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Word-of-Mouth

To what extent influences Word-of-Mouth, in the field of music, the receiver's purchase intentions?

Word-of-Mouth wisdom:

4.3 Operationalization

At this moment I have discussed a lot of theory but this theory also has to be put into practice. After researching the theory, constructs are determined. These constructs are measurable and through their items, relationships in my research model can be measured.

Ideally, each construct is measured by multiple items in order to account for measurement error (Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 2000). Validated constructs were used from previous researches (Murray, 1991; Gruen et al., 2005). All the constructs in the questionnaire were measured by multiple items with five-point Likert scales, anchoring at 1 (strongly disagree, very little influence or definitely would not) and 5 (strongly agree, complete influence or definitely would).

4.3.1 eWOM

Stauss (2000, p. 243) speaks of “Internet customer communication” as occurring when “customers report/interact about consumption-relevant circumstances on the Internet” and subsumes such online articulations under the general concept of word-of-mouth communication. Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) refer to eWOM communication "as any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet".

Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) eWOM definition is the best apply able for this research. I will use this definition in this research. Gruen et al. (2005) use this same definition in their research. In their research they validated a couple of questions regarding eWOM. I will use their questions regarding eWOM.

4.3.2 Information Sources

The information-intensive, intangible, and impersonal characteristics of online environments create considerable uncertainty as consumers try to make purchase decisions (Häubl and Trifts, 2000). Past research suggests that in information intensive environments, consumers may seek others’ opinions as a means of managing the perceived risks typically associated with cognitively demanding tasks (Dowling and Staelin, 1994).

The research methodology for this variable is based on the technique used by Murray (1991) in his study of pre-purchase information seeking behaviour of consumers of a range of goods and services. Murray’s study was designed to research the link between levels of service attribute in a purchase and the choice of pre-purchase information sources.

In Murray’s study, each respondent was asked to consider a potential purchase depicted in one of fifteen scenarios. They were then shown twenty-five information sources which would help them choose their preferred purchase option. The respondent was asked, for each of these twenty-five sources, to indicate likelihood of use and trust in each of the sources.

The reliability of the construct 'information source' was assessed, consistent with the assumptions of domain sampling theory (Churchill, 1979) and the coefficient alpha calculations of Peter (1979). All dependent measures had acceptable correlations with true scores, consistent with Nunnally's (1967) suggested reliability estimates for this type of research. I have chosen a couple of sources (i.e., questions) from Murray's twenty-five sources. These sources are more apply able for the Internet and therefore also for eWOM.

4.3.3 Motivation

Motivation incorporates readiness, willingness, interest, and desire to engage in information processing (MacInnis et al., 1991). Gruen et al. (2005) used the MOA-theory in their research. Extending this to our context, motivation is defined as a member’s desire or readiness and desire to purchase a product. The construct item (i.e., motivation) was validated. The final confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit with each item loading heavily on its expected factor and no substantial cross-loadings.

4.3.4 Opportunity

Opportunity reflects the extent to which a situation is conducive to achieving a desired outcome (MacInnis and Jaworski, 1989) or the lack of impediments for achieving a desired outcome (MacInnis et al., 1991). Opportunity was measured as a formative scale. For opportunity, a single item represented each of the three identified restrictions, and the total opportunity restriction ‘‘score’’ for each individual was calculated using the mean of the three items (each item was weighted equally). The construct item (Opportunity) was validated.

4.3.5 Ability

Ability has been conceptualized as the consumers’ skills or proficiencies (MacInnis et al., 1991). Gruen et al. (2005) define ability as the member’s skills or proficiencies to engage in knowhow exchanges with other members. Gruen et al. (2005) used the MOA-theory in their research. The construct item (Ability) was validated. The final confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit with each item loading heavily on its expected factor and no substantial cross-loadings. Extending the Gruen's definition to my context, I define ability as the member’s skills or proficiencies to engage in purchasing a product. Just like with the constructs “motivation” and “opportunity”, I used questions of Gruen et al. (2005) regarding 'ability'.

4.3.6 Receiver's Purchase Intentions

The influence of WOM on the purchase decision is the influence of the sender's WOM on the receiver's purchase decision. The Gily et al. (1998) study provided scales for measurement of this construct using a 10-item measure, but this, however, was modified. The construct was measured by using a 9 items on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Bansal et al. (2000) have provided a Cronbach's alpha of 0,7626. One was deleted because it did not apply to the product context.