Analysing the information acceptance behavior by customers in virtualspace

Abstract

Abstract and any preliminary readings on the subject :

Consumer behavior has been one of the most important topics for marketing researchers in recent decades and its variety is due to the variety of factors affecting individual behavior and motivation to buy.Today,the consumer is considered as the main key to the success or failure of a company.Therefore, understanding consumer behavior is very important.The consumer's decision in the process of purchasing a product can be influenced by various factors that are either internal or external. The market of food selling websites has been facing increasing acceptance in recent years due to the change in people's lifestyles in Iran(especially in big cities), and the competitive environment in this market is growing.Therefore,the companies must take a serious look at the advertising and promotion methods of their businesses so that they can gain a share of the market for themselves during the competition.Among the low-cost and fast ways to introduce brands and products in such markets,we can put emphasis on Electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM),which in such spaces,friends, acquaintances and community members discuss and exchange various topics.Among the most important advantages of e-WOM,in addition to the high speed of message transmission,is its cost-effectiveness and the ability to quickly change its content.Its biggest disadvantage is the tendency of customers to share their dissatisfaction with others, because of this,negative e-WOM communications may spread faster than positive communications. In the field of electronic recommendation advertising at the international level,very reliable researches have been conducted. Hossein et al.(2017)(e-WO.source credibility, perceived risk and food product customer's information adoption,Computers in Human Behavior)showed that the variables of Expertness, Trustworthiness,Objectivity and Homophily have an effect on perceived risk.Also,these researchers showed that the perceived risk also affects the quality of discussion and comments and the usefulness of information and these two variables can affect the acceptance of information by customers in electronic advisory advertisements.In this regard and in another study,Hossein et al.(2018)(Consumers' online information adoption behavior:Motives and antecedents of electronic word of mouth communications,Computers in Human Behavior)proved the effect of the quality of discussion and commenting on the usefulness of information.Tseng and Wang (2016)(Perceived risk influence on dual-route information adoption processes on travel websites,Journal of Business Research)also,showed that in the field of e-WOM advertising,perceived risk can influence the acceptance of information by customers.Also,Filieri and McLeay(2013)().E-WOM and Accommodation:An Analysis of the Factors That Influence Travelers’ Adoption of Information from Online Reviews),showed that Information Quantity and Product Ranking can also influence the acceptance of information by customers in e-WOM advertisements. The acceptance of information is one of the topics of concern for marketing managers in the field of word-of-mouth advertising.therefore,Considering the lack of studies in the field of e-WOM advertising in the online food market in Iran,the present research will seek to answer the following main questions: “What factors affect the behavior of information acceptance by customers on the internet?”and specifically “Are the online food sales websites and applications(such as Snappfood) effective?”