Electronic Word-Of-Mouth: An Analysis Of Consumer Motivations

Interpersonal impact and Word of Mouth (WOM) are the most significant information source when people decide toconsume. Nowadays, internet makes gather information possible between customers. The consumers’ reviews are published via internet are available for other customers who need these comments. These reviews are undeniably beneficial for other customers’ successful product and service choices. In this respect, online communities are source which give way to gathering and sharing information between customers about product and services.Tourism industry guides their customers to experienced people instead of other information sources because tourism product and services are more depend on an experience. Evaluating to tourism products and services, people first need to experience such service or product. Therefore, customers need, trust and show tendency to other customers’ experience. Tourism products are such products people have to try it to have a deep knowledge. That is why interpersonal impact and Word of Mouth (WOM) are seen as primary information sources when people decide to purchase tourism product and services.Beside of Word of Mouth, Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) expands via forums, blogs, social network sites and idea platforms. Customers express their comments, complains and suggestions about product and services via such electronic communication channels.Customers’ motivations belong to eWOM are clarified by WOM motivations in the literature, because of their conceptual closeness. A number of studies indicate that WOM communication generally occurs when customers do not be satisfied with products or services they consume. On the other hand, a group of studies emphasize that positive WOM motivations and negative WOM motivations are separated by each other. Only few studies explain WOM with specific motivations.With the lights of the mentined above, this study generated with domestic tourist which have visited city of Konya. The data of the study have done with 693 individuals with survey by face to face interview technique. As a result of our study’s factor analysis, motivation of seeking eWOM which are information search and social orientation, community membership and remuneration and motivations of providing eWOM which are self-enhancement, social interest, platform assistance and venting negative feelings have been determined.