Dicther (1966) was one of the first researchers who investigated the way word of mouth influences consumers’ attitudes and perceptions. He analyzed the psychological aspects of word of mouth: speaker motivations, listener motivations and influential groups.
Johnson Brown and Reingen (1987) examined, from an interpersonal network perspective, the role that tie-strength may play in WOM processes. They concluded that strong-ties sources such as close relatives or friends are from whom most people obtain information. They also claimed that the role of weak-ties sources is not as important as it was though.
Herr, Kardes and Kim (1991) investigated the mediation of WOM effects on consumer’s persuasion. They attempted to identify additional moderating variables which may influence the degree of persuasion of WOM on the audiences. The results of their investigation indicated that WOM communications often have a strong impact on product judgments because information received in a face-to-face manner is more accessible than information presented in a less vivid manner.
Dunhan and his colleagues (1997) supported the findings of Herr, Kardes and Kim and added new information about other factors which affect word of mouth communication. They concluded that the likelihood of choosing strong-tie sources is influenced by task difficulty and prior knowledge, and the likelihood of choosing weak-tie sources is influenced by the importance of instrumental cues and subjective prior knowledge.
Figure : General Model of Recommendation Source Choice
Source: Duhan et al. 1997