purchase intention of consum-
fulness, trust in the message, attitude towards ers. Furthermore, positive E-WOM information
product, valence, and argument quality are the on social networking sites had a higher impact
best. on brand image and purchase intention. Finally,
Ahmad et al. (2020) examined the mediat-
Furthermore, E-WOM credibility, attitude to- ing role of online passenger trust on E-WOM
wards the website, attitude towards online shop- and airline e-ticket purchasing intention. The
ping, and emotional trust are the most effective independent variables were source credibili-
predictors that affect customers’ buying inten- ty, source similarity, source expertise, source
tions. Harun et al. (2020) identified that positive quantity, source trustworthiness, source quali-
E-WOM messages have more impact on pur- ty, and tie strength. The results showed that on-
chase intention than negative E-WOM messag- line trust plays a mediating role in E-WOM and
es, and trust positively acts as a moderator be- airline e-ticket purchasing intention. Moreover,
tween E-WOM and purchase intention. Haque there is a significant and positive relationship
et al. (2020) examined the different elements of between E-WOM and airline e-ticket purchase
negative E-WOM, which affect consumers’ pur- intention.
chase intention in Malaysia. The results con-
firmed that altruism, dissonance reduction, and
advice-seeking significantly impact consum- 2. AIMS AND HYPOTHESES
ers’ purchase intention while negative feelings
had no such impact. Sa’ait et al. (2016) studied The paper aims to determine the effect of E-WOM
four elements of E-WOM, namely accuracy, rel- on social media and online shopping platforms on
evance, timeliness, and comprehensiveness, that the purchase intention of smartphones in India.
have a significant impact on customers’ pur- This study consists of four factors, i.e., E-WOM
chase intention. The study revealed that the ac- credibility, E-WOM attitude, E-WOM quantity,
curacy of E-WOM has a stronger impact on pur- and E-WOM format affecting purchase intention
chase intention as compared to other elements. of smartphones in India.
Wang et al. (2015) found that positive review
has more impact on customer attitude towards 2.1. Research model and hypotheses
E-WOM than neutral or negative. In addition,
benefit-centric information is more effective on Based on the above-mentioned works of literature,
customer attitude and purchase intention than word-of-mouth and online word-of-mouth, known
attribute centric. Torlak et al. (2014) investigat- as E-WOM (electronic word-of-mouth), play a sig-
ed the impact of electronic word of mouth on nificant role in changing consumers’ perception

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 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

WOM E-WOM on social media vs.

Online reviews E-WOM on online shopping
platforms

E-WOM credibility
Purchase intention
of smartphones
E-WOM attitude

E-WOM quantity

E-WOM format

Figure 1. Research model

of purchase intention. Consumers’ purchase pat- on these variables. Figure 1 demonstrates the the-
tern is directly influenced by online reviews, i.e., oretical framework for the research objectives and
E-WOM through different online shopping plat- hypothesis development.
forms and social media platforms. There are many
factors related to electronic word-of-mouth that 2.2. E-WOM credibility
directly or indirectly affect consumers’ purchase
intention differently based on their perceived ef- E-WOM credibility is defined as how an individ-
fectiveness. E-WOM credibility, E-WOM quan- ual perceives the E-WOM information as trust-
tity, and E-WOM attitude (Erkan & Evans, 2016; worthy, believable, or true (Cheung et al., 2009).
Ismagilova et al., 2020; Mehyar et al., 2020) on dif-E-WOM credibility plays a critical role in chang-
ferent online shopping platforms and social media ing the mind of the consumers toward a particu-
are one of the key factors affecting purchase inten- lar product. For example, if a consumer consid-
tion. This study proposed a research model that fo- ers online reviews for any product (e.g., a smart-
cuses on the effect of electronic word-of-mouth on phone) as reliable or trustworthy, there are more
social media and online shopping platforms on the chances that the reviews can affect his/her inten-
purchase intention of smartphones. These factors tion to purchase it. Previously, E-WOM credibil-
are considered appropriate for the current study. ity has been considered an important factor in
The study applied these factors as independent var- assessing consumers’ purchase intention (Dou et
iables. The conceptual model is different from pre- al., 2012; Erkan & Evans, 2016; Hsu & Tsou, 2011;
vious research studies, as this paper has included Ismagilova et al., 2020; Mehyar et al., 2020; Park et
E-WOM format as a new independent variable. al., 2007). Since consumers consider the reviews
from online shopping platforms more trustworthy
Following Erkan and Evans (2016), E-WOM as it provides a large number of reviews with more
from shopping websites is more impactful than detailed descriptions as compared to the reviews
E-WOM from social media. The paper compares from social media (Erkan & Evans, 2016), the cur-
these two platforms towards purchase intention rent study assumes that E-WOM credibility on
on one specific product, i.e., smartphones, in Uttar online shopping platforms has more impact than
Pradesh, India. Based on Erkan and Evans (2016), social media platforms.
the study applied variables such as E-WOM cred-
ibility, E-WOM attitude, E-WOM quantity, and 2.3. E-WOM attitude
E-WOM format as independent variables and pur-
chase intention as the dependent variable. The hy- Attitude refers to the belief of an individual to-
pothesis of this study is developed and premised wards a particular entity. E-WOM attitude can be

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Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

positive or negative based on a person’s belief to- Therefore, the study proposed the following
ward a particular website or a product. E-WOM hypotheses.
attitude has been used to predict the purchase in-
tentions of consumers (Cheung & Thadani, 2012; H1: E-WOM credibility on online shopping plat-
Lee et al., 2009). E-WOM attitude varies based forms has more impact than E-WOM credi-
on the difference in perception of social media bility on social media platforms on the pur-
and online shopping platforms for purchasing chase intention of smartphones.
smartphones. This study assumed that consumers’
E-WOM attitude on online shopping platforms H2: E-WOM attitude on online shopping plat-
has more impact than E-WOM attitude on social forms has more impact than E-WOM atti-
media platforms. People are more proximal to tude on social media platforms on the pur-
where purchases occur. chase intention of smartphones.

2.4. E-WOM quantity H3: E-WOM quantity on online shopping plat-

forms has more impact than E-WOM quan-
E-WOM quantity is defined as the total number tity on social media platforms on the pur-
of online reviews or comments available on digi- chase intention of smartphones.
tal platforms (Cheung & Thadani, 2010). Many re-
views about any product (e.g., a smartphone) will H4: E-WOM format on online shopping plat-
have more influence on consumers’ decision to forms has more impact than E-WOM format
purchase it. Depending upon the number of online on social media platforms on the purchase
reviews or comments about a product, consumers intention of smartphones.
often consider it a sign of how trending and pop-
ular it is (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006; Park & Lee,
2009). As online shopping platforms have a large 3. DATA
number of reviews about any product compared AND METHODOLOGY
to social media, the paper predicts that E-WOM
quantity on online shopping platforms has more To test the hypotheses, the data was collected
impact than social media on the purchase inten- through a questionnaire. The questionnaire is
tion of smartphones. divided into three parts. The first part deals
with the demographic profile of the respond-
2.5. E-WOM format ents. The second part deals with the questions
based on frequency and preference of using so-
E-WOM format refers to the presentation of online cial media and e-commerce websites on pur-
reviews in different forms such as text-based, im- chase intention. The third part is the main body
age-based, video-based reviews, or a combination of the survey, which includes 18 items based on
of these. Previous studies suggest that consumers the variables taken for the present study. To en-
prefer online reviews with detailed information hance the validity of the data, most of the items
about a product and images or videos (Teng et al., for the theoretical constructs were adopted from
2014). Nowadays, visual reviews and audio can be previous related studies and modified according
found on different online shopping platforms like to the context of the current paper, as illustrated
Amazon, Flipkart, and social media platforms like in Table 1. The variables were evaluated using
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are the most a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 for ‘‘strongly dis-
popular for unboxing smartphones (King et al., agree” and 5 for ‘‘strongly agree.” The current
2014). On the other hand, video-based reviews are survey mainly focuses on social media users
considered more influential for consumers as they and online shoppers in Uttar Pradesh. A total of
involve a visual presentation and gestures (Xu, 2014). 361 samples were used in the current analysis (at
Therefore, this study predicts that the E-WOM for- a 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error).
mat on online shopping platforms is more impact- The study applies ANOVA and multiple regres-
ful as compared to E-WOM format on online shop- sion to reach the results of the data collected for
ping platforms for purchasing smartphones. different variables.

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 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

Table 1. Variables and items

Variables Definitions Items
I trust most of the opinions from my friend list on social media for
purchasing smartphones
The extent to which an individual I trust most of the opinions from users of online shopping platforms
1. E-WOM credibility (Dou
assesses the E-WOM information for purchasing smartphones
et al., 2012; Erkan & Evans,
2016)
as trustworthy, preferable or Social media platforms offer honest opinions for purchasing
genuine (Cheung et al., 2009) smartphones
The users of online shopping platforms offer honest opinions for
purchasing smartphones
I have a positive attitude toward recommendations of my social
media contacts for buying smartphones
I have a positive attitude towards consumer reviews of online
Learnt predisposition or tendency shopping platforms for buying smartphones
of an individual to respond
2. E-WOM attitude (Cheung I will change my viewpoint about purchasing a smartphone after
towards an object in a positive or
& Thadani, 2012)
negative way (Reza Jalilvand et al., observing a positive or negative review about that smartphone on
2012) social media platforms
I will change my viewpoint about purchasing a smartphone after
observing a positive or negative review about that smartphone on
online shopping platforms
I prefer to buy smartphones according to the number of reviews on
Total number of online reviews social media platforms
3. E-WOM quantity (Mehyar or comments available on digital I prefer to buy smartphones according to the number of reviews on
et al., 2020) platforms (Cheung & Thadani, online shopping platforms
2010) I usually buy a smartphone based on the number of comments rather
than the quality of reviews
I usually buy a smartphone based on the format of user’s reviews
(i.e., the combination of text, image, and videos uploaded) on online
shopping platforms
4. E-WOM format (Teng et The presentation format of
I usually buy a smartphone based on the users’ comments and videos
al., 2014) E-WOM (Lin et al., 2012)
uploaded about that smartphone on social platforms
I prefer to buy a smartphone based on the users’ comments and
images uploaded instead of videos
The online reviews received for any product have affected a previous
purchase decision of mine
The extent to which a buyer is A product recommendation through a former comment on online
5. Purchase intention (Erkan eager to purchase a product via platforms influenced making my own purchase decision
& Evans, 2016) digital shopping platforms (Pavlou, I tend to seek online reviews from social media platforms regarding
2003) smartphones that I intend to purchase
I tend to seek opinions from online shopping platforms regarding
smartphones that I intend to purchase

4. RESULTS hand, 4.2 % of the respondents do not consider

online reviews for purchasing smartphones.
The sample demographics are presented in
Table 2. According to the demographic profile, This study used ANOVA to confirm wheth-
237 participants were male, and 124 respond- er the demographic profile of the sample affects
ents were female (65.7% and 34.3%). Most of the online purchase intention. According to Table
respondents were adults, with 58.7% between 3, the estimation of p-values is higher than 0.05.
24 and 34 years old. According to the sample, Therefore, the demographic profile of the respond-
201 respondents consider online reviews always ents did not have a significant effect on the pur-
and 125 respondents sometimes before making chase intention of consumers. Cronbach’s alpha
a purchase intention toward smartphones. Most was exercised to determine the reliability of all the
of the respondents prefer online reviews from factors. Cronbach’s alpha figures (Table 4) for all
online shopping platforms compared to reviews dependent and independent variables are above
from social media platforms for purchasing 0.75. These values confirmed the reliability of all
smartphones (65.9 % vs. 29.9 %). On the other variables used in the present study.

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Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

Table 2. Respondents’ demographics

Measure Frequency Percentage
Gender
Male 237 65.7
Female 124 34.3
Age
18-23 87 24.1
24-34 212 58.7
35-45 38 10.5
Above 45 24 6.6
Education
Below UG 58 16.1
Graduate 125 34.6
Postgraduate 150 41.6
Ph.D. 28 7.8
Using online reviews
Always 201 55.7
For purchasing smartphones
Sometimes 125 34.6
Very rare 29 8.0
Never 6 1.7
Social media or Online shopping
Social media reviews 108 29.9
Platforms for purchasing
Online shopping 238 65.9
Smartphone platforms reviews
None of the above 15 4.2

Table 3. ANOVA of purchase intention

ANOVA Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 2.117 9 .235 .896 .546
Gender Within Groups 5.250 20 .263
Total 7.367 29
Between Groups 3.833 9 .426 1.345 .276
Age Within Groups 6.333 20 .317
Total 10.167 29
Between Groups 10.700 9 1.189 .892 .549
Education Within Groups 26.667 20 1.333
Total 37.367 29

Table 4. Cronbach’s alpha values

Variables Number of Items Cronbach’s Alpha
Online purchase intention 4 .815
E-WOM Credibility 4 .796
E-WOM Attitude 4 .786
E-WOM Quantity 3 .816
E-WOM Format 3 .807

4.1. Analysis of hypothesis testing 35.7% of the variance, and all the variables were
significant predictors of purchase intention. To
According to the overall findings, a significant evaluate the hypotheses, a multiple regression
statistical impact for all the variables was found tool was carried out to determine the impact of
with r2 of .357 and a p-value of .000 (Table 5.1 independent variables on dependent variables, as
and 5.2). It indicates that the model explained shown in Table 5.3.

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 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

4.2. Analysis of E-WOM credibility impact than E-WOM attitude on online shopping
platforms. Hence, H2 is not supported.
According to the multiple regression analysis, the
E-WOM credibility on social media platforms 4.4. Analysis of E-WOM quantity
did not have a significant effect on buying inten-
tion of smartphones (B = .98, p = .059), whereas According to the results, E-WOM quantity on so-
E-WOM credibility on online shopping platforms cial media platforms does not have a significant
has a significant impact on the purchase intention effect on the buying intention of smartphones (B
of smartphones (B = .181, p = .002). Hence, H1 is = .009, p = .895). Next, E-WOM quantity on on-
supported. line shopping platforms also does not significantly
affect buying intention of smartphones (B = .086,
4.3. Analysis of E-WOM attitude p = .242). Since the beta value of E-WOM quan-
tity in online shopping platforms is higher, H3 is
As shown in Table 5.3, E-WOM attitude on social supported.
media platforms has a significant impact on the
purchase intention of smartphones (B = .226, p = 4.5. Analysis of E-WOM format
.000). Next, E-WOM attitude on online shopping
platforms also has a significant impact on the pur- As shown in Table 5.1 and 5.2 below, E-WOM
chase intention of smartphones (B = .195, p = .001). format on social media platforms (B = –.011, p =
Since the beta value of E-WOM attitude on social .867) and E-WOM format on online shopping plat-
media platforms is higher, it has a more significant forms do not significantly affect buying intention
Table 5.1. Value of R square
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .598a .357 .342 .57967

Note: a. Dependent Variable: Purchase intention. b. Predictors: (Constant), E-WOM FORMAT on shopping platforms,
E-WOM ATTITUDE on social media, E-WOM CREDIBLITY on shopping platforms, E-WOM QUANTITY on social media, E-WOM
CREDIBLITY on social media, E-WOM ATTITUDE on shopping platforms, E-WOM FORMAT on social media, E-WOM QUANTITY
on shopping platforms.

Table 5.2. Value of P

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Regression 65.680 8 8.210 24.433 .000b
1 Residual 118.277 352 .336
Total 183.957 360

Note: a. Dependent Variable: Purchase intention. b. Predictors: (Constant), E-WOM FORMAT on shopping platforms,
E-WOM ATTITUDE on social media, E-WOM CREDIBLITY on shopping platforms, E-WOM QUANTITY on social media, E-WOM
CREDIBLITY on social media, E-WOM ATTITUDE on shopping platforms, E-WOM FORMAT on social media, E-WOM QUANTITY
on shopping platforms.
Table 5.3. Multiple regression analysis of dependent and independent variables
Unstandardized Standardized
Model Coefficients Coefficients t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) .994 .225 4.417 .000
E-WOM CREDIBLITY on social media .083 .044 .098 1.893 .059
E-WOM ATTITUDE on social media .228 .054 .226 4.262 .000
E-WOM QUANTITY on social media .007 .054 .009 .132 .895
E-WOM FORMAT on social media –.011 .067 –.011 –.168 .867
E-WOM CREDIBLITY on shopping platforms .161 .051 .181 3.160 .002
E-WOM ATTITUDE on shopping platforms .188 .057 .195 3.266 .001
E-WOM QUANTITY on shopping platforms .073 .063 .086 1.171 .242
E-WOM FORMAT on shopping platforms .059 .067 .060 .876 .382

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Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

Table 6. Results of hypothesis testing

No. Hypothesis Results
E-WOM credibility on online shopping platforms has more impact than E-WOM credibility on social media
H1 Supported
platforms on the purchase intention of smartphones
E-WOM attitude on online shopping platforms has more impact than E-WOM attitude on social media platforms
H2 Not Supported
on the purchase intention of smartphones
E-WOM quantity on online shopping platforms has more impact than E-WOM quantity on social media
H3 Supported
platforms on the purchase intention of smartphones
E-WOM format on online shopping platforms has more impact than E-WOM format on social media platforms
H4 Supported
on the purchase intention of smartphones

of smartphones (B = .060, p = .382). Since the beta for the purchase intention of a particular product.
value of E-WOM format on online shopping plat- Therefore, this paper studied consumers’ preferenc-
forms is higher, H4 is supported. es through online shopping platforms and social
platforms on the purchase intention of smartphones.
Therefore, the effects of E-WOM on these two plat-
5. DISCUSSIONS forms have a significant difference in terms of their
effectiveness towards the purchase intention of a
This study is based on a comparative review of the particular product.
effect of E-WOM on e-commerce platforms and so-
cial media platforms on the purchase intention of The study proposed four hypotheses, and the result
smartphones. The domination of WOM (word-of- of the hypothesis testing are revealed in Table 6. The
mouth) and E-WOM toward any product has been multiple regression analysis showed that E-WOM
widely studied (Doh & Hwang, 2009; Nadarajan et attitude on social platforms, E-WOM attitude on
al., 2017; Saleem & Ellahi, 2017). Due to the increase online shopping platforms, and E-WOM credibil-
in the utilization of e-commerce platforms and so- ity on online shopping platforms have a significant
cial networking platforms, E-WOM has turned out statistical impact on consumers’ purchase intention.
to be an important tool and the medium of commu- Whereas the other variables (E-WOM credibility
nication for making any purchase. Many research- and E-WOM quantity on social media platforms,
ers have identified the impact of E-WOM on social E-WOM quantity on online shopping platforms,
networking platforms and e-commerce platforms E-WOM format on social media, and E-WOM for-
separately on consumers buying intention (Alhidari mat on online shopping platforms) do not have a
et al., 2015; MajlesiRad & Shoushtari, 2020; Mehyar significant impact on purchase intention. Based on
et al., 2020; Park & Lee, 2008) and have found it ef- the hypotheses framed, three hypotheses were sup-
fective. In addition, Erkan and Evans (2016) and ported, and one hypothesis was rejected as shown
Yan et al. (2016) determined the comparison be- in Table 6. The study focuses on the comparison of
tween E-WOM on social media and shopping web- E-WOM on online shopping platforms and social
sites toward purchase intention. However, the im- media platforms toward the purchase intention of
pact of these two online platforms on a particular smartphones. The results compared the beta values
product has not been compared yet as their influ- of these two online platforms. According to the be-
ence may have different findings and results for dif- ta values, E-WOM credibility, E-WOM quantity, and
ferent product categories. On online shopping plat- E-WOM format on online shopping platforms have
forms, the reviews and comments are more detailed more impact on purchase intention of smartphones
and in large numbers than social networking web- as compared to social media platforms, except for
sites with limited comments. E-WOM attitude on social media, which has more
impact than E-WOM attitude on online shopping
On the contrary, most of the reviews on social me- platforms. Hence, it is clear from the study that on-
dia are from familiar people like friends and relatives, line shopping platforms are more effective than so-
whereas online shopping platforms contain reviews cial media platforms for the purchase intention of
from unfamiliar people, which may or may not be ef- smartphones. Furthermore, the results may vary on
fective for consumers’ purchase intention. Therefore, these two online platforms based on the online re-
the effects of E-WOM on these two platforms have a views for different product categories with different
significant difference in terms of their effectiveness variables.

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 Innovative Marketing, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2022

CONCLUSION
The main objective of this study was to evaluate E-WOM influence on online shopping platforms
and social media platforms on buying intention of smartphones. Based on the result of the study
and factors of E-WOM, E-WOM through online shopping platforms has more impact than social
media E-WOM as online reviews on shopping websites are more proximal and direct to where buy-
ing takes place, and also it is more detailed and comprehensive. Accordingly, results on E-WOM
through online shopping platforms have more impact than E-WOM through social media plat-
forms. Moreover, based on the overall findings, this paper concluded that E-WOM affects the pur-
chase intention of consumers, and E-WOM on online shopping platforms is more effective in terms
of credibility, quantity, and format as compared to E-WOM on social platforms toward purchase
intention of smartphones in Uttar Pradesh, India.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Although this study clearly explains the comparison of E-WOM on social media and online shop-
ping platforms toward the purchase intention of smartphones, it has some limitations. First, this
study is based on the limiting factors affecting E-WOM on social networking platforms and E-WOM
on online shopping platforms toward consumers’ purchase intention. There are many other factors
of E-WOM on these two online platforms, which can influence purchase intentions. Second, the
study focuses on one specific product category, i.e., smartphones, so the effect of E-WOM on social
platforms and online shopping platforms may be different for different product categories. Third,
the study was conducted only in Uttar Pradesh, India. Thus, it is complicated to conclude the re-
sults for other states of India. Consumer preferences and purchase intentions may vary in different
states of India and other countries.

Although the factors considered represent the comparison of E-WOM on social networking plat-
forms and online shopping platforms, future research should include other factors of E-WOM re-
lated to purchase intentions. Moreover, further studies can also emphasize the impact of E-WOM
on other product categories and also in other states of India with different sample sizes and
populations.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Conceptualization: Asif Iqbal, Noor Alam Khan.
Data curation: Asif Iqbal, Noor Alam Khan.
Formal analysis: Asif Iqbal, Azam Malik.
Investigation: Asif Iqbal, Noor Alam Khan.
Methodology: Noor Alam Khan, Azam Malik.
Project administration: Azam Malik.
Software: Mohammad Rishad Faridi.
Supervision: Noor Alam Khan, Azam Malik, Mohammad Rishad Faridi.
Validation: Asif Iqbal.
Visualization: Azam Malik, Mohammad Rishad Faridi.
Writing – original draft: Noor Alam Khan, Azam Malik, Mohammad Rishad Faridi.
Writing – review & editing: Noor Alam Khan, Azam Malik, Mohammad Rishad Faridi.

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