Surprise, Function and Experience: How Innovativeness and Utilitarian and Hedonic Attributes Affect Consumer Word of Mouth

Surprise, Function and Experience: How Innovativeness and Utilitarian and Hedonic Attributes Affect Consumer Word of Mouth

October 30, 2009
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (Friday)
AC2 MLT

Purushottam Papatla

School of Business Administration

Abstract:
We propose and empirically test a theory to explain the volume and type of consumer word of mouth for products. Our theory builds on Chitturi et al’s (2008) theoretical framework and includes innovativeness as a stimulant of word of mouth. The theory leads to four sets of hypotheses. The first two are regarding the effects of utilitarian and hedonic attributes and the third is related to the role of innovativeness. Specifically, the hypotheses related to the role of utilitarian attributes are that satisfying consumers on such attributes does not generate positive word of mouth while not pleasing them on those attributes results in negative word of mouth. The hypotheses related to hedonic attributes state that pleasing consumers on those attributes leads to positive word of mouth but that not doing so does not stimulate negative word of mouth. The third set of hypotheses are that innovativeness increases the volume of word of mouth but that it could increase both positive and negative word of mouth simultaneously. The fourth set of hypotheses is related to the effects of ignoring the role of innovativeness in analyzing consumer word of mouth. We expect this to result in two types of effects: inflated estimates of the effects of utilitarian and hedonic attributes on word of mouth and incorrect signs for the effects. We test the theory empirically on consumer word of mouth over a seven year period for 279 models of automobiles across 36 brands. All four sets of hypotheses are supported by our empirical results and suggest that utilitarian and hedonic attributes play very different roles in consumer word of mouth. Specifically, utilitarian attributes are the primary determinants of negative word of mouth in that, if products are not satisfactory on those attributes, consumers are likely to express their unhappiness to other consumers. Satisfying consumers on these attributes, however, does not necessarily lead to positive word of mouth. Hedonic attributes, on the other hand, are primarily responsible for positive word of mouth in that, if they are pleased with the performance of products on those attributes, consumers are likely to discuss the positive aspects of the products with other consumers. Not pleasing consumers on these attributes, on the other hand, is unlikely to stimulate negative word of mouth. Product innovativeness plays a role that is different from that of product attributes. Specifically, innovativeness can lead to both negative and positive word of mouth. Additionally, because of this dual effect, omitting innovativeness from an analysis of the role of product attributes in consumer word of mouth can lead to inflated and incorrect estimates of their effects. We also present the managerial implications of our findings.