新产品特性、产品知识获取和网络口碑

New Product Features,Product Knowledge Acquisition,and Electronic Word of Mouth

随着网络技术的快速发展和互联网使用的普及,消费者获取和传播信息的效率不断提高.在这种情况下,网络口碑作为口碑营销的一种重要形式,吸引了许多研究人员和从业者的关注.借助网络的便利,将新产品推向市场成为企业生存发展和获取竞争优势的关键.因此,新产品的成功与有效的网略口碑管理息息相关,如何发挥网络口碑在新产品扩散中的积极作用成为一个亟待解决的问题.基于认知失调理论,将新产品特性分为产品创新度和产品差异化两个维度,着重探讨产品知识获取对上述两个维度与网络口碑关系的中介作用,同时分析产品知识获取与网络口碑的关系以及人际信任对上述关系的调节作用.以一个基于场景的调研收集278份样本数据,采用层级回归和Bootstrap中介效应检验方法验证假设.研究结果表明,产品知识获取在产品创新度和产品差异化与网络口碑之间均起中介作用,产品创新度和产品差异化正向影响产品知识获取,并进一步影响新产品的网络口碑,人际信任调节产品知识获取与网络口碑的关系.研究结果有助于扩展认知失调理论在新产品的网络口碑情景下的适用性;探讨产品知识获取影响消费者形成新产品的网络口碑的过程,弥补了已有研究未考虑网络口碑内在机制的局限性;全面分析了产品知识获取的中介作用和人际信任的调节作用.同时,也为企业传播新产品知识、提升网络口碑营销提供了理论指导.

With the rapid development of information technology and widespread adoption of internet,customers are able to obtain and spread information more effectively.In such circumstances,electronic word of mouth(eWOM),which has become an important form in word of mouth marketing,attracted the attention from the increasing number of researchers and practitioners.Whether a firm can successfully diffuse its new products through internet is critical to its survival and the acquirement of the competitive advantages.Therefore,effective management of eWOM contributes to the success of new products in market.And how to take advantages of eWOM in marketing new products is becoming a pressing concern for a firm.Based on cognitive dissonance theory,this study divides new product characteristic into two dimensions,including product innovativeness-eWOM and product differentiation-eWOM.Specifically speaking,we try to explore the salient mediating roles of product knowledge acquisition in product innovativeness-eWOM and product differentiation-eWOM relationships.We also explore the relationship between product knowledge acquisition and eWOM,and consider how interpersonal trust moderates the relationship between product knowledge acquisition and eWOM of a new product.A scenario-based survey is conducted to validate the hypotheses,with analyzing the data of 278 samples by using hierarchical regression and Bootstrap.The results show that product knowledge acquisition mediates the product innovativeness-eWOM relationship and the product differentiation-eWOM relationship in such a way that product innovativeness and product differentiation have positive impacts on product knowledge acquisition which further affects eWOM of a new product.Product knowledge acquisition has a positive effect on eWOM.Interpersonal trust moderates the relationship between product knowledge acquisition and eWOM of a new product.Results of our empirical tests make three contributions.First,our research is conducive to understanding cognitive dissonance theory.We extend the using boundary of cognitive dissonance theory by exploring its applicability in the eWOM of a new product.Second,our study is one of the first attempts to use a network approach investigating how product knowledge acquisition functions as a mediating role in the process of consumers’eWOM of a new product.It extends prior research that emphasizes either direct antecedents or consequences of eWOM without considering the internal mechanism of it.Third,our study makes clear progress upon network view about the mediating role of product knowledge acquisition and the moderating effect of interpersonal trust.The research has practical implications for marketing new products.Meanwhile it provides the firms with theoretical guidance for spreading knowledge of a new product and promoting eWOM.