Journal of Marketing Management

ISSN: 0267-257X (Print) 1472-1376 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjmm20

Analysis of fashion consumers motives to engage

in electronic word-of-mouth communication
through social media platforms
Julia Wolny & Claudia Mueller
To cite this article: Julia Wolny & Claudia Mueller (2013) Analysis of fashion
consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth communication through
social media platforms, Journal of Marketing Management, 29:5-6, 562-583, DOI:
10.1080/0267257X.2013.778324
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.778324

Published online: 20 May 2013.

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Date: 30 September 2016, At: 10:18

Journal of Marketing Management, 2013

Vol. 29, Nos. 56, 562583, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.778324

Analysis of fashion consumers motives to engage in

electronic word-of-mouth communication through
social media platforms
Julia Wolny, University of Southampton, UK
Claudia Mueller, University of the Arts London, UK
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyse consumers interactions with
fashion brands on social networking sites, focusing on consumers motives for
engaging in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication.1 Existing WOM
motivation frameworks are expanded to include context-specific fashion and
brand variables that influence consumers to engage in eWOM on Facebook and
Twitter. Subsequently, the motives are incorporated into an extended Theory
of Reasoned Action (TRA) model. The study demonstrates that high brand
commitment and fashion involvement motivate people to engage in talking about
and interacting with fashion brands. Furthermore, those who are motivated by
product involvement or have a high need for social interaction engage more
frequently in fashion brand-related eWOM than those that are not motivated by
those factors.
Keywords electronic word of mouth; WOM; fashion; customer motivations; social
media; TRA

Introduction
With ever-increasing prevalence, social networking sites are being used by consumers
to connect with one another, and increasingly to connect consumers with brands and
vice versa. This means that research is needed to understand consumers motives for
engaging in social media communication by exploring why people write comments
and posts on social networks. Research is also needed to examine the various
opportunities brands have in order to understand and possibly influence consumers
engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication.
Much of the existing research into commercial uses of social networks has focused
on understanding the impact of social media usage on brands and their ability to
monetise it. (Abedniya & Mahmouei, 2010; Dellarocas, 2003; Kozinets, de Valck,
1 For

the purposes of this study, engaging in eWOM communication refers to all of the following:
writing, liking, sharing, recommending, commenting on, and tweeting fashion brand-related
messages on Facebook and/or Twitter. A fashion brand-related message includes a post, link, comment,
or tweet.

2013 Westburn Publishers Ltd.

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

Wojnicki, & Wilner, 2010; Moran, 2010; T. Smith, Coyle, Lightfoot, & Scott,
2007; Trusov, Bucklin, & Pauwels, 2009; Xiaofen & Yiling, 2009). While it is
undoubtedly useful for brands to know this, it should be of interest to both academics
and practitioners to understand better what motivates consumers to engage with
brand-related stories on social networks in the first place, and thus how brands
can encourage or discourage these behaviours. This study aims to bridge this gap by
reviewing existing offline and online consumer motivation research (Dichter, 1966;
Ryan & Deci, 2000; Sundaram, Mitra, & Webster, 1998) and subsequently apply it
in the context of fashion brand-related eWOM.

Fashion, trends, and social networks

The fashion context is deemed to be particularly revealing when studying social
media usage, as fashion itself is known to spread through network effects (Easley
& Kleinberg, 2010). One reason why fashion exists is that it is necessarily public
. . . a secret fashion is a contradiction in terms (Reynolds, 1968, p. 44). Not only
do fashion trends follow a diffusion curve, but they are also adapted throughout
their lifecycle to fit in better with the users norms, values, and preferences. In fact,
it can be argued that trends are co-created by consumers who not only perpetuate
but also adapt them along the way. Such network effects mean that when a trend is
adopted successfully by a number of people, it impacts the perceived value of the
product for another user, in a positive or negative way, depending on the reference
point. Fashion is, therefore, a powerful social symbol used to create and communicate
personal as well as group identities (Ahuvia, 2005). Kamineni (2005) posits that
people express themselves through consumption in a myriad of ways, and in this
context, product and brands have the ability to communicate messages to others.
In that product styles determine how consumers who own a particular product
are perceived by others (p. 27). This has profound implications for peer-to-peer
communications about fashion, where users can choose what, when, and with whom
they decide to share information, as this in turn impacts their socially perceived
identity.
Fashion has been classified as high involvement, which refers to products that
are either expensive, rarely bought, linked to personal identity, or carry high risks
(social or otherwise). It has been observed that high-involvement products attract a
significant amount of conversations online (Gu, Park, & Konana, 2012). One reason
for this high incidence of fashion chatter may lie in the complexity in evaluating
its value, particularly its social value. To counteract this, social media users often
share style-related information with their peers, with the expectations of receiving
feedback on their stylistic choices (Lin, Lu, & Wu, 2012). The representation of the
fashioned self or self-selected styles has become a critical component of the social
web, and opened up a whole new channel to amplify ones fashion preferences and
engage with others/brands. The fact that the flow of new fashion or styling choices is
never-ending, with the kaleidoscope of products and trends (be it recycled) constantly
changing, means there is always a potential element of surprise in user-generated
fashion messages. Correspondingly, surprise and newness have been cited as necessary
message characteristics for maintaining the interest of a social audience (Knox, 2012).
Fashion brands, especially those in the luxury sector, have also been engaging
with viral marketing content, in particular brand-sponsored videos, with the hope

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of attracting the attention of visual influencers. Online pin boards, such as Pinterest,
and other visual platforms have become important marketing channels for brands, as
they benefit from the network effects of those influencers. Visual content has become,
in some cases, its own luxury product (Kondrashova, 2012) and a powerful mode
of conveying the brands desired image. Focusing on the motivations to engage in
fashion brand-related eWOM, this research can help fashion brands to understand
better how to influence peer-to-peer communications through social media without
the use of traditional advertising techniques.

Marketing implications of word-of-mouth communications

Even though social media has changed the tactics of marketing, its primary goals
remain the same ultimately attracting and retaining customers (Weber, 2009). More
specific marketing objectives can include raising brand awareness and improving
perception of brand image. While many authors recognise the important role of social
media in achieving those objectives, their contribution to the primary goals is often
questioned (Dellarocas, 2003; Trusov et al., 2009). With the advent of the social web,
firms now experience a new challenge, where the right balance is needed between
empowering customers to spread the word about their brand through viral networks
whilst still controlling the companys own core strategic marketing goals. eWOM
marketing falls under the category of viral marketing, which broadly describes
any strategy that encourages individuals to propagate a message, thus, creating the
potential for exponential growth in the messages exposure and influence (Bampo,
Ewing, Mather, Stewart, & Wallace, 2008, p. 274). Strauss (2000) defines eWOM in
particular as the positive or negative statement made by a potential, actual or former
customer about a product or a company, which is made available to a multitude of
people and institutions on the Internet (p. 235).
The most prevalent social networks have been developed and are predominantly
used for private non-commercial communications. However, brands are interested in
exploring or using them for commercial benefit. It has been observed that although
the motivations of communicators and receivers in eWOM communication may
not be commercial, those activities often contain names of brands/products/venues,
and therefore they are likely to affect the perception of commercial entities or
their products. Because it is considered as a natural, genuine and honest process
(WOMMA, 2007), WOM has been identified as more trustworthy and as having
greater impact on customers purchasing decisions than other communication
channels (Goldsmith & Horowitz, 2006; Katz & Lazarsfield, 1995). Brands are
increasingly looking to consumers comments for inspiration in terms of advertising
campaigns and even new product development. This is often referred to as crowd
sourcing and co-creation within the marketing toolbox (Storbacka, Frow, Nenonen,
& Payne, 2012; Wolny, 2009). It is, however, worth noting that offline channels
are still considered dominant in WOM. Keller (2012), in a recent study, identified
that not only do more WOM conversations occur offline than online, but that
face-to-face conversations are more credible, have a higher emotional content, and
are linked to a natural instinct for socialisation. Brands that are able to influence
customer engagement in a multichannel world, it is suggested, are more likely to
gain competitive advantage and more loyal customers as a result (P. R. Smith &
Zook, 2011).

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

The question emerging from this analysis is what motivates consumers to engage
particularly in online brand-related communications. The following section will
identify the most pertinent motivations based on previous research in the field of
WOM and eWOM.

eWOM motivation research

To date, there is a dearth of frameworks specifically developed for the e-business
context. Therefore, and due to the fact that the principal idea is the same, various
authors refer to WOM theory to explain eWOM (Brown, Broderick, & Lee, 2007;
Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh, & Gremler, 2004; Keller & Berry, 2006; Trusov
et al., 2009; Xiaofen & Yiling, 2009). The differential features in the electronic
medium are related to the speed with which information travels in cyberspace,
the extent of access to large volume of information, the lack of geographical
limitations, and the many-to-many nature of online communications. For the purpose
of this research, the definition of eWOM is expanded to include non-textual
communications, which can be observed by peers such as liking a brand on Facebook
or recommending (retweeting) a story on Twitter, as well as the more commonly
studied product reviews and comments on social networks.
East, Vanhuele, and Wright (2008) proposed a WOM production model based on
the assumption that behaviour stems from three sources of influence: motivation,
opportunity, and ability (MOA). Their model attempts to explain how WOM
interaction becomes more likely when people have the desire to engage in it
and when they have the relevant skills and opportunity to do so. Thus it is
proposed that in addition to marketing interventions and talk-worthy products, both
general consumer traits (e.g. loyalty) and context-specific motivations (e.g. product
satisfaction, advice seeking) influence engagement in WOM. Those two groups of
consumer-related motives are the focus of our study, and will be analysed in the
following sections in relation to fashion and social media contexts.
With respect to general consumer traits, one of the most long-standing
motivational constructs is that of involvement, which itself is multifaceted. Dichter
(1996) identified four major motivations for WOM which all centre on the
construct of involvement; these are product involvement, self-involvement (or selfenhancement), other involvement (or concern for others), and message involvement.
Literature differentiates between situational involvement (also termed product
involvement), which occurs when evaluating the product itself or having a shortterm involvement in a product of low personal relevance, and enduring involvement,
sometimes called predispositional involvement, which relates to a more general
attitude towards a product group or long-lasting involvement that arises out of a
sense of high personal relevance (Bloch & Bruce, 1984; Wohlfeil & Whelan, 2006).
Both of those constructs are analysed in our study. Enduring involvement in fashion is
classified here as fashion involvement. As the primary focus of this study is on fashion
and the fashion consumer, it is important to identify whether the level of general
fashion involvement has an impact on consumer engagement in eWOM. Product
involvement, self-involvement, other involvement, and message involvement are also
included in the following discussion. They are hypothesised to influence consumers
propensity to share information with others, and are included as context-specific
variables.

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A parallel distinction can be drawn between the construct of product

satisfaction and brand commitment. The difference between customer satisfaction
and commitment is conceptualised following ODriscall and Randall (1999) with
satisfaction defined as backward-looking, whereas the commitment dimension is
more forward-looking. In fact, the literature indicates that customers who commit
to an organisation are more likely to generate WOM communication than those who
only exhibit satisfaction with a product (Harrison-Walker, 2001). Thus the second
consumer trait analysed will be that of brand commitment.
With recent research updating the WOM model within the electronic context,
additional variables found to increase the likelihood of eWOM have been included
in our theoretical framework on the basis of Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004). In their
research, which was based on pre-analysis of offline motivations (Engel, Blackwell, &
Miniard, 2005; Sundaram et al., 1998), they proposed that factors such as need for
social interaction, desire for economic incentives, and advice seeking were significant
motivators for consumers to engage in writing online reviews. Each of the motives
identified in this section is evaluated in turn below, and applied in the context of
fashion brand-related eWOM, leading to the development of a theoretical framework
for this research.
Fashion involvement
It is important to discuss the construct of fashion involvement, as it provides a
measure of enduring involvement. Specifically, with enduring involvement, personal
relevance occurs because the individual relates the product to his self-image and
attributes some hedonic qualities to the product (Higie & Feick, 1989). Apparel has
frequently been quoted as high involvement (e.g. Bloch, 1986; Goldsmith & Emmert,
1991). Research has demonstrated that people who score high in fashion involvement
are more likely to be heavy clothing buyers and have an interest in fashion (Fairhurst,
Good, & Gentry, 1989). Taking into account the enduring involvement nature of
the construct, a measure developed by Higie and Feick (1989) has been adapted to
the fashion context to identify respondents level of fashion involvement, and taps
into their perceptions of fashion as interesting, fun, and important. Please refer to
Appendix 1 for the detail of measurement scales used.
H1: People with high fashion involvement are more likely to engage in fashion brandrelated eWOM.

Brand involvement
Brand involvement (sometimes termed brand commitment) is described as positive
feelings of attachment to a brand (Beatty & Kahle, 1988), and is characterised by
a tendency to withstand changes (Dholakia, 1997; Pritchard, Havitz, & Howard,
1999). It has been found that consumers who have high commitment to an
organisation are more likely to pass on positive messages but are likely to be vehement
if disappointed in a services context (Mangold, Miller, & Brockway, 1999). Hur, Ahn,
and Kim (2011) identified brand commitment as predictor of members behaviours
in an online community, such as participating in community activities.
More specifically, several current eWOM studies support the idea that affective
commitment is important for fostering eWOM generation (Cheung, Lee, &

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

Rabjohn, 2008; Harrison-Walker, 2001). Affective (or emotional) attachment to

brands is particularly relevant to fashion brands, which rely strongly on emotional
differentiation, as opposed to functional product differentiation. Consumers
self-concept and values therefore should align with those of the fashion brand in
order for high brand commitment to occur. Measurements of the construct have
been adopted from the general brand loyalty scale by Zaichkowsky (1985) and a
brand commitment scale by Beatty and Kahle (1988).
H2: People who exhibit high brand commitment to fashion brands are more likely to
engage in eWOM about those brands.

Product involvement
Customer satisfaction with a product has been identified by many researchers as
the most prominent determinant of WOM and eWOM engagement (e.g. Casalo,
Flavin, & Guinaliu, 2008, in e-banking; Finn, Wang, & Frank, 2009, in e-services).
This is particularly relevant in purchase decision-making situations, where a positive
experience of a new product or a brand has a link to the desire to recommend
(Sivadas & Baker-Prewitt, 2000). Correspondingly, customer dissatisfaction has been
linked to negative WOM. Zeelenberg and Pieters (2004), for example, reported that
WOM activities attract more dissatisfied than satisfied users. Interestingly, Doh and
Hwang (2009) found in their research that a few negative comments can be helpful
in generating a positive attitude and enhancing the credibility of eWOM messages,
as consumers may be suspicious of credibility of comments when no negative posts
appear. Product involvement specifically has been identified as a motive for WOM
communication behaviour by Dichter (1966), Engel et al. (2005), and Sundaram
et al. (1998). It has been defined as the level of personal relevance that a consumer
sees in a product (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2006). The level of product involvement
has been linked to the importance a product has in a persons life, as well as how
the product relates to the persons self-concept (Dichter, 1966). A persons selfconcept contains a unique set of attitudes and values, and once a product is related
to the individuals attitudes and values, product involvement occurs (Warrington &
Shim, 2000). This has important implications for fashion products, which have been
recognised as closely linked to the wearers self-concept (Goldsmith & Clark, 2008;
OCass, 2004; Phau & Lo, 2004). When a match between product and self-concept
occurs, Dichter (1966) posits that it produces a tension which is not eased by the use
of the product alone, but must be channeled by way of talk, recommendation, and
enthusiasm to restore the balance (provide relief) (p. 148). Feick and Price (1987)
confirm this by suggesting that product involvement is the most common explanation
for opinion leaders conversations about products. The measurement of the construct
has been adopted from and Hennig-Thurau (2004) and OCass (2004).
H3: People with high product involvement engage in fashion brand-related eWOM
more frequently.

Self-involvement
Dichter (1966) was the first to identify self-involvement as a motive for engaging
in WOM behaviour, and it was applied to the electronic context by Hennig-Thurau

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et al. (2004). In later research, it was reconceptualised as self-enhancement (Abedniya

&Mahmouei, 2010), and defined as the need to share positive consumption
experiences in an effort to enhance ones image among others by projecting
themselves as intelligent shoppers (Dichter, 1966, p. 148). Commenting on fashion
products and brands or forwarding interesting brand messages might all contribute
to the perceived status as a fashion leader and thus lead to self-enhancement within
a reference group. Correspondingly, it may also lead to gaining attention and
a heightened influence over others. The measurement of the construct followed
the operationalisation adopted by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004), who found selfinvolvement to be a significant predictor of eWOM.
H4: People who are motivated by self-involvement engage in fashion brand-related
eWOM more frequently.

Other involvement
Other involvement (or concern for others) has been identified in most extant WOM
research, except in Sundaram et al. (1998), who instead identified helping the
company as a motive. Research describes other involvement as a need to help others
(Price, Feick, & Guskey, 1995) or to engage in altruistic behaviour, which refers to
doing something for others without expecting anything in return (Sundaram et al.,
1998). In the context of social media, concern for others has been found to have
a major influence on visiting online social networks (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004).
They refer to the concern for other consumers as a genuine desire to help a friend
or relative make a better purchase decision (ibid., p. 41). T. Smith et al. (2007) share
this point of view by suggesting that one of the basic human needs is to be helpful
and give advice. In addition to altruistic drives, social media users may feel compelled
to reciprocate with WOM when they themselves feel indebted to a potential receiver
of information (e.g. because they received valuable information from the receiver),
or because they desire the opportunity to similarly obligate the receiver (Gatignon &
Robertson, 1985). Fashion-styling advice and apparel-purchase advice are just some
of the ways users may be helping others in social media contexts. The measurement
of this construct has been adapted from Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004).
H5: People who are motivated by other involvement engage in fashion brand-related
eWOM more frequently.

Advice seeking
The flip side of concern for others is advice seeking, which has been isolated as a
discrete motivator for WOM engagement by Sundaram et al. (1998) and applied
in electronic media context by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004). Whereas the former
authors referred to advice seeking as a motive for negative WOM (i.e. obtaining
advice on how to resolve problems), Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) put advice seeking
in the context of positive eWOM in the sense of being genuinely interested in
other consumers opinion and advice. Particularly because the credibility of formal
marketing efforts often is in doubt . . . an opinion leader is likely to be chosen as
an essential contact for verification or advice about a product or brand (Kimmel,
2010, p. 237). In the fashion contexts, advice seeking can take the form of sharing

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

a company-initiated product-related link or message with peers, in order to seek

another persons opinion before, for example, deciding to purchase a product.
Thus it may incidentally involve forwarding brand-related messages or visuals.
The measurement of this construct has been adapted from Hennig-Thurau et al.
(2004).
H6: People who are motivated by receiving advice engage in fashion brand-related
eWOM more frequently.

Need for social interaction

While this factor is related to the previous two, it should be recognised that
sometimes consumers talk about products and services simply to make conversation.
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) argue that consumers post comments to receive social
benefits from being part of a virtual community, and in their study they found that
social benefits have the strongest influence on users visiting these communities, as well
as on the number of comments written. Burton and Khammash (2010) recognise that
the reader may initially passively engage in scanning eWOM messages, but may start
sharing opinions after becoming familiar with other users. The fact that consumers
meet and become familiar with new people seems to have an impact on the level
of activity on social media networks. The growth in fashion communities and visual
pinboards may be an indication of the impact of familiarity and interaction on fashion
brand-related eWOM. The measurement of this construct has been adapted from
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004).
H7: People who are motivated by the need for social interaction engage in fashion
brand-related eWOM more frequently.

In addition, message involvement (message intrigue in Engel et al., 2005) and

economic incentives (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004) have been proposed as external
motivators for eWOM engagement. As they may coincide with the personal traits
and motivators analysed above, we did not include them in further analysis. They are
nevertheless useful conceptual constructs, and their relevance to marketing practice
warrants future research.

Theoretical framework
Based on the above discussion, an integrated model including the seven traits
and motivations to engage in fashion brand-related eWOM is proposed and
tested in this study, namely fashion involvement, brand involvement, product
involvement, self-involvement, other involvement, need for social interaction, and
advice seeking. Italicised terms have been adopted for the remainder of the study
to ease comprehension. In order to understand better the link between consumer
motivations, those variables were incorporated in the Theory of Reasoned Action
(TRA) model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Here, the proposed motives are hypothesised
to lead to certain attitudes, which, in turn, may prove to be decisive in forming
consumers intention and ultimately behaviour. The TRA posits that two constructs
attitude and subjective norm have an influence on intention to perform behaviour

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and consequently on behaviour itself. The first construct, attitude towards behaviour,
is a function of the perceived consequences associated with the behaviour and
their value to the person. The second component, subjective norm, is a function
of beliefs about the views of important others (e.g. close ties), and motivation of
complying with those opinions (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Accordingly, two additional
hypotheses are proposed:
H8: Peoples engagement in fashion brand-related eWOM communications is
influenced by their attitude towards such behaviour.
H9: Peoples engagement in fashion brand-related eWOM communications is
influenced by their close-ties opinions of such behaviour

This study examines both the direct and indirect relationships between motivations
and behaviour to identify the model that better explains engagement in eWOM
communications. Figure 1 presents the variables included in the theoretical
framework.
Dependent variable: eWOM Engagement (consumers engagement in fashion
brand-related eWOM communication on Facebook and/or Twitter).
Independent variables: Traits and Motives (consumers traits and motives for
fashion brand-related eWOM engagement).
Endogenous variables: Attitude and Subjective Norm (with regard to engagement
in fashion brand-related eWOM communication).

Such conceptualisation follows from the original TRA, but amends it for the purpose
of our study in several ways. First, motives are identified as independent variables,
where in the original only motivations to comply and beliefs are identified as
independent exogenous variables. Extant research has recognised that beliefs do
not sufficiently capture innate needs, and TRA has in the past been criticised for
not explicitly addressing the core needs that may compel a specific human activity
(Scialdone & Zhang, 2010, p. 2). Second, although the original TRA model identified
that subjective norm and attitude influence intention to perform behaviour, this
study included actual self-reported behaviour (eWOM engagement) as a more reliable
measure than intention.
Figure 1 Hypothesised model.

Traits
Fashion Involvement
Brand Involvement
Motivations
Product involvement
Self-Involvement
Other Involvement
Advice Seeking
Need for Social Interaction

Attitude towards
Behaviour

Subjective Norm

eWOM
Engagement

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

Methodology
Instrument development
The hypothesised predictors of engagement in fashion brand-related eWOM included
seven traits and motives, as well as the interaction effects of attitude and subjective
norm from the original TRA model. All of the predictors were measured using fivepoint Likert scales, and the dependent variable, eWOM engagement, was measured
utilising a binary (yes/no) as well as ordinal (frequency) measure. The measures
utilised in the questionnaire relating to the above variables were adapted from
existing studies and applied within the context social media networks. For a
summary of measurement scales, please refer to Appendix 1. Composite variables
were created for all observed constructs using summated scales, a technique that
has been used successfully in previous research (e.g. Raajpoot, Sharma, & Chebat,
2008). The reliability of key constructs was examined using conventional methods,
as established scales were used. The Cronbachs alpha of each construct is reported
in Appendix 1, demonstrating adequate reliability by exceeding the suggested cutoff value of .7 for the majority of variables, with advice seeking (.62) and product
involvement (.68) variables still acceptable but just falling short of the cut-off value
as recommended by Nunnally (1978). Checks for multicollinearity were conducted
and are presented in Appendix 2, indicating that correlations among independent
variables are at acceptable levels (below .6; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001).
Sample description and procedure
A pretest of the research instrument with seven respondents was conducted using the
debriefing method, as suggested by Proctor (2005), resulting in slight amendments to
question wording and questionnaire length. The resulting self-administered, Internetbased questionnaire was seeded online through various channels where respondents
were likely to have had experience of engaging with fashion brands online. This
method generated an Internet- and social networkliterate sample of 210 users,
resulting in 192 usable responses.
The sample contained a higher proportion of females (65%) than males (35%).
In terms of age, the majority (51.1%) were in their twenties, 21.1% were in their
thirties, 11.1% in their teens, 8.3% in their forties, and 8.3% in their fifties (N =
192). Although the sample was skewed towards females and younger consumers, this
is not uncommon in samples for fashion-related surveys, and is reflective of the target
population of fashion-oriented social network users.
Both groups those who engage (53.6%) and do not engage (46.4%) in
fashion brand-related eWOM have been included in analysis of the two
general characteristics, fashion involvement and brand commitment, as predictors
of engagement. Subsequently, the analysis focused only on those that do engage in
fashion brand-related eWOM for the purpose of analysing the propensity (frequency)
of engagement based on context-specific motivators product involvement, selfinvolvement, other involvement, need for social interaction, and advice seeking.

Hypothesis testing
Logistic regression was utilised to analyse the hypothesised model of engagement in
fashion brand-related eWOM, followed by t-tests to identify differences based on

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frequency of eWOM engagement. As the dependent variable was measured both

through a binary (engagement or lack of engagement) and ordinal (frequency of
engagement) scale, those tests provided the most appropriate method for the analysis
of data. Traditionally, such research questions were addressed by either ordinary
least squares (OLS) regression or linear discriminant function analysis (Peng &
So, 2002). However, with advances in statistical software, logistic regression has
gained popularity in marketing research, especially since it has less stringent data
distribution assumptions, it generates more appropriate and correct findings in terms
of model fit and correctness of the analysis (Akinci, Kaynak, Atilgan, & Aksoy, 2007,
p. 538).
This empirical part of the paper is divided into two parts. First, it reports on
the role of fashion involvement and brand commitment in influencing eWOM
engagement. This is analysed through testing two competing models with and
without the integration of attitude and subjective norm as interaction effects, model 2
and model 1 respectively. Model 2 examines whether the inclusion of subjective
norms and attitudes in the model predicts behaviour better than motives on their
own. Therefore hypotheses H1, H2, H8, and H9 are tested. The second part
involves an analysis of context-specific motivations that influence the frequency of
engagement, testing hypotheses H3H7.
The results of logistic regression on model 1 are presented in Table 1. Overall,
model 1 demonstrates a significant goodness of fit ( 2 = 38.75, df = 7, p < .000).
The results indicate that both H1 and H2 are supported with fashion involvement
as well as brand involvement being a significant predictor of eWOM engagement in
fashion. The model also indicates that neither attitude nor subjective norm have a
direct, non-interaction effect on eWOM engagement (p < .05).
The second logistic regression presented in Table 2 examines model 2, which
included interaction effects of attitude (H8) and subjective norm (H9) respectively
Table 1 Logistic regression parameters for the relationship between general
traits and eWOM behaviour.

FI
BI
ATT
SN
Constant
Overall

B
.163
.158
.012
.059
4.353

SE
.056
.058
.071
.103
.933

Wald
8.572
7.476
.026
.334
21.753

Sig.
.003
.006
.871
.563
0

statistics 2 = 38.75, df = 7, p < .000.

Table 2 Logistic regression parameters for interaction effects of attitude and

subjective norm.

FI_ATT
BI_ATT
FI_SN
BI_SN
Constant
Overall

B
.052
.035
.084
.038
1.967

SE
.025
.016
.032
.019
.472

statistics 2 = 34.37, df = 4, p < .000.

Wald
4.306
4.897
6.945
3.813
17.379

Sig.
.038
.027
.008
.051
0

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

Table 3 Comparison of means between frequent and infrequent contributors of eWOM.

Product involvement
Self-involvement
Other involvement
Need for social interaction
Advice seeking

Frequency
Infrequent
Frequent
Infrequent
Frequent
Infrequent
Frequent
Infrequent
Frequent
Infrequent
Frequent

N
71
21
71
21
71
21
71
21
71
21

Mean
10.65
8.86
5.90
4.95
10.11
8.76
9.73
8.05
5.54
4.76

SD
2.66
3.65
1.75
2.09
2.93
3.53
2.63
2.38
1.79
1.70

Sig.
(2-tailed)
.015
.040
.080
.010
.082

on the relationship between consumer traits and eWOM engagement. Overall, model
2 demonstrates a significant goodness of fit ( 2 = 34.37, df = 4, p < .000).
Findings from model 2 indicate that all four predictors contribute significantly
(p .05) to the predictive ability of model 2, namely Fashion Innovativeness
Attitude (B = .052, df = 1, p = .038); Brand Involvement Attitude (B = .035,
df = 1, p = .027); Fashion Innovativeness Social Norm (B = .084, df = 1,
p = .008); and Brand Involvement Social Norm (B = .038, df = 1, p = .05).
Hypotheses H8 and H9 are therefore supported for the two traits hypothesised.
Of all those predictors of interaction, Brand Involvement Social Norm has a
borderline significance as predictor of eWOM (p = .05), and as such should be treated
with caution in subsequent discussion.
Hypotheses H1, H2, H8, and H9 are therefore supported, as both direct
motivators and significant interaction effects have been identified in our study.
Both fashion involvement and brand involvement impact on eWOM engagement,
directly and through attitude and social norm. Not only are these findings intuitively
acceptable, they also provide support for the relationships put forward in the TRA
model, regarding the interaction role of attitude and subjective norm.
The hypotheses relating to motives impacting the frequency of fashion brandrelated eWOM engagement were initially tested using ordinal regression. Frequency
of engagement was measured using a five-point scale, which was subsequently
collapsed into frequent and infrequent behaviours. For either measure, the
regression did not demonstrate the hypothesised motives to be predicting level of
engagement (p > .05) nor attitude or subjective norm mediating this relationship.
Tests for differences between groups, presented in Table 3, however, indicated that
there are significant differences between those that engage in eWOM frequently
(often and always) and infrequently (rarely and occasionally). In particular, product
involvement, self-involvement, and need for social interaction differed significantly
between those more or less likely to engage in eWOM generation behaviours. While
this does not explicitly provide support for H3H7, the relationships do warrant
further investigation on a larger data set with active eWOM engagement to identify
causalities.

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Discussion and conclusions

With peer-to-peer communication being increasingly recognised in marketing
practice as a cost-effective and useful marketing tactic (Craigie, 2006; Herr,
Kardes, & Kim, 1991), understanding the motivators for eWOM engagement is of
importance to both academics and practitioners. The major aim of this study was to
investigate the types of motives that can predict such behaviour and its frequency,
in the context of fashion brands. From a theoretical viewpoint, the study also aimed
to examine the influence of established constructs of attitude and subjective norm
in engaging with this type of viral marketing. Our findings not only have important
marketing implications for fashion brands, but also enhance the understanding of
more general e-communication behaviours.
Overall, the results show that fashion involvement and brand involvement are
the key motivators for fashion brand-related eWOM engagement. In contrast to
most eWOM research, which has identified customer satisfaction with the product
as prime motivator to share brand-related information (Casalo et al., 2008; Finn
et al., 2009), this study examined category-level interest (in our case fashion
involvement) and confirmed it as a significant cause of such behaviour. Furthermore,
we tested the idea that being committed to a brand has positive impact on eWOM
engagement. It is evident from our results that those consumers who are brand
involved are more likely to be interacting about brands online. Our findings provide
support for previous research in the brand community context, where Yeh and Choi
(2011) found that brand community members affinity for a brand predicts their
positive eWOM intention, and that strong commitment to the brand mediates this
relationship.
An analysis of 26 million tweets by Bazaarvoice (2012) suggests, for example,
that the number of brand mentions on Twitter has been increasing steadily, by 113%
from 2011 to 2012, with overall volume of tweets increasing 143% in the same
time period. Their research also found that users who mention brands in their
tweets have on average more followers than those that do not. This finding seems
to confirm the powerful social symbol that brands have become, which makes them
useful shortcuts for attracting new followers and increasing credibility in social
networks.
Product involvement variable was conceptualized in keeping with the situational
involvement construct (Bloch & Bruce, 1994). It occurs when a specific object catches
an individuals interest for a limited period of time, particularly when browsing or
during purchase situations. Because of its temporal nature, it is distinct from the more
enduring, trait-related constructs of fashion involvement and brand commitment
discussed above. While our research did not explicitly test whether involvement
with specific products predicts eWOM engagement, we have found that there is
a significant difference in the level of product involvement between those that
comment/tweet frequently and infrequently about fashion. This points to customer
engagement with the product as being an important factor in increasing eWOM
conversations, providing support for previous findings (Gu et al., 2012). Interestingly,
and contrary to popular belief that consumers are more likely to tell others about
negative than positive experiences with brands and products, Hennig-Thurau et al.
(2004) found that users who were motivated by negative feeling visit social media
platforms less often for the purpose of posting reviews on social networks. This

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

distinction has not been tested in our research, but would be an interesting avenue
for future study.
Furthermore, self-involvement, linked to the importance of being perceived as
opinion leader, has been found to differentiate between the frequency of fashion
brand-related eWOM engagement. This motivation is linked to self-concept, and may
be particularly significant when users are giving style advice to peers or commenting
on fashion trends. While users are shopping online by engaging directly with brands
(although social commerce may be changing this), when evaluating alternatives, they
are more likely to trust other users when it comes to choices (Bickart & Schindler,
2001). By providing opportunities to enhance the fashion status of its users, it
can be argued that fashion brands may be able to encourage positive eWOM
behaviours.
In our study, the need for social interaction was found to be linked to the frequency
of eWOM engagement. Perhaps this is not surprising considering the study took place
in the context of social networks. However, it is apparent that users appreciate the
social benefits that occur when writing comments or sharing a brand-related post
with a friend. New communities develop, and conversations are shared which lead
to yet new connections. This finding is also in keeping with previous research in
different contexts (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Ho & Dempsey, 2010) confirming
that the frequency of eWOM engagement increases in line with the social benefit
derived from being part of a network.
Concern for others and advice seeking were not found to be important factors
in influencing frequency of fashion brand-related eWOM engagement, contrary to
research by Ho and Dempsey (2010) on forwarding non-fashion online content,
which found a positive relationship between altruism and eWOM. Hennig-Thurau
et al. (2004) also found concern for others to be the second-highest predictor of
frequency of social platform visits for eWOM after social interaction benefits. Further
research, including different measurement scales and construct operationalization,
may provide more explanatory results.
The major theoretical findings of our research relate to the influence of attitude
and subjective norm on the resulting eWOM engagement, as we conceptualised
eWOM to be part of the TRA model. Specifically, our findings confirm the role of the
influence of the two constructs in the context of social media. While both attitude
and subjective norm have been shown to influence the link between consumer traits
and eWOM engagement, the current study does not stipulate the types on interaction
effects. It does, however, demonstrate that the strength of the model is increased by
the inclusion of those constructs. While some may interpret it as moderating role
(Baron & Kenny, 1986), others may argue that it is in fact the attitude and subjective
norm that shapes the types of motivations (Bagozzi, 1992). In either case, the findings
strongly suggest that inclusions of psychological and sociological needs as drivers of
behaviours may allow a better understanding of the eWOM engagement concept.

Limitations and managerial implications

Despite adding to a growing body of knowledge on online consumer behaviours
and providing new insight on the transmission of eWOM, the results of this study
should be considered in the light of the inherent fashion context. Respondents
behaviours were studied only on two of the numerous social media networks

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Facebook and Twitter, excluding blogs, product review sites, online pin boards, and
other media and relied on self-reporting. Additionally, we decided not to measure
intention and focus instead on purely stated behaviours. Although it can be argued
that it is a more reliable measure, it does deviate from the original TRA model.
The actual path of interaction has not been specified, and further research on the
types of influences of attitude and subjective norm in eWOM is needed. Despite its
limitations, this research paves the way for future studies that can apply the extended
TRA framework to other contexts within the eWOM domain. We would also like
to see more extensive online consumer motivation research being conducted in the
fashion context, utilising robust quantitative procedures and refined measurement
scales, particularly for the constructs economic incentives and message involvement,
both of which have been hypothesised to have an impact on eWOM engagement in
previous literature. An analysis examining specific brand-related eWOM engagement
by type of user behaviour (e.g. liking a brand as opposed to commenting on their
blog or reviewing their product), similar to one conducted by Burton and Khammash
(2010) on online review reading motives, would help in this respect.
The results of this research can help fashion brands to understand better how to
influence peer-to-peer communications on social media without the use of traditional
advertising techniques. According to the findings, generating brand commitment
and appealing to consumer with high fashion involvement can drive brand-related
communications online. Marketers should strive to learn what opinions and affinities
social media users have towards their brand. This is often expressed through product
ratings, reviews, blogs, discussion forums, and sharing of comments or images.
While some brands may try to influence these behaviours, others may not want
to influence eWOM artificially but instead utilise the insight generated by users to
understand their customers better. Particular attention should be paid to the cocreative capacity of consumers WOM to influence the brands image and perceived
value, as consumers online comments may lead to changes in brands marketing
response or may even shape marketing campaigns. Fashion, it can be argued, has
been increasingly characterised by peer influence, with trends being created less
by established fashion magazines or designers and more by bloggers as opinion
formers who have the power to influence how a fashion brand or trend is perceived
in the market. The construct of opinion leaders is not new, and the complex
patterns of influence within a group have been identified in the multi-step flow of
communications model (Fill, 2006). Several luxury brands have already recognised
this and use blogger outreach as an important part of their marketing activities
(Sepp, Liljander, & Gummerus, 2011). This is an early indication of the impact
users have on brand marketing activities. In line with this trend, and building on
previous research (e.g. Burton & Khammash, 2010; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004;
Ho & Dempsey, 2010), our study highlights the importance of category-level and
social drivers that lead to a stronger engagement with brand-related content in social
media.

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.77

.68

I trust what is said by the brand

Posts and tweets by fashion brands influence my buying
behaviour
I can identify with people wearing the same brands as me
It is very important to me to buy the right fashion brand/label
I invest much effort before selecting the right fashion brand/label

My social network contributions show that I am a clever customer

My social network contributions show that I am knowledgeable
about the product

Brand involvement

Product involvement 4 items used

Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) and OCass
(2004)
Fashion brand-related eWOM
engagement

Self-involvement

2 items used Hennig-Thurau et al.

(2004)
Fashion brand-related eWOM
engagement

5 items
Zaichkowsky (1985) and Beatty and
Kahle (1988)
General consumer trait

This way I can express my joy about a product

This way I can express my disappointment with a product
I feel good when I can tell others about my buying successes
I feel good when I can tell others about my buying failures

(Continued)

.73

.91

I am interested in fashion
I think fashion is fun
I think fashion is fascinating
I think fashion is important

Fashion involvement 4 items

Higie and Feick (1989)
General consumer trait

Scales used
2 alternative items used
Binary scale (0 = no; 1 = yes)
Frequency (1 = always; 5 = never)

n/a

Variable
eWOM engagement

Question/statement
In regards to Facebook and/or Twitter, have you ever posted,
tweeted, liked, recommended, shared, or commented on a
fashion-related message?
How often do you do this?

Appendix 1 Summary and reliability of measures.

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth
581

4 items used
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004)
Fashion brand-related eWOM
engagement

2 items used
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004)
Fashion brand-related eWOM
engagement

4 items used
Using components of Ajzen and
Fishbein (1980)
Attitude towards eWOM engagement in
general

3 items used Using components of

Ajzen and Fishbein (1980)
Subjective norm related to eWOM
engagement in general

Need for social

interaction

Advice Seeking

Attitude

Subjective norm

.80

Most people who are important to me would probably enjoy

reading my comments or posts
Most people who are important to me would probably consider
my posts as useful
Posts and tweets by friends influence my buying behaviour

.71

.62

I expect to receive tips or support from other people

I hope to receive advice from others that help me make a fashion
purchasing decision
Writing comments and posts is a nice thing
Taking part in online conversations is useful
I feel that my life is enriched by online communication
I dont want to miss out on what is happening

.71

I believe that a chat among like-minded people is a nice thing

It is fun to communicate this way with other people
I meet nice people that way
It means I can share my style with friends

.79

Question/statement
I want to help others with my positive experiences with brands
I want to warn others with my negative experiences with brands
I want to give others the opportunity to buy nice products
I want to expose brands that behave badly

Five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree) unless stated otherwise.

Scales used
4 items used
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004)
Fashion brand-related eWOM
engagement

Variable
Other involvement

Appendix 1. (Continued).

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Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 29

Wolny and Mueller Fashion consumers motives to engage in electronic word-of-mouth

Appendix 2 Inter-item correlation results.

PI
1

FI
.162

BI
A
SN
SI
OI
SocI
AS

.539
.350
.316
.542
.550
.347
.407

Product
involvement
Fashion
.162
1
.526 .177 .104
.257 .272 .241 .079
involvement
Brand
.539 .526 1
.303 .382 .402 .257 .305 .415
involvement
Attitude
.350 .177 .303 1
.649 .333 .406 .683 .363

Subjective norm
.316
.104
.382
.649
1
.350 .382 .575 .389

Self-involvement
.542
.257
.402
.333
.350
1
.259 .318 .210
Other
.550 .272 .257 .406 .382 .259
1
.418 .473
involvement
Need for social
.347 .241 .305 .683 .575 .318 .418
1
.425
interaction
Advice seeking
.407 .079
.415 .363 .389 .210 .473 .425 1
Message
.122 .157 .160 .196 .192 .198 .257 .266 .247
involvement
Economic
.411 .251 .327 .441 .319 .368 .237 .398 .241
incentives
Correlation

is significant at the .05 level (two-tailed);

is significant at the .01 level (two-tailed).

Correlation

About the authors

Julia Wolny is a principal teaching fellow in marketing at the University of Southampton,
UK. Her main research interests are related to multichannel consumer behaviour, user cocreation, digital and fashion marketing. She is the Academy of Marketing (AM) SIG chair for
e-marketing and leads the related track at the AM conference. Previously she was a senior
lecturer in marketing at the London College of Fashion and Director of the Fashion Business
Resource Studio working with fashion brands to enhance their marketing practice and graduate
employability.
Corresponding author: Julia Wolny, University of Southampton, Southampton Management
School, Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
T +44 (0)23 8059 4077
E J.Wolny@soton.ac.uk
Claudia Mueller is a digital fashion marketing practitioner. She graduated with distinction from
MA Strategic Fashion Marketing at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London
in 2012.
E

CMueller01@hotmail.com

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