Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Persuasion and Dissuasion via Social Networking Sites: The Influence of Word-of-Mouth on Consumer Activism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Business Governance and Society

  • 1154 Accesses

Abstract

Social media has changed firms’ approach to business dynamics and consumer behavior. Consumer perception of products, services, brands, and firms are continuously being influenced by a bombardment of data and information being shared via social networking sites (SNSs). Consumer behavior is potentially swayed by the content and tone of the word-of-mouth occurring via social media; in fact, brand loyalty can be effectually persuaded, whilst consumption can be dissuaded. That said, could such ongoing communication influence consumer behavior towards the engagement of consumer activism? It is clear that SNSs are an exceedingly powerful channel of information that users as well as current and potential consumers have grown to trust. Further, they have gradually become a preferred source for information. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the influence of social media word-of-mouth on persuasion and dissuasion of consumer behavior regarding firms’ business dynamics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aladwani, A. M. (2014). Gravitating towards facebook (GoToFB): What it is? and how can it be measured? Computers in Human Behavior, 33(4), 270–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alshaikh, F., Ramzan, F., Rawaf, S., & Majeed, A. (2014, July 14). Social Network Sites as a mode to collect health data: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(7), e171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aslam, S. (2017, August 12). Twitter by the numbers: Stats, demographics & fun facts. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from OMNICORE: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/.

  • Auger, P., Burke, P., Devinney, T. M., & Louviere, J. J. (2003, February). What will consumers pay for social product features? Journal of Business Ethics, 42(3), 281–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2013, May). Emotion and virality: What makes online content go viral? De Gruyter Insights, 5(1), 18–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braunsberger, K., & Buckler, B. (2011, January). What motivates consumers to participate in boycotts: Lessons from the ongoing Canadian seafood boycott. Journal of Business Research, 64(1), 96–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brenton, S., & Hacken, L. T. (2006). Ethical consumerism: Are unethical labor practices important to consumers? Journal of Research for Consumers, 11, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruhn, M., Schoenmueller, V., & Schäfer, D. B. (2012). Are social media replacing traditional media in terms of brand equity creation? Management Research Review, 35(9), 770–790.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buechler, S. M. (2000). Social movements in advanced capitalism: The political economy and cultural construction of social activism. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006, August). The effect of word of mouth on sales: Online book review. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, S.-C. (2011). Viral advertising in social media: Participation in Facebook groups and responses among college-aged users. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 12(1), 30–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, D. (2008). Interactive features of online newspapers: Identifying patterns and predicting use of engaged readers. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 13(3), 658–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemons, E. K. (2008). How information changes consumer behavior and how consumer behavior determines corporate strategy. Journal of Management Information Systems, 25(2), 13–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creyer, E. H. (1997). The influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: Do consumers really care about business ethics? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), 421–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dearstyne, B. W. (2007, July). Blogs! Mashups and Wikis: Oh, My! Information Management Journal, 41, (4), 24–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong-Hun, L. (2010, October). Korean consumer & society: Growing popularity of social media and business strategy. SERI Quarterly, 3(4), 112–1179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edosomwan, S., Sitalaskshmi, K. P., Kouame, D., Watson, J., & Seymour, T. (2011, July). The history of social media and its impact on business. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 16(3), 79–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elstad, E. (2016). Social networking sites, social media, and internet. In E. Elstad (Ed.), Digital Expectations and Experiences in Education. Rotterdam: SensePublishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Facebook. (2017, June 30). Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2017, from Newsroom. Company Info: https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/.

  • Fields, Z. (2017). Collective creativity for responsible and sustainable business practice. Hershey: IGI Global.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • French, M., & Bazarova, N. N. (2017, November). Is anybody out there?: Understanding masspersonal communication through expectations for response across social media platforms. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22(6), 303–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1985). Consumer boycotts in the United States, 1970–1980: Contemporary events in historical perspective. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 19(1), 96–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, E. (2009). Predicting tie strength with social media. CHI ‘09 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 211–220). Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glickman, L. B. (2009). A history of consumer activism in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godes, D., Mayzlin, D., Chen, Y., Das, S., Dellarocas, C., Pfeiffer, B., et al. (2005). The firm’s management of social interactions. Marketing Letters, 16(3-4), 415–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grebitus, C., Printezis, I., & Printezis, A. (2017, June). Relationship between consumer behavior and success of urban agriculture. Ecological Economics, 136, 189–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, S., Perrin, A., & Duggan, M. (2016, November 11). Social media update. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/pi_2016-11-11_social-media-update_0-01/.

  • Guerini, M., Strapparava, C., & Özbal, G. (2011). Exploring text virality in social networks. Fifth International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (pp. 506–509). Barcelona: ICWSM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gursoy, D., & McCleary, K. W. (2004). An integrative model of tourists’ information search behavior. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(2), 353–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, L. K., Arvidsson, A., Nielsen, F. A., Colleoni, E., & Etter, M. (2011). Good friends, bad news – Affect and virality in Twitter. In J. J. Park (Ed.), Future information technology. Communications in computer and information science (pp. 34–43). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilton, M. (2009). Prosperity for all: Consumer activism in an era of globalization. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzer, B. (2010). Moralizing the corporation. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Horner, S., & Swarbrooke, J. (2016). Consumer behaviour in tourism. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jahng, M. R., & Littau, J. (2016). Interacting is believing: Interactivity, social cue, and perceptions of journalistic credibility on twitter. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 93(1), 38–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. (2014, September 9). #WhyIStayed: She saw herself in Ray Rice’s wife, Janay, and tweeted about it. So did thousands of others. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/09/whyistayed-she-saw-herself-in-ray-rices-wife-janay-and-tweeted-about-it-so-did-thousands-of-others/?utm_term=.c3e218a0c1d8.

  • Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010, February). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keen, A. (2007). The cult of the amateur: How today’s Internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011, May–June). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S.-B., & Kim, D.-Y. (2016). The influence of corporate social responsibility, ability, reputation, and transparency on hotel customer loyalty in the U.S.: A gender based approach. SingerPlus, 5(1), 1537–1550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, J. G., Smith, N. C., & John, A. (2004, July). Why we boycott: Consumer motivations for boycott participation. Journal of Marketing, 68(3), 92–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Köksal, Y., & Özdemir, Ş. (2013). Bir İletişim Aracı Olarak Sosyal Medya’nın Tutundurma Karması İçerisindeki Yeri Üzerine Bir İnceleme. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(1), 323–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koufaris, M. (2002, June). Applying the technology acceptance model and flow theory to online consumer behavior. Information Systems Research, 13(2), 205–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V., & Handelman, J. M. (2004, December). Adversaries of consumption: Consumer movements, activism, and ideology. Journal of Consumer Research, 31, 691–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J., & Lee, H. (2010, May). The computer-mediated communication network: Exploring the linkage between the online community and social capital. New Media & Society, 12(5), 711–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H., Park, H., & Kim, J. (2013, September). Why do people share their context information on Social Network Services? A qualitative study and an experimental study on users’ behavior of balancing perceived benefit and risk. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 71(9), 862–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, J. S., Hwang, Y., Kim, S., & Biocca, F. A. (2015). How social media engagement leads to sports channel loyalty: Mediating roles of social presence and channel commitment. Computers in Human Behavior, 46, 158–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, C., Wu, Y.-S., & Chen, J.-C. V. (2013). Electronic word of mouth: The moderating roles of product involvement and brand image. Proceedings of 2013 International Conference on Technology Innovation and Industrial Management (pp. S3-29-S3-47). Phuket, Thailand: TIIM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, K., & Saxton, G. D. (2012, April). Information, community, and action: How nonprofit organizations use social media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez, P., Pérez, A., & Rodríguez del Bosque, I. (2014). CSR influence on hotel brand image and loyalty. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 27(2), 267–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAlexander, J. H., Schouten, J. W., & Koenig, H. F. (2002, January). Building brand community. Journal of Marketing, 66(1), 38–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meraz, S. (2009, April). Is there an elite hold? Traditional media to social media agenda setting influence in blog networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(3), 682–707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morales, A. C., Amir, O., & Lee, L. (2017). Keeping it real in experimental research-Understanding when, where, and how to enhance realism and measure consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(2), 465–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mourao, R. R., Yoo, J., Geise, S., Araiza, J. A., Kilgo, D. K., & Chen, V. Y. (2015). Online news, social media, and European Union attitudes: A multidimensional analysis. International Journal of Communication, 9, 3199–3222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, A. M., & O’Guinn, T. C. (2001, March). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), 412–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okazaki, S., & Taylor, C. R. (2013). Social media and international advertising: Theoretical challenges and future directions. International Marketing Review, 30(1), 56–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özdemir, G., & Sarı, Ö. (2014). Turist Destinasyonlarına Dönük Sosyal Medya Söylentileri Üzerine Bir Durum Çalışması. İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimleri Dergisi, 13(25), 289–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, A., & Koenig-Lewis, N. (2009). An experiental, social network-based approach to direct marketing. Direct Marketing: An International Journal, 3(3), 162–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrin, A. (2015, October 8). Social media usage: 2005–2015 65% of adults now use social networking sites-a nearly tenfold jump in the past decade. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/2015/Social-Networking-Usage-2005-2015/.

  • Peterson, R. A., & Merino, M. C. (2003, February). Consumer information search behavior and the internet. Psychology & Marketing, 20(2), 99–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petri, A. (2014, September 9). #WhyIStayed, Digiorno, and other corporate disasters. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/09/09/whyistayed-digiorno-and-other-corporate-disasters/?utm_term=.010da7f64100.

  • Pookulangara, S., & Koesler, K. (2011, July). Cultural influence on consumers’ usage of social networks and its’ impact on online purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(4), 348–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qualman, E. (2011). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichelt, J., Sievert, J., & Jacob, F. (2014). How credibility affects eWOM reading: The influences of expertise, trustworthiness, and similarity on utilitarian and social functions. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20(1/2), 65–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saavedra, J. L., Linero Sotillo, O. R., & Gutiérrez León, R. (2011). Community Manager y la marca como estrategia organizacional en las redes sociales online. REDHECS, 10(6), 168–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, T. P., & Sinha, R. (2017, January–March). The impact of social media on business growth and performance in India. International Journal of Research in Management & Business Studies, 4(1), 36–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slee, C. (2011, October). The impact of social media on corporate reputation. VISTAS: Education. Economy and Community, 1(2), 62–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, M., Russell-Bennett, R., & Previte, J. (2013). Consumer behaviour. Buying, having, being. Frenchs Forest: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stauss, B. (1997). Global word of mouth. Marketing Management, 6(3), 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steffes, E. M., & Burgee, L. E. (2009). Social ties and online word of mouth. Internet Research, 19(1), 42–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swani, K., Milne, G., & Brown, B. P. (2013). Spreading the word through likes on Facebook: Evaluating the message strategy effectiveness of Fortune 500 companies. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 7(4), 269–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tufekci, Z., & Wilson, C. (2012, April). Social media and the decision to participate in political protest: Observations from Tahir Square. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 363–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dijck, J., & Poell, T. (2013). Understanding social media logic. Media and Communication, 1(1), 2–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanMeter, R. A., Grisaffe, D. B., & Chonko, L. B. (2015, November). Of “likes” and “pins”: The effects of consumers’ attachment to social media. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 32, 70–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2000, September). “It is what one does”: Why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 9(2-3), 155–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wattles, J. (2015, July 24). Dunkin’ CEO: $15 minimum wage is ‘outrageous’. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/23/news/dunkin-ceo-minimum-wage/index.html.

  • Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management, 31(2), 179–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, H., Takanashi, C., Gemba, K., & Ishida, S. (2015, September). Empirical research on the influence of negative electronic word-of-mouth on brand switching behavior. World Journal of Management, 6(2), 46–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, Mexico

    Andree Marie López-Fernández

Authors
  1. Andree Marie López-Fernández
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EGADE Business School, Mexico City, Mexico

    Rajagopal

  2. International Management Institute, Bhubaneswar, India

    Ramesh Behl

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

López-Fernández, A.M. (2019). Persuasion and Dissuasion via Social Networking Sites: The Influence of Word-of-Mouth on Consumer Activism. In: Rajagopal, Behl, R. (eds) Business Governance and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94613-9_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation