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Cited by 1,469Digital Marketing and Social MediaMarketing and Advertising StrategiesConsumer Behavior and Marketing Influence

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 205 of the 207 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Word of mouth and interpersonal communication: A review and directions for future research

Berger, Jonah·2014·Journal of Consumer Psychology
DOI 10.1016/j.jcps.2014.05.002
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Abstract

People often share opinions and information with their social ties, and word of mouth has an important impact on consumer behavior. But what drives interpersonal communication and why do people talk about certain things rather than others? This article argues that word of mouth is goal driven and serves five key functions (i.e., impression management, emotion regulation, information acquisition, social bonding, and persuasion). Importantly, I suggest these motivations are predominantly self‐ (rather than other) serving and drive what people talk about even without their awareness. Further, these drivers make predictions about the types of news and information people are most likely to discuss. This article reviews the five proposed functions and well as how contextual factors (i.e., audience and communication channel) may moderate which functions play a larger role. Taken together, the paper provides insight into the psychological factors that shape word of mouth and outlines additional questions that deserve further study.

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Research works printed but not linked: 23

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  2. Belk R.W., 1971, Proceedings of the American Marketing Association's Educators Conference, 419
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  5. Z.Chen N.Lurie.Temporal contiguity and the negativity bias in online word‐of‐mouthPresented at the Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference Boulder CO.2012
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  19. Misner I.R., 1999, The world's best known marketing secret: Building your business with word‐of‐mouth marketing
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  23. Wittels H., 2012, Humblebrag: The art of false modesty

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Metadata

Authors
Berger, J.
Affiliations
University of Pennsylvania (US)
Corresponding author
Berger, Jonah
ORCID
Berger, Jonah
Venue
Journal of Consumer Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2014-05-19
Volume
24
Issue
4
Pages
586-607
ISSN
  • 1057-7408 (ISSN-L)
  • 1532-7663
DOI
10.1016/j.jcps.2014.05.002
OpenAlex
W2044636434
Cited by
1,469
References
207
Citations by year
2026: 98 · 2025: 139 · 2024: 150 · 2023: 151 · 2022: 162 · 2021: 169 · 2020: 148 · 2019: 137 · 2018: 123 · 2017: 101 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 3
FWCI
205.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Journal of Consumer Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Digital Marketing and Social Media
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
Keywords
word of mouth, interpersonal communication, consumer behavior, impression management, emotion regulation, information acquisition, social bonding, persuasion, self-serving motivation, audience effects, communication channels, news sharing

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