The Word of Mouth Communication of Cake Products Through Online Media: Application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model

Abstract

The shift from offline to online in information search mandates marketers to think about how to make online reviews become persuasive, including for cake products. The purpose of this study is to explain the influence of argument quality, source credibility, and source attractiveness on persuasive e-WOM message and its impact on the e-WOM utilization and intention to purchase cake products at the nearest outlet. Data is obtained from 105 cake lover respondents, in which afterwards is analyzed utilizing the Partial Least Square method. The results show that argument quality and source attractiveness have a positive influence on persuasive e-WOM message, while the source credibility had no significant influence on persuasive e-WOM message. Furthermore, persuasive e-WOM message positively affects e-WOM utilization and the intention of buying cake products at nearby stores. The results of this study prove that argument quality is a central cue in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and source attractiveness is a peripheral cue in the ELM which can change the behavior of online review readers on Instagram.

Keywords: Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), argument quality, source credibility, source attractiveness, persuasive message, intention to buy