Effect of website design on positive electronic word of mouth intention. The role moderator of gender

Abstract

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication has received considerable attention in marketing strategy because of its significant impact on behavioral consequences. In service marketing, numerous scholars and practitioners describe WOM as "a dominant force in the marketplace. Nevertheless, little effort has been given to integrate the effect of website design on eWOM intention. The objectives of this paper is to propose a framework to explain the influence of website design (aesthetics and usability) on eWOM intention via the applicability of the stimulus-organism-response model. Based on literature review and the framework used, an online questionnaire is developed and sent to more than 350 respondents in Taiwan. Then, SPSS and partial least square (PLS) will be use to analyze the collected data in further research. Lastly, the study concludes with a discussion of the expected findings and implications for both marketing theory and practice when using the proposed framework in this topic.