An Investigation on How Word-Of-Mouth Valence and Product Tangibility Affect Product Attitude

This paper examines how positive and negative word-of-mouth may induce different levels of product attitude change across tangible and intangible products. An experiment was conducted in which subjects’ product attitude towards a watch (tangible) and hair services in a salon (intangible) was measured before and after exposure to positive or negative word-of-mouth. The major findings are: first, negative word-of-mouth led to a greater attitude change than positive word-of-mouth, and second, the attitude change was marginally greater towards an intangible versus a tangible product.

Citation:

Cindy M.Y. Chung, Jianshun Liang, Hon Wui Teo, and Yixiu Yao (2007) ,"An Investigation on How Word-Of-Mouth Valence and Product Tangibility Affect Product Attitude", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Stefania Borghini, Mary Ann McGrath, and Cele Otnes, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 297-298.