• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.115-134
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• 2024

In an age where consumers can easily search and pass on their opinions of products and purchasing decisions through the internet, Electronic-word-of-mouth(Ewom) plays an important role in decision making of other potential customers. In this study, we empirically analyze the impact EWOM on consumer purchase decisions, when contradictory Ewom is presented from varying sources of information, such as experts and general consumers. First, we find that when there is a consensus among different information sources there exists a positive relationship between Ewom sentiment and purchase intent, confirming the results of previous literature. However, when expert opinion and consumer opinion do not match we find that consumer opinion is more impactful on purchasing decisions compared to the expert opinion, regardless of product types. The findings of this study add insight to the current literature by examining the effect of contradictory Ewom on purchase decisions, and also to industry marketers by presenting a more efficient strategy in promoting positive Ewom for different product types.