IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH ON CONSUMERS' PURCHASE INTENTIONS: A STUDY CONDUCTED IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY OF KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: This research is orchestrated to compose the impact of Electronic word of mouth over purchase intentions of consumers in automobile industry of Pakistan (Karachi). Another purpose of the research is to search for and examine the most appropriate factors of EWOM which can influence the consumers' purchase intention to a significant extent. Research Methodology: The research was done through a quantitative approach and five point likert scale has been used in the questionnaire to collect data, while for demographic data of the respondents some general options were used. For this purpose the researcher had run Regression Analysis to analyze the impact of electronic word of mouth on consumers ’ purchase intentions. A total of349 respondents have been selected for conducting this study. All the respondents belong to top most business schools of Karachi, Pakistan in order to get information from well educated professionals. All data analysis has been performed in SPSS 22.0. Findings and Results: Results have been proved by SPSS that word of mouth has a significant influence on purchase intention. Beside this, correlation analysis has been performed in order to check the relationship between EWOM and PI and a significant +ive relationship has been found. Moreover to make the research variables effective, a factor analysis test has been done which has proved the two latent variables of EWOM and PI. Moreover in order to test the reliability of the questionnaire and the model of the study, test of reliability and test of goodness of fit has also been performed which has shown significant results Future Implications: This research paper will be very useful for the marketing departments of automobile sectors of Pakistan to develop effective marketing campaigns and strategies by including different types of EWOM to attain financial goals and increase their market shares and profits.