Understanding the Impact of Electronic Word of Mouth on Recipient’s Purchasing Intention in the Restaurants Industry:the case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Electronic word of mouth (EWOM) is recognized as one of the most important elements influencing the transmission of information. Social media has created valuable EWOM opportunities. People can now discuss with their family, friends and even others their experiences about the products and services offered by the brands. Because of the large number of applications these days and their rapid spread and the different category of their users, it has become important to know and understand each of the social networking platforms and advanced and the nature of the people who use them and understand them correctly. These platforms affect consumers because the information they obtain through them can significantly influence purchase intentions and intentions to re-disseminate electronic word of mouth. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of positive EWOM via Snapchat and the effect of the EWOM sender on the purchase intention and EWOM-giving Intention of potential customers in the restaurant sector in Saudi Arabia. By examining the effect of tie strength of sender and receiver. The approach used in this study quantitative approach. The study was conducted on the population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was concluded that there is a direct relationship between positive EWOM and purchase intentions. In addition, respondents indicated the possibility of re-dissemination of positive electronic word of mouth with which they agree on social media.