Abstract:
Word of Mouth (WOM) is a concept of ever increasing importance to both marketing academics and practitioners. Despite the interest in WOM, no research to date has summarised the factors that contribute towards WOM's significance. Based on a synthesis of the literature, this paper develops a conceptual framework of the factors that contribute towards the significance of WOM. Eleven factors are identified that contribute towards WOM's significance. The eleven factors can be summarised under two headings: WOM's pervasiveness and persuasiveness, both of which are thought to be interdependent, rather than independent of each other.