Vive la résistance

A boomerang effect of resisting incentivized eWOM on consumer trust

Bibliographic Data

ID21498043
AuthorsYaniv Gvili (0000-0002-3387-1676, School of Business Administration, Ono Academic College (OAC), corresponding author), Shalom Levy (0000-0001-5632-4010, Ariel University)
Year2025
Volume44
Issue1
Pages24-46
Publication date2025-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Advertising (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-0487 • E-ISSN: 1759-3948
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02650487.2024.2426428
OpenAlexW4404135846
LanguageFR
Citations received1
References cited70

Incentivizing consumers to share product recommendations and other forms of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) with their social media friends has become a prevalent promotional strategy among marketers. However, could this strategy potentially backfire? Adopting a metacognitive perspective, we suggest that this approach adversely affects those consumers who reject the incentive and resist sharing the message. We hypothesize that for individuals who rejected an incentive to share a message, lower initial message trustworthiness leads to decreased subsequent message trustworthiness. This effect arises as consumers reflect on their own behavior, subsequently developing perceived manipulative intent. This proposed sequential process was substantiated in two experimental studies. The results demonstrate a negative effect of initial eWOM trustworthiness on subsequent trustworthiness following incentive rejection (Studies 1-2). Furthermore, this effect is mediated by perceived manipulative intent and is bounded by the size of the incentive offered for sharing eWOM (Study 2). Both theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed

Advertising · Business · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Psychology · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Social Psychology · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour

Tools

Open DOI