The State of Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Research: A Literature Analysis

This study evaluates the current status of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) research through an exhaustive literature review of relevant articles. We have identified a total of 83 eWOM research articles published from 2001 through 2010. Published research into eWOM first appeared in peerreviewed journals about ten years ago, and research has been steadily increasing. Among research topic area, the impact of eWOM communication was the most researched topic in the last decade. We also found that individual and message were the two mostly used unit of analysis in eWOM studies. Survey, secondary data analysis, and mathematical modeling were the three main streams of research method. Finally, we found diverse theoretical approaches in understanding eWOM communication. We conclude this paper by identifying important trends in the eWOM literature to provide future research directions.