Overview

Marketing Expenditures and Word-of-Mouth Communication reviews the existing literature on WOM and advertising to determine whether and how WOM provides a complement to or substitute of advertising spending within the firm's marketing strategy. This monograph examines the extent to which word-of-mouth communication (WOM) plays a complementary and/or substitute role with regard to advertising. A review of the existing literature reveals the main similarities and differences between these constructs. It also examines the conditions in which a social contagion process is most likely. Specifically, the literature review helps to answer the following questions: whether WOM complements the advertising effect, when and how WOM can be a substitute of the marketing effort, and which issues limit WOM's ability to inform and persuade consumers. Published empirical evidence suggests that in most cases WOM complements advertising; however, three marketing strategies — viral marketing, referral reward programs, and a firm's creation of exogenous WOM — might work without advertising. This monograph concludes with a list of unanswered questions of potential interest to both researchers and managers.

Full Product Details

9781601983800

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available