Revenging Instrumentality of eWOMS: An Investigation of Online Negative Consumption Information Contribution

This paper investigates consumers’ use of Electronic Word-of-Mouth System (EWOMS) after negative consumptions. We conceptualize providing product information to a EWOMS as a possible means to revenge. Our empirical study shows that this conceptualization is valid. The unsatisfied consumers who viewed the EWOMS as a revenging tool also indicated heightened likelihood of providing information to the EWOMS. We also explore the factors that could affect consumers’ awareness of EWOMS as a negative reciprocation tool. We found that consumers were more likely to relate negative consumption reciprocation to the EWOMS when their evaluations of the influencing ability of the EWOMS were high. This relationship would be even stronger if the consumer, in addition to the high evaluation of the power of the EWOMS, also strongly imbibed the negative reciprocity norm. Moreover, we found that consumers’ evaluations of the ability of the EWOMS also promoted the information contribution likelihood directly.