What We Know and Don't Know about Online Word-of-Mouth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature

A multi-dimensional analysis of eWOM communication is conducted based on a systematic review of 190 studies and presents the key issues in current and emerging literature and proposes important questions for future research.

Abstract

Electronic word-of mouth (eWOM) has attracted considerable interest from researchers in the past decade. Although the extant research has helped us to develop a good understanding of a number of the issues pertaining to eWOM, several research and managerial questions remain. Furthermore, no attempt has been made to consolidate and synthesize this stream of research. With consumers’ increasing reliance on online retailing and information seeking, as well as the continued growth of social media, the importance of eWOM cannot be overstated. Based on a systematic review of 190 studies, we conduct a multi-dimensional analysis of eWOM communication. We present the key issues in current and emerging literature and propose important questions for future research.