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Intrinsic motivations and Electronic Word of Mouth Communication through Social Network Sites: Openness to Experince as A Moderater ABSTRACT: In the last decade, social media have attracted much attention in different industries contexts such as digital advertising. Marketing managers keep inducing consumers’ to generate a positive electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) about their products or services on social network sites (SNSs). Effective assortments of those factors that enhance individual’s engagement in online conversion on SNSs about specific products or services, is key success to growth. This conceptual paper aims to find out the impact of psychological factors on individuals engagement in e-WOM communication with the moderating effect of personality traits. Relevant studies have been perused and in view of that, the model was proposed. Based on the literature, psychological factors such as reputation and altruism play vital role in terms of users’ engagement in e-WOM communication. This paper also proposed that personal traits of SNSs users such as openness to experience moderate the relationship between these psychological factors and users’ engagement in such behavior. Keywords: Social network sites, electronic word of mouth, personality traits INTRODUCTION There is no doubt that Social network sites have revolutionized the life of many people, allow them to create their own profiles and maintain limitless relationships with others. SNSs are webbased communication applications that support our social interactions with others in different ways (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2011). These platforms provide individuals with capability to share any preferences, or product-related information with many contacts as well as opportunity for organization to take advantage of e-WOM communications (Trusov, Bucklin, & Pauwels, 2009). SNSs have become a new component of marketing communications tools that allow firms to make strong relationship with consumers (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). The emergence of these web-based platforms has facilitated the development of e-WOM communication (Chu & Kim, 2011). Electronic word of mouth has been defined as ‘any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet’ (Hennig‐Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh, & Gremler, 2004, p. 39). According to Nielsen online survey, 84 percent of total respondents across 58 countries indicated that word of mouth recommendations from friends and family, are the most influential and trustworthy form of advertising (Nielsen, 2013). This result clearly explains consumers’ reliance on recommendation from others in their purchase decisions. However, with the higher social presence and enormous participants of SNSs (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010), firms should incorporate these platforms as integral part of their marketing strategy. On other hand, researchers need to investigate what makes consumers more encouraged to engage in online activities such as e-WOM communications through SNSs. Prior researches have investigated the determinants of consumers’ engagement in eWOM from different point of view focusing on online consumers’ opinion –platforms and firms websites. However, due to the diverse nature of SNSs users might be encouraged by different stimulating factors. To date, the determinants of users’ engagement in e-WOM communication through social network sites have received limited attention. Hence, and in response to the importance of SNSs as effective communication tool with consumers it is necessary to find out the most influential factors on users involvement in information exchange behavior. This study proposed a model, which is, explain users’ engagement based on psychological factors, specifically their reputation, altruism, and the moderating effect of users’ personality traits (openness to experience). In the second section, this paper addresses the theoretical background and the research model. THEORITCAL BACKGROUND In the last decade and due to the overwhelming increase of individuals’ engagement in social media, organization started to launch their promotions campaign through these platforms such as SNSs. This change has urged researchers to seek behind the motivations that enhance users’ engagement in e-WOM communication. Individuals who have stronger intention to engage in a behavior they are more likely to perform it (Ajzen, 1991). In general, this study focus on the motivational part, a scientific review of the existing studies on this part can help to identify the most prominent factors regarding individuals’ engagements as well as it can help to spot the potential gap in literature. This section presents prior research on e-WOM. Prior Research on e-WOM: Prior researches have utilized many approaches to investigate what enhance individuals’ engagement in WOM communication through online sitting. For instance, Hennig‐Thurau et al. (2004) identified eleven factors that stimulate individuals engagement in such behavior (concern for other, help the company, social benefits, exerting power, advice-seeking, self-enhancement, economic rewards, convenience, problemsolving, expressing positive emotions and venting negative feelings). Tong, Wang, and Teo (2007) investigated individuals motives to contribute in online venues from other perspective; cognitive and executional cost, enjoyment in helping others, self-enhancement, and reward. While some of researchers build their models base on social exchange theory some of them have employed social capital components (structural, relational, and cognitive) as a determinant of users engagement in information exchange behavior (Chiu, Hsu, & Wang, 2006; Chang & Chuang, 2011; Choi & Scott, 2013; Chu & Kim, 2011). For instance, Chu and Kim (2011) found that the relational factors are the most influential determent on users engagement in e-WOM communication through social network sites. Similarly, Choi and Scott (2013) indicated that social relational factors such as trust an sense of community positively associated with users intention to share the knowledge with others. In other hand, some researchers have identified individuals’ motivation based on the perspective of public good. According, Cheung and Lee (2012) identified four main categories that might explain consumers engagement in online consumer-opinion platforms: egoism, collectivism, altruism, and principle. Most of these studies were conducted in webbased opinions platform such as OpenRice.com, where consumers mostly just login looking for advice. On the contrary, of social network sites where participants skim their profiles permanently, articulate themselves in various communities and share mutual preference. For instance, Chu and Kim (2011) suggested that SNSs users might be engaged in e-WOM behavior because they wish to maintain social relationships with their personal networks. In sum, the unique nature of social network sites provide users with many features and distinct social environment (French & Read, 2013), thereby, factors that enhance individuals’ engagement in e-WOM communication could be also different. Even though relevant researches that examined key drivers of e-WOM communication in social network sites have only focused on the social capital effect (Chu & Kim, 2011; Choi & Scott, 2013; Wang, Yeh, Chen, & Tsydypov, 2016). However, users’ of these applications might be encouraged for different reasons such as intrinsic motivations (reputation and altruism). Moreover, literature review have shown very little attention regarding personality traits and knowledge sharing behavior through social network sites (Zhong, Hardin, & Sun, 2011; Jadin, Gnambs, & Batinic, 2013; Osatuyi, 2015). This study pays more attention for the moderating effect of personal characteristics as a determinant of users’ engagement in e-WOM communication. Intrinsic Motivations One of the most appropriate theory that can be used to understand individuals’ behavior is social exchange theory (Cook & Whitmeyer, 1992). According to this theory people in any action aims to maximize their benefits and reduce the cost (Molm, 1997). In this paper, users’ engagement in e-WOM communication can be regarded as social exchange behavior as they can share any product-related information with future expectations such as social status (reputation) and enjoyment of helping others (altruism). Reputation: Individuals aim to achieve intangible returns such as social status or reputation through different behaviors. One of those behaviors is to share information with others (Constant, Kiesler, & Sproull, 1994; Tong et al., 2007; Cheung & Lee, 2012). People share their knowledge or information to obtain recognitions and social status by showing themselves as experts (Wasko & Faraj, 2005). In the online environment reputation has much stronger effect because of the larger amount of participant and the long lasting of any contribution (Kankanhalli, Tan, & Wei, 2005). Therefore, social network sites substantially enhance individual’s ability to be in touch with huge number of users as they can make different actions. Similarly, it has been found that consumers might be engaged in e-WOM communication as means to improve their reputation among other consumers (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1993; Hennig‐Thurau et al., 2004). Previous research indicated the positive association of reputations and individuals’ engagement in any type of information exchange (Chang & Chuang, 2011; Kankanhalli et al., 2005). In addition, researchers suggested social status as a prominent motive for e-WOM communication (Wojnicki & Godes, 2004; Cheung & Lee, 2012; Sundaram, Mitra, & Webster, 1998). However, with the distinct features of SNSs compare to other online platforms, users are more interested in their reputation and might be engaged in any actions that improve their social status. Hence, this paper and based on the above mentioned proposed the following hypothesis: H1: Reputation is positively associated with users’ engagement in e-WOM communication through SNSs. Altruism: an enjoyment in helping others refers to the intrinsic satisfaction caused by any effort to improve other people’s benefits without expectancy for future returns (Smith, 1981). This behavior more likely to happen when individuals perceive their actions beneficial for others (Engel et al., 1993). In terms of e-WOM communication, consumer share his experience with a specific product as attempt to help others or to avoid them from bad experience (Hennig‐Thurau et al., 2004). The important of e-WOM stem from its credibility since the consumers have no vested interest and its availability for many consumers unlike other form of advertising. People presume that providing an information about products help consumers in their purchase decision (Wang, Teo, & Wei, 2005). Many studies have confirmed altruism as a vigorous determinant of consumers’ engagement in e-WOM communication through consumer opinion platforms (Hennig‐Thurau et al., 2004; Tong et al., 2007). With the different nature of social network sites high interactive environment, users also might be engaged in e-WOM communication to fill their physiological need such as enjoyment of helping other. Accordingly, this paper proposed the following hypothesis: H1: Altruism is positively associated with users’ engagement in e-WOM communication through SNSs Personliaty Traits In the last decades personality traits have played important role in different research context (Funder, 2006). According Pervin (1993) personality is “a set of relatively enduring behavioral responses and internal predispositions that characterize how a person reacts to the environment’. Research found Personality strongly associated with many workplace predictors such as performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991), satisfactions (Judge & Bono, 2001), and trust (Mooradian, Renzl, & Matzler, 2006). Recently, research found personality as a vital determinant of knowledge sharing behavior in both face to face (Matzler, Renzl, Müller, Herting, & Mooradian, 2008; Matzler, Renzl, Mooradian, von Krogh, & Mueller, 2011) and online environment (Jadin et al., 2013; Chen, Chen, Chen, Chen, & Yu, 2013). One of the most important structures describes individuals personality is the Big Five Model (extraversion, consciousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness to experience). Research have recognized this model as the most efficient personality structure to clarify individuals’ differences (McAdams & Pals, 2006; Poropat, 2009). With the social nature of openness to experience trait (Witt, Burke, Barrick, & Mount, 2002), which is in line with SNSs purpose it would be reasonable to investigated this traits as predictor for certain behavior such as engagement in e-WOM communication through SNSs. Openness to experience: refers to the traits of imaginative, cultured, curious, originality, broadminded, intelligent, and artistically sensitive (Costa & MacCare, 1992). People with high level of openness show more curiosity to the worlds and more likely to involve with new ideas, usually they have experience in both positive and negative emotions more than those with low level (Costa & MacCare, 1992; McCrae & Costa Jr, 1997). Moreover, researchers demonstrated that individuals who are highly open more positive in their attitude, flexible and inclined to learn new things (Digman, 1990; Costa & MacCare, 1992). Accordingly, researchers assumed that the different levels between individuals in openess could reflect their engagement in a certain behavior. For instance, Cabrera, Collins, and Salgado (2006) found that pepole curiosity and originality which reflect their levels of openness is a strong predictor of knowledge sharing behavior, since they display more tendency for giving advice and seek for others insights. While openess could result in high level of experince prior studies (Wasko & Faraj, 2005; Constant, Sproull, & Kiesler, 1996) suggested that, individuals’ who recognized themselves as expert more encourged to contribute their knowledge with others. These evedinces clearly domnstreted the vital role of the level of persons oepnness in terms of knowledge sharing behavior. Due to the essential effect of personal dispositions regarding knowledge sharing behavior (Matzler et al., 2008). This study aims to extent this assumption of the relationship between openness and knowledge sharing behavior in online context, especially e-WOM communcation through SNSs. In addition, previous studies have considered personality traits as a determinant of internet use (Wang, Jackson, Wang, & Gaskin, 2015; Özgüven & Mucan, 2013; Zhong et al., 2011). This study propose that personal characteristic such as openness to experince would also predict interactions behaviors such as users’ engagment in e-WOM communication through SNSs. Therefor the fowlloing hypotheses is prposed H3: Openess to experince moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivations and users engagment in e-WOM communication through SNSs. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The research framework depicted in Fig.1. Users’ engagement in e-WOM communications through SNSs is the dependent variable. The two intrinsic motivations (reputation and altruism) were proposed to have a positive effect on users’ engagement. In addition, openness to experience assumed as a moderator in the relationships between intrinsic motivations and users engagement. Figure 1: Research Framework CONCLUSION In conclusion, social network sites have made a vital communication medium. These mediums allow users’ to access unlimited profiles of other participants and share their experience with products or services in different ways such as “like”, comment, and share. However, Individuals’ might be engaged in e-WOM communication for many reasons like psychological needs and social capital factors. In addition, and based on intensive review of literatures, it also found that personal characteristics could play important role in such behaviors. This research proposed that users’ engagement in e-WOM communication through SNSs related to their intrinsic motivations, specifically reputation and altruism. 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