Credibility of Word-of-Mouth in Mobile Services: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The key factor that critically determines the effects of word-of-mouth is credibility. This makes the investigation of credibility of word-of-mouth in mobile services has both theoretical and practical implications. In this paper, we use the structural equation model, supported by relevant theories on word-of-mouth in mobile internet, to explore and examine the relationships among factors such as the receivers' dependency on mobile word-of-mouth website, their credibility tendency, the relationship between the word-of-mouth senders and receivers, and the perceived ease-of-use of mobile equipment. We find that all these factors positively affect the credibility of word-of-mouth in mobile services and, the receivers, as a partially intermediate variable, plays an indispensable role in the entire model.