In partial fulfillment of the requirement for

MBA - FT (2014-16)

Subject: Dissertation Report

Topic: A study on Electronic Word of Mouth and its Effects on the

Consumer Purchasing Decision

Submitted to:
Prof. Monali Chatterjee

Submitted by:
Soham Dutta
Roll No. 141256

Institute of Management, Nirma University

Date of Submission: 25/01/2016
0|Page

Declaration
I hereby declare that this project titled A study on Electronic Word of Mouth and its Effects on
the Consumer Purchase decision of Mobile Phones is an original work done by me under the
guidance of Prof Monali Chatterjee. This project is being submitted to Institute of Management,
Nirma University, Ahmedabad, as Dissertation Project in partial fulfilment of academic
requirement for the award of degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA). I also declare
that this project has neither been submitted to any other universities nor done by any other
student earlier for the award of degree, diploma, associate ship or any other similar title.

Soham Dutta
Roll No: 141256
MBA (FT): 2014-16
Institute of Management, Nirma University

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who supported me throughout the course of this
dissertation project. I am thankful for their aspiring guidance, friendly advice and invaluably
constructive criticism during the project work. I am sincerely grateful to them for sharing their
truthful and illuminating views on a number of issues related to the project.
I express my warm thanks to my mentor Professor Monali Chatterjee and to Professor Sapna
Parashar for their continuous support and guidance.
I would also like to thank all the people who took out time from their busy schedule to fill my
questionnaire and all the people who provided me with the facilities being required and
conductive conditions for my dissertation project.

Thank you,
Soham Dutta
MBA (Full Time) 2014-16

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Abstract:
The study has been conducted to identify the relationship between electronic word of mouth and
its influence on purchase decision of mobile phones. With the spreading of internet all over the
country, people are now more vocal about anything they feel. In this backdrop electronic word of
mouth is a very important aspect which can influence the image of a company to a great extent.
Information about the topic was collected through extensive review of literature on the basis of
which seven hypothesis were created. These hypotheses were tested on the basis of the data
collected through questionnaire. Upon testing it was found that negative word of mouth has a
greater impact than positive word of mouth. Also, it was found that people tend to look for
information from others before making a purchase. This study tries to understand the impact of
electronic word of mouth through quantitative data and ignores the qualitative side of the people.

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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION.5
RATIONALE....................................................................................................................6
LITREATURE REVIEW..6
CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE.......10

RESEARCH TYPE...10
DATA COLLECTION.10
RESEARCH POPULATION AND SAMPLE.10

CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS..11

HYPOTHESIS.11
FACTOR ANALYSIS.12
CO-RELATION MATRIX......13
CROSSTABULATION...14

FINDINGS...23
CHAPTER 4
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATION...25
RECOMMENDATION..26
LIMITATION.26
CONCLUSION...26
CHAPTER 5
REFERENCE..27
CHAPTER 6
ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE29

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Chapter 1
Introduction:
The ascent of new media channels amid the most recent couple of years has offered fruitful
ground for electronic word of mouth (eWOM) correspondence. More shoppers use Web 2.0
devices (e.g., online talk discussions, buyer audit destinations, weblogs, social networking sites,
and so forth.) to convey their conclusions and trade item data. This new type of word of mouth
(WOM) correspondence can contain positive or negative proclamations made by potential,
genuine, and previous clients around an item or an organization by means of the Internet.
Industry examination reports have demonstrated that when settling on buy choices, Internet users
trust online audits posted by obscure buyers more than they trust customary media. Furthermore,
Customer reviews also tend to have its impact on the consumer purchase decision. 91% of
respondents said that they counsel online audits, web journals, and other client created content
before buying another item/benefit, 46% of which are then impacted in the route they to buy.
Froster anticipated that more than half of aggregate retail deals will be influenced by web (e.g.,
online surveys) by 2014.
EWOM has without a doubt been an intense power for marketing and promotional activities. As
of late, we saw a blast of writing concentrating on the adequacy of eWOM correspondence. On
the other hand, the extent of distributed studies on the effect of eWOM correspondence is
substantial and divided. It is hard to reach significant determinations from these studies. What's
more, scientists have received different examination approaches for researching the eWOM, and
little has been done to incorporate the discoveries of former studies. As per my survey of earlier
research work, concentrates on the effect of eWOM correspondence can be ordered into two
levels: business sector level examination and individual-level investigation. At the business
sector level examination, analysts concentrated on business sector level parameters (e.g., item
deals). This line of examination utilized target board information (e.g., the rate and the valence
of purchaser surveys) removed from the sites or online item audit stages to look at the effect of
eWOM messages on item deals. At the individual-level investigation, scientists hypothesized
eWOM as a procedure of individual impact, in which interchanges between a communicator
(sender) and a beneficiary can impact customer buy choice.
In this study I plan to collect data from people belonging to various age groups and identify how
much they trust reviews written about a certain product or a service. I will also try to understand
to what extent they go for searching about a review of the product or service they are about to
purchase.

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Rationale:
In India, with the penetration of internet and easy access of internet to the smart phones of
people, online shopping has been rising at an exponential rate. With people getting a lot busy in
their professional lives, the habit of the young professional group to go out and shop is slowly
decreasing. May it be consumer goods like groceries or planned purchase like purchase of
property, people now want everything at their doorstep or to be more precise to be in their hands.
This is the reason why today there are several shopping portals offering from property to grocery
right into the hands of the common Indian. Another group of websites have also emerged who
provide a comparative view of certain products available on the internet. Thus, people today tend
to compare everything right from prices to features on several websites. Sometimes these
comparisons are made on the basis of details provided by comparison websites and sometimes by
the reviews written by other users.
This study tries to understand if there is any significant impact of these reviews on the purchase
decision of others. If there is any impact then the impact will also be measured.

Literature Review
Conventional WOM is a face to face correspondence between gatherings known to each other,
and dependability can be all the more effectively based on recognition; along these lines, the data
passed on will probably be utilized as a part of procurement choice making (Doney and
Cannon, 1997; File, Cermark, and Prince, 1994; Holdford (2004); Miller and Baseheart,
1969; Niininen, Buhalis, and March, 2007). In the web connection, in spite of the fact that the
sender and the recipient of a message are regularly not known to each other, the message's
dependability ought to have critical impact on e-WOM impact as on customary WOM (Senecal
and Nantel, 2004).
Bloch and Richins (1986) found that purchasers with higher capability can make energetic
valuation and right judgment because of their copious product knowledge and encounter;. This
perspective that profoundly capable buyers are regularly focus of the masses is bolstered by
Gilly, Graham, Wolfinbarger and Yale (1998). Bansal and Voyer (2000) likewise found that
the sender's aptitude absolutely influences on the beneficiary's pursuit degree.
In addition, the sender's ability is additionally a vital paradigm for judging the reliability of the
data source (Dholakia and Sternthal, 1977) and is viewed as a basic compelling variable of data
(Solomon, 1997). By "Source Credibility Model", the data source having important item
information or experience has huge impact on changing a buyer's state of mind and conclusion
(Hovland and Weiss, 1951). Brister (1990) likewise imagined that since skill comes mostly
from one's own experience and incompletely from one's own insight; when the sender displays
high aptitude, the beneficiary will think their given data will be more right, and consequently the
buy choice will more probable be impacted by the data senders pass on. Gilly et al (1998)
likewise found that the sender's aptitude influenced decidedly the beneficiary's buy goal. For our
6|Page

motivation, we will restrict ability just in reference to item/benefit information and regard
experience as another affecting element.
Senders and beneficiaries of the WOM are free members in the correspondence process, and
collectors regularly start item dialog by approaching senders for data. Along these lines, the
collector's activity of looking for data is thought to be an imperative element in WOM
correspondence. Arndt (1967) found that WOM seekers are specifically presented to WOM
messages and are more inclined to such messages. Therefore, WOM messages have more impact
on the buy choice of beneficiaries all the more effectively looking for data. This was affirmed by
Bansal and Voyer (2000).
Bickart and Schindler (2001), found that the motivation behind why web gatherings can draw
in customers to scan/hunt down item data and influence buyer's buy conduct more than corporate
pages is on the grounds that purchasers trust data from web discussions is more solid than that
from corporate web pages, and thus is additionally persuading and convincing. They additionally
called attention to that the motivation behind why data content gave by web gathering patrons is
more dependable is on account of most supporters have their own particular experience about
items/administrations, along these lines data seekers and collectors won't feel constrained to
suggest or get controlled data. These days utilizing Web 2.0 apparatuses, for example, RSS
(Really Simple Syndication), web journals, Social Collaborative systems administration,
Podcasting and online video, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Tagging, Mashups, and Wikis to express one's own particular encounters is across the board (Sigala, 2007).
Despite the fact that e-WOM is for the most part in composed structure, its own experience
impact absolutely assumes a basic part in persuading clients as in conventional WOM.
The exponential growth of internet services has increased the impact of electronic word of mouth
on consumer purchase decision substantially. Since this is an emerging aspect, limited research
work has been conducted in this field. A study by Amal M. Almana (PhD Student College of
Computer and Information Sciences King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) and
Abdulrahman A. Mirza (Professor College of Computer and Information Sciences King
Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) tried to understand the impact of electronic word of
mouth (eWOM) on the purchase behavior of the people in Saudi Arabia. Although the study
focused on purchase behavior of Saudi Arabia, samples were collected from countries like UK,
Canada and USA as well. The selected sample size was 150 with women representing 64% of
the population and their male counterparts comprised of the remaining 36%.
More than 80% of the respondents agreed that their purchase decision was indeed affected by the
reviews which they read online. The ratings of the reviews also play a vital role. For instance, if
a review is given 4 stars out of 5 and another review is given 2 stars out of 5 then the impact of
the earlier review is said to be much more as compared to that of the later. The recency of the
reviews in particular also plays a vital role. The least important factor affecting the purchase
decision is the demographic profile of the reviewer. Finally, the website on which the review is
being read impacts the buying decision to a large extent. Popularity, reliability, internationality
and ownership also play a vital role in affecting the purchase decision.
According to a report by IAMAI and KPMG, mobile internet users in India will be about 236
million by 2017 and the report further projected that it is going to cross the mark of 314 million
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by 2018.The report also states that the total number of internet users will cross 500 million by the
end of this year(2016). The report also highlights that the user base of 2G internet services is
declining in India and the population has already shown an indication of switching from 2G to
3G network mode. The number of mobile internet users are expected to be more than 60% of the
total user base in India, considering the fact that the number is forecasted to reach 200 million
by 2015 (Ernst & Young, 2013). The pace, with which the development of telecommunications
technology is taking place in India, is changing many aspects of our lives. This includes how we
search for or collects the information, how we buy products or services, how we are traveling
and how we value things. Everything is changing and as a result of which consumer behavior
and preferences are also changing. This changing habit of the Indian consumer is creating a
space for the ecommerce companies.
As per a joint study done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte, the electronic commerce industry in
India is forecasted to cross the mark of $16 billion by the end of 2015. These stats are clear
indicators of the fact that the future of e commerce market or digital commerce market is very
bright in the coming years in India. The growth of the ecommerce industry at a rate of more than
35% (Times of India) is an indicator of this fact. As per a report by comScore in 2011, 75% of
the users ofIndias e-commerce industry users are in the age group of 35.
As noted earlier that the Indian e-commerce is growing very rapidly and within a short period of
time a large number of players have entered the market. This increase in the total number of
players in the market empowered the customers to a great extent and provided them ample
number of options and choices. This resulted in enhanced bargaining power of the customers.
Due to the high bargaining power of the customer and the presence of large number of ecommerce players, the level of competition in the market increased and the companies started
competing with each other in terms of gross merchandising sales, revenues, market share and
profits. Under the given scenario of intense competition, companies need to find what exactly the
consumers want and when do they need it. A study conducted by Professor Priyanka Joshi of
SRCC, New Delhi, on the topic online shopping behavior of Indian consumers identified
five factors that mainly influence consumers. The factors are convenience/time saving, price,
product characteristics, online store attributes and Shopping Orientation. Furthermore, service
provided and quality of the same is also responsible for creating satisfaction and loyalty among
customers for any of the e-commerce companies.
According to a report by Nielsen on Global Online Shopping and Saving Strategies Survey
(2011) the main reasons why Indian customers choose any particular retailer is the value for
money, they perceived, that the stores offer. Many studies claim that the Indian consumer is very
price sensitive and offers (such as discounts or exchanges) always trigger them to make new
purchases. The e-tailors are very much aware and conscious of this fact and thus try to provide
products and services at a lesser price. Furthermore, they offer deep and wide product assortment
and convenience. According to Ernst & Young,2013 this drives the online sales. Also as per a
research conducted by Brynjolfsson and Smith (1999), e-commerce players always compare
8|Page

their price with that of their competitors and this results in increased pressure among them in
terms of price reduction because customers are always looking for less price.
Apart from low price the other factor that drives consumer to shop online is that of convenience
and time saving. If we refer to statistics we will come to know that the percentage of working
class people doing online shopping is much higher than the non-working class. This is because
of the fact that they dont have much of a time to spend on travelling and visiting stores
(Jarvenpaa & Todd, 1997). So these are the kind of people who prefer to shop online just by
staying at home. A research conducted by Chiang and Dholakia (2003) found that convenience
is also a factor that influences consumers' decision to shop online. Product characteristics also
play a major role in driving consumers decision on whether to shop online or at brick and mortar
stores. A study by Nilsen (1974) classified the products under two categories. The first category
being Search goods and second being experience goods. Search goods are the ones whose
product attributes are known to the customers prior to its purchase (e.g. Books, electronics etc.).
On the other hand, experience goods are the ones whose product attributes could be known to the
customer only when he has been directly exposed to it or he has experienced it (e.g. clothes,
food items, shoes etc.). The consumer behavior varies depending upon the product. Researchers
have also classified shopping orientation in more than one way. For instance, Bellenger and
Korgaonkar (1980) have classified shoppers to be as recreational and convenience. On the
other hand, Sinha (2003) has further classified them as fun shoppers and work shoppers.
Fun shoppers are those people who love to shop and take it as an experience. These people love
to share their shopping experiences with other people and are always on the urge of making a
new shopping plan. Whereas, work shopper are those who consider shopping as a work and
always try to avoid it. These are the people who usually prefer online shopping. Factors like
customer satisfaction is a result of the experiences one has at different levels of the purchase
decision. For instance, (1) need recognition, (2) information search (3) evaluation of alternatives
(4) purchase decision and (5) post purchase behaviour (Kotler, 2009). These stages consist of
numerous dimensions and factors. Each stage has some influencet on the consumers decision to
purchase online or not. These dimensions are directly related to e-Service quality like (a)
information availability and content, (b) ease of use or usability, (c) privacy/security, (d) graphic
style, and (e) fulfillment as highlighted by Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Malhotra (2002).
A study conducted by Lung-Yu Chang (Department of Insurance and Financial
Management, Takming University of Science and Technology), Yu-Je Lee (Department of
Marketing Management, Takming University of Science and Technology) and Ching-Lin
Huang (Department of Information Management, Kao Yuan University) also tried to
identify the causal relationship between eWOM and its influence on purchase decision. The
sample size for this study was 275 and 82% of them were female and 67% were at least college
graduates and aged between 17 to 35. The study identified that senders expertise, receivers
search extent and own experience have influences on how e-WOMs are adopted only through
trustworthiness of the messages conveyed. WOM and online communication are both
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interpersonal links. There are several opinion leaders in the internet who not only mark their
presence by giving suggestions but also indulge in several marketing activities.

Chapter 2
Research Objective:
This research aims at determining how the Indian consumer base is affected by the online
reviews of products and services and also to what extent they trust the online reviews of
consumers. The study also tries to seek answers to the following questions.

Does the rating given by the consumers affect the buying decision?
Do the age, identity, gender and frequency of reviews have an impact on the purchase
decision?
Does the characteristic of the website have an impact on the purchase decision of the
buyers?
Identifying the role of Word of Mouth as a marketing tool.
What are the other factors besides Word of Mouth that determine the purchase decision
of the consumer.

Research Methodology
Research Type
The research is quantitative in nature. Analytical measurements were used to identify the
relationship between different variables.
Data Collection
Data was mainly collected from primary sources for which a questionnaire was prepared. This
questionnaire was asked to be filled up online by people living in all parts of the country.
Responses were collected via online medium.

Research population and sample:

The questionnaire was filled up by 119 individuals. Among them 10 had never shopped online.
As a result of which those 10 samples were not included in the study for analysis.

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Chapter 3
Analysis
Hypothesis:
H1: Word of Mouth affects how people feel about a brand when choosing a mobile phone.
Chi-square test was used to test the validity of the statement. By applying the chi square test we
arrived on a significance level of 0.113 which is much greater than the standard of .05. Thus we
can say that word of mouth does affect peoples feelings about a brand when choosing a mobile
phone. Thus, the Hypothesis is accepted.
H2: When people hear positive word of mouth about a product they will refer it.
Chi-square test was used to test the above mentioned hypothesis. The level of significance
arrived at after applying the test was 0.031 which is less than the standard level of 0.05. Thus, we
can say that the hypothesis is rejected. From this we can infer that people are always not likely to
refer a product for which they have heard a positive word of mouth.
H3: When people hear negative word of mouth about a brand they will not refer it
Chi-square test was used to test the validity of the hypothesis. The arrived level of significance is
0.312 which is much higher than the standard of 0.05. Therefore, our hypothesis is accepted.
People will not refer a product or a brand to other people for which they have heard a negative
word of mouth.
H4: People express their opinions online because they love to tell other people about
something new they have learned or experienced
Chi-square test was used for testing the above hypothesis. The arrived level of significance was
0.434 which is much higher than the standard of 0.05. Therefore, we can say that our hypothesis
is accepted. We can say that people like to tell other people about anything new they have
learned or experienced.

H5: People express their opinions in order to reduce the search time of others
We used chi-square test to test the above hypothesis. The arrived level of significance was 0.036.
This is lower than the standard of 0.05. Therefore, our hypothesis is rejected. People dont post
online with an intention of reducing the search time for others.
H6: People express their opinions online because they dont want people to make mistakes
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We used chi-square to test the above hypothesis. The arrived significance level was 0.104. This
is higher than the standard of 0.05. Thus the hypothesis is accepted.
H7: People seek information from other people because it helps them in finding the lowest
priced products
Chi-square test was used to test the above mentioned hypothesis. The arrived significance level
was 0.128 which is higher than 0.05. Thus our hypothesis is accepted. People in order to find the
lowest priced products seek information from other people.

Table showing the various significance level arrived at:

I express my
opinion online
because it
helps in
reducing the
information
search time of
other people]

I express my
opinions
online
because I
don't want
people to
make
mistakes

I think WOM
affects how
people feel about
a brand when
choosing a
mobile phone

When I hear
Positive WOM
about a
brand I will
refer it

I love to tell
people about
something new
I have learned
or experienced

4.468

6.954

1.670

6.624

4.532

2.330

.113

.031

.434

.036

.104

.312

ChiSquare(a)
df
Asymp.
Sig.

When I hear
Negative
WOM about a
brand I will
not refer it

(Table 1)

Factor Analysis
Total Variance Explained
Component
Price
Quality
Discounts
Sales
Promotion
Availability
Celebrity
Endorsement

Initial Eigenvalues

Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings

Total
1.904

% of Variance
31.741

Cumulative %
31.741

Total
1.904

% of Variance
31.741

Cumulative %
31.741

1.092

18.206

49.947

1.092

18.206

49.947

.942

15.707

65.654

.802

13.371

79.025

.662

11.040

90.065

.596

9.935

100.000

(Table 2)
Factor analysis was performed to determine the most important factors while purchasing mobile
phones. Out of which, price and quality came out to be the most important factors.
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Correlation Matrix:

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Price]
Rate the following factors
besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile phone? [Price]

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Quality]

.202

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Discounts]

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Sales
Promotion]

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Avaliability]

Rate the
following
factors
besides
eWOM that
make you
purchase a
new mobile
phone?
[Celebrity
Endorsement
s]

.344

.060

.270

.225

.000

.009

.007

.005

.144

.004

.230

.016

.000

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile phone? [Quality]

.202

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile
phone?
[Discounts]

.344

.000

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile phone? [Sales
Promotion]

.060

.009

.144

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile
phone?
[Avaliability]

.270

.007

.004

.016

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new
mobile phone? [Celebrity
Endorsements]

.225

.005

.230

.000

.072

.072

(Table 3)

From the above table we can see that there lies a positive co relation between price and
quality. This means that the major parts of the population who want good quality are also
concerned about the price.
There is also a strong co relation between price and availability of the product.

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Also, there is no co relation between discounts and quality. This means that people who
want good quality product are not concerned about discounts. Also, sales promotion
doesnt affect people who want good quality.

Crosstabulation
Which age group do you belong to? * Do you think electronic word of mouth (eWOM) will
influence your purchase intention?
Do you think electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
will influence your purchase intention?
0
Which
age
group
do you
belong
to?

16-20= 4
21-25=5
26-30= 6
4
5
6
7
Above
30=7

3
0
0
1
2
2
0
6

0
0
0
0
20
41
14
18

0
0
0
0
0
4
4
8

No = 1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

Yes = 0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Total
3
1
1
1
22
47
18
32
1

Total
15
93
16
1
1
126
(Table 4)
From the above table we can see that people in the age group of 21 to 25 years mostly agree that
electronic word of mouth will influence their purchase decision of a mobile phone. People in this
age group are those who are young professionals and are well versed with technology and they
are well aware of the various platforms from where they can get the reviews. Apart from them,
the people who are above 30 were the ones who said that their decision will be influenced by
electronic word of mouth.
Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Price]

Rate the following factors besides eWOM that

make you purchase a new mobile phone? [Price]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total
(Table 5)

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16-20
21-25
26-30
Abov
e 30

Total
1

10
26
12

4
17
4

0
0
2

2
2
0

4
0
0

20
45
18

14

26

62

33

109

We can see from the above table that people in the age group of 21-25 years considered that
price is the most important factor for them while making a purchase. This is clearly understood
as they are young professionals and want to spend their own money in the right way. But, if we
observe more closely we can see that more than half of the respondents belonging to almost all
age group considered price as a very important factor for purchase.
Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Quality]
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that
make you purchase a new mobile phone? [Quality]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total
1

16-20

20

21-25

15

20

45

26-30

18

Above
30

16

26

23

30

16

34

109

Total

(Table 6)
The above table shows that quality is the most important factor for people who are in the age
group of 21-25 years. But, surprisingly we can see that people in the age group of 16-20 years
are not at all considered about the quality.

Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Discounts]
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that
make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Discounts]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?
Total

Total
1

16-20

10

20

21-25

13

12

45

26-30

18

Above
30

10

26

23

24

24

30

109

(Table 7)
From the above table we can see that discounts are the second most important factor for people
in the age group of 26-30 years. This is because people in this age are the ones who are just
married and want spend their money in the right way. This is why more than 50% of the people
have voted discounts to be their most important factor while purchasing mobile phones.

15 | P a g e

Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Sales Promotion]
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that
make you purchase a new mobile phone? [Sales
Promotion]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total
1

16-20

20

21-25

17

14

45

26-30

18

Above
30

26

12

35

20

30

12

109

Total

(Table 8)
Sales promotion doesnt seem to bother much of the population and hence people in most of the
age groups have rated it as 3rd or 4th important factor while making purchase. Practically we can
say that sales promotion hardly affects the buying decision of the customers.
Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Availability]
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that
make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Availability]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?
Total

Total
1

16-20

20

21-25

13

10

10

45

26-30

18

Above
30

10

12

26

19

34

16

34

109

(Table 9)
Availability seems to be affecting people most in the age group of more than 30 years. This may
be because of the fact that their purchase of mobile phones is more of an impulse purchase and
they dont want to wait for their device. On the other hand the younger part of the population
seems to plan their purchase. As we know that in case of purchasing an Apple I phone one needs
to book in advance. So in a way we can say that most of the people purchasing Apple phone are
young people below the age of 30 years.

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Which age group do you belong to? * Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile phone? [Celebrity Endorsements]
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that
make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Celebrity Endorsements]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total
1

16-20

20

21-25

14

14

45

26-30

18

Above
30

10

26

24

22

26

34

109

Total

(Table10)
From the above table we can infer that celebrity endorsement is not an important factor for
purchasing mobile phones. This is the reason why most of the population has given it as 4th or 5th
grade rating.
Which age group do you belong to? * Rank the following sources of information on the
basis of you turning to them before purchasing a new mobile phone [Speak with someone I
know who has made a similar purchase]
Rank the following sources of
information on the basis of you turning
to them before purchasing a new mobile
phone [Speak with someone I know who
has made a similar purchase]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?
Total

Total

16-20

10

20

21-25

20

10

45

26-30

18

Above
30

12

10

26

50

32

12

15

109

(Table 12)
Speaking with someone who has already purchased a similar sort of an item, seems to be a very
important factor in the minds of the population. We can say this on the basis of the fact that more
than 50% of the population has voted this to be their first action before purchasing any item.
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Which age group do you belong to? * Rank the following sources of information on the
basis of you turning to them before purchasing a new mobile phone [Visit internet forums
to look at customer reviews]
Count

Rank the following sources of

information on the basis of you turning
to them before purchasing a new mobile
phone [Visit internet forums to look at
customer reviews]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total

16-20

20

21-25

22

10

45

26-30

10

18

Above
30

16

26

15

36

40

18

109

Total

(Table 13)
We can see from the above table that people in the age group of 21-25 years of age mostly visit
internet forums to read about the product review before making a purchase. Apart from them the
other part of the population doesnt seem to bother much about online reviews.
Which age group do you belong to? * Rank the following sources of information on the
basis of you turning to them before purchasing a new mobile phone [Search on social
networking sites]

Rank the following sources of

information on the basis of you turning
to them before purchasing a new mobile
phone [Search on social networking
sites]
1
Which age
group do
you belong
to?
Total

Total

16-20

10

20

21-25

12

22

45

26-30

14

18

Above
30

10

26

22

12

23

52

109

(Table 14)
Searching on social networking websites doesnt seem to be of much relevance, to the
population, before making a purchase. As a result of which most people have given it a rating of
4 which is the least valuable among all.
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Which age group do you belong to? * Rank the following sources of information on the
basis of you turning to them before purchasing a new mobile phone [Look at online price
comparison website]

Total
1

Total

Which
Age
group
you
belong
to?

16-20

20

21-25

22

45

26-30

18

Above
30

26

22

29

34

24

109

Total

(Table 15)
From the above table we can see that people in the age group of 21 to 30 years mostly visit price
comparison websites. These are the people who are most active on social network and tend to
check out low prices before making a purchase.
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Price] * Why would you seek information from other people before purchasing mobile
phones ? Please read the following statements and tick the box that is most likely to match
your level of Agreement. [It helps in finding the lowest priced products]
(Table 16)
Why would you seek information from other
people before purchasing mobile phones? Please
read the following statements and tick the box that
is most likely to match your level of Agreement. [It
helps in finding the lowest priced products]

Rate the following factors

besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile
phone? [Price]

Total

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Total

Strongly
Agree
10

30

Neutral
14

20

33

13

60

26

109

Agree

Disagree
6

Strongly
Disagree
2

62

From the table above we can infer that people who consider price to be the most important factor
apart from word of mouth while making a purchase mostly agree that seeking information from
someone before making a purchase ultimately helps in finding the lowest priced products.
Therefore, we can say that there lies a strong co relation between people who consider price to be
an important factor before making a purchase and those who consult others before making a
purchase. In a way we can say that people who are bothered about the price are likely to consult
others before making a purchase.
Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Discounts] * Why would you seek information from other people before purchasing
mobile phones ? Please read the following statements and tick the box that is most likely to
match your level of Agreement. [It helps in finding the lowest priced products]
Why would you seek information from other
people before purchasing mobile phones? Please
read the following statements and tick the box that
is most likely to match your level of Agreement. [It
helps in finding the lowest priced products]
Strongly
Agree
Rate the following factors
besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile
phone? [Discounts]

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

16

23

18

24

10

24

12

10

30

5
Total

Agree

Total

13

60

26

109

(Table 17)
From the above table we can say that people who seek discounts before making a purchase are
likely to consult others before making a purchase. This is because these are the people who like
to get products at lower prices and hence seek to any measures to get low price.

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Rate the following factors besides eWOM that make you purchase a new mobile phone?
[Quality] * Why would you seek information from other people before purchasing mobile
phones ? Please read the following statements and tick the box that is most likely to match
your level of Agreement. [So the chances of making a bad decision is reduced]
Why would you seek information from other
people before purchasing mobile phones? Please
read the following statements and tick the box that
is most likely to match your level of Agreement.
[So the chances of making a bad decision is
reduced]
Neutral
Rate the following factors
besides eWOM that make
you purchase a new mobile
phone? [Quality]

Total

Total

Strongly
Disagree
2

Strongly
Agree
14

23

16

30

Disagree
4

Agree

16

32

34

10

62

33

109

(Table 18)
From the above table we can say that people who consider quality to be an important factor
before making a purchase very strongly agree that seeking information from other people before
making a purchase ultimately results in reducing the chances of making a bad decision.
Therefore we can say that, quality conscious people are very likely to seek information before
making any kind of purchase. So we can say a strong positive co relation exists between people
seeking quality and them seeking information before making a purchase.

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Which age group do you belong to? * Please read the following statements and tick the box
that that matches your level of Agreement/Disagreement with each statement [I love to tell
people about something new I have learned or experienced]
Please read the following
statements and tick the box that
that matches your level of
Agreement/Disagreement with
each statement [I love to tell
people about something new I
have learned or experienced]

Agree
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total

16-20

Neutral
10

Disagree
8

20

21-25

21

20

45

26-30

18

Above
30

18

26

31

42

36

109

Total
(Table

19)
From the above table we can see that people mostly in their early twenties like to tell people
about something new they have learned or experienced and thus, they share their views online.
So, in a way we can say that most of the reviews that we read online are from people belonging
to this age group. Later, with the increasing pressure of personal and professional life they tend
to be more engage in their own work.
Which age group do you belong to? * Please read the following statements and tick the box
that that matches your level of Agreement/Disagreement with each statement [I express my
opinions online because I don't want people to make mistakes ]
(Table 20)

Please read the following

statements and tick the box that
that matches your level of
Agreement/Disagreement
with
each statement [I express my
opinions online because I don't
want people to make mistakes ]

Agree
Which age
group do
you belong
to?

Total

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Total

16-20

Neutral
14

Disagree
4

20

21-25

16

17

12

45

26-30

18

Above
30

10

26

30

49

30

109

The table in the previous page depicts that most of the population apart from people in the age
group of 16-20 years like to post online as they dont want others to make mistakes. The age
group highlights that the people in this group have attended adulthood and hence are bothered
about others. This also highlights a development of a sense of social responsibility among the
people.
Which age group do you belong to? * Please read the following statements and tick the box
that that matches your level of Agreement/Disagreement with each statement [I express my
opinion online because it helps in reducing the information search time of other people]
(Table 21)
Please read the following
statements and tick the box that
that matches your level of
Agreement/Disagreement with
each statement [I express my
opinion online because it helps
in reducing the information
search time of other people]

Agree
Which age
group do
you belong
to?
Total

Total

16-20

Neutral
10

Disagree
6

20

21-25

19

24

45

26-30

10

18

Above
30

12

10

26

35

46

28

109

From the above table we can see that most of the people were neutral on the question that did
they express their views online because they wanted to reduce the search time for others. It is
very much justified as there have been a lot of studies showing that although people feel that
searching online reduces their time it actually results in consuming more of their time. This is
because of the fact that they have to choose among a wide variety of choices available to them
online and in the process their efforts are also enhanced.

Findings:

The various findings of the study are as follows:

1. People in the age group of 21 to 25 years mostly agree that electronic word of mouth will
influence their purchase decision of a mobile phone.
2. Availability of the product is also a very important factor. The company must make sure
that its retailers are never out of stock.
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3. Speaking with someone who has made a similar purchase is considered to be an

important event before purchasing a mobile phone. This is because one is always on the
outlook for low priced products and always wants to reduce the risk of taking a wrong
decision.
4. Price and quality seems to be the two most important factors which influences the
purchase decision of mobile phones among customers.
5. WOM if affectedly used may be a useful tool for marketing communication.

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Chapter 4
Managerial Implications:
Because of the approach of the web, extraordinary variety has emerged in the method for
interpersonal correspondence; anybody can store and transmit huge data in no time and get
reactions from all web clients instantly such that transmission of WOM turns out to be much
speedier. In view of the above conclusions, we propose the accompanying proposals for business
supervisors, wanting to be useful in advertising hone.
1. Using Opinion leaders for better communication: Online communication and word of
mouth both are links for interpersonal correspondence; mixing the internet market with
WOM, makes WOM communication much faster and easier. In the internet market,
opinion leaders not only good at participating in marketing activity but can also transfer
the sentiments of the market back to the marketer. Therefore, we can say they are good at
transmitting the business information. An opinion from an expert often guides others to
follow a path. But opinion leaders can influence the market as they are in knowledge
about some particular product. Therefore, a marketer can use an opinion leader in the
right way for the promotion of his brand. And as we came to know from the study that
most people often seek information from others before purchasing mobile phones. The
marketer can position the opinion leader in a way that he spreads positive WOM about
the product.
2. Continuously tracing the e-WOM: Traditional research often asks a pre decided set of
questions to the population. In such a scenario the original problem faced by the people
may not stand out. This is because the same sets of questions are being posed in front of
all. With the dynamic changes in consumer behavior this approach may not be useful in
the present era. Today, the marketer must follow traces of wherever his brand or product
is being discussed. This will let him know what the problems people are facing are and
what kind of solution they are desiring for.
3. Establish chat rooms: The marketer must establish chat rooms where people can discuss
about the product or the brand. Such chat rooms may act as a platform for others where
prospective clients can get information about the product. And such information will
enable the purchase of these products.

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Recommendations:
Based on the study above, the following recommendations are made.
1. Avoid spreading negative WOM: As the study shows that people are not likely to refer
a product to others for which they have heard negative WOM. In such case an enterprise
must look forward to avoid such instances where negative WOM is published in the
public.
2. More emphasis on quality rather than sales discounts: Companies must focus to
improve their products rather than giving away sales discounts. As the study shows that
the people who want good quality product are not influenced by discounts.
3. Strengthen the relationship between the consumer and the company: The Company
must look to strengthen the relationship with its consumers. This is because an unhappy
customer is likely to spread negative WOM affecting the company in a great way.

Limitations:
The model used in this study had several limitations. Some of them are as follows.
Firstly, the study did not consider gender as a parameter. Hence, this study cannot reveal the
differences in preference gender wise. Secondly, the research was conducted for mobile phones
only. Therefore, it cannot give an insight about the impact of e-WOM on other products.
Thirdly, only quantitative data was used for analyzing and understanding the impact of e-WOM.
Numbers dont always necessarily capture the right sentiment. Therefore a scope of qualitative
research still exists.

Conclusion:
This study was conducted to identify the impact of electronic word of mouth on the purchase
decision of consumers while purchasing a mobile phone. As a part of this study, it was found that
people are more likely not to refer a product about which they have heard a negative word of
mouth. Furthermore, price and quality stood out to be the most important factors besides word of
mouth for purchasing mobile phones. It was also inferred that electronic word of mouth if used
intelligently may be a very useful tool for marketing communication.
But as this study was conducted only by analyzing quantitative data, there is a scope for a
qualitative research to be done on the same.

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Chapter 5
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27 | P a g e

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28 | P a g e

Chapter 6
Annexure
Questionnaire

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