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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 217 222

Global Conference on Contemporary Issues in Education, GLOBE-EDU 2014, 12-14 July 2014,
Las Vegas, USA

Investigating Influential Factors on Word of Mouth in Service


Industries: The Case of Iran Airline Company
Gholamhossein Nikookar a, Elnaz Rahrovyb , Samira Razic, Reza Abachian Ghassemi d*
a
Department of Management, University of Imam Hossein, Tehran, Iran
Department of Management, University of Tehran, Kish International Campus, Kish, Iran
c
Department of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
d
Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economic, University of Isfahan, Isfahan campus, Isfahan, Iran
b

Abstract
The purpose of current research is to assess the influential factors on WOM in the context of Airlines and to explore the factors
that are likely to enhance the chances that receivers of WOM might be influenced by such information. The statistical population
was passengers who have used Iran Airline Companys services during January and February 2013. Using a pilot study of 50
samples, 296 passengers were selected with convenience-sampling method. A self-administrated questionnaire were employed to
collect data. To analyze data, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM)
were used. Findings show that satisfaction, loyalty, perceived value, service quality, and trust have a significant impact on WOM.
Further, WOM has influenced subjective norms, attitude towards company, and referral intention. Additionally, attitude towards
company had a significant impact on referral intention. However, there was not found significant relationship between subjective
norms and referral intention.
2015
2014The
TheAuthors.
Authors.
Published
Elsevier

Published
by by
Elsevier
Ltd.Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
Keywords: WOM, Consumer behavior, Service quality, Airlines, Iran

1. Introduction
The dynamics of social contagion, in particular of opinion spreading on a population, has been studied in many
contexts, with many different approaches and diverse applications in social sciences, experimental psychology,

Reza Abachian Ghassemi. Tel.: +98-912-208-7053


E-mail address: r_abachian@yahoo.com

1877-0428 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.392

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Gholamhossein Nikookar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 217 222

consumer research, finance. The significance of word-of-mouth (WOM) information and rumor diffusion through
social networks has been widely recognized as fundamental in all these contexts. The leverage effect of WOM
information on consumer behavior, for example, improves the effectiveness of communication activities of a firm.
WOM effects cannot be ignored as a powerful marketing tool, especially in the case of new product/service
introductions, when the aim is to reduce the probability of a post-launch failure (Ellero et al., 2009). WOM is
communication about products and services between people who are perceived to be independent of the company
providing the product or service, in a medium perceived to be independent of the company. These communications
can be conversations, or just one-way testimonials. But the essential element is that they are from or among people
who are perceived to have little commercial vested interest in persuading someone else to use the product and
therefore no particular incentive to distort the truth in favor of the product or service (Silverman, 2001, p. 25).
Existing studies on WOM have looked at both the antecedents of WOM (in terms of motivations to give WOM) and
the consequences of WOM (in terms of WOMs influence on consumer behaviors). This research seeks to further
add to the literature on the drivers and outcomes of WOM in Airlines.
2. Literature review and hypotheses development
Much research has also indicated that WOM boosts the sales in industries ranging from professional services
(Smith & Meyer, 1980), movies (Liu, 2006), automobiles (Swan &Oliver, 1989) and vacation/travel destinations
(Ho & Chung, 2007). Empirical studies have demonstrated that service quality is a relevant predictor of WOM
(Bloemer et al. 1999; Harrison-Walker 2001). A positive relationship presented in these studies demonstrates that the
higher (lower) the perceived quality, the higher (lower) the WOM activity of the customers. Based on this
discussion, we propose:
H1. Service quality has a significant positive effect on WOM about airlines.
Trust has an important effect on behavioral constructs, especially on the customers propensity to leave or stay
with the same service provider (Singh & Sirdeshmukh, 2000). Indeed, empirical findings have shown that higher
levels of trust are associated with a greater tendency to offer favorable WOM (Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003). Another
possible reason for the influence of trust on WOM is an indirect effect through satisfaction. Trust creates benefits for
customers such as lower anxiety, uncertainty, and vulnerability about the transaction. These benefits influence
satisfaction, which in turn affects WOM, especially in a service context that is relatively more complex (HennigThurau et al., 2002). Based on this discussion, we propose:
H2. Trust has a significant positive effect on WOM about airlines.
Hartline and Jones (1996) proposed that perceived value also has an influence on customers behavioral
intentions, especially on WOM. One explanation is that customers who perceive that they receive relatively high
value tend to become more committed to the organization and seek to recommend others of the reference group to
become loyal to the same organization (McKee et al. 2006). Also, perceived value might have an influence on WOM
because it is a more tangible signal in the service encounter since it includes price in the give component, and
price can be considered a more extrinsic and tangible attribute when compared to other cues used to infer service
quality by customers, such as competence and responsiveness of employees (Hartline &Jones 1996). Based on the
above rationale, we propose:
H3. Perceived value has a significant positive effect on WOM about airlines.
A recent study has questioned this cocktail approach in which loyalty is measured by an aggregated mix of
items that form different components of loyalty (Sderlund, 2006). Sderlund (2006) states that this approach is
commonly used to include repatronage intentions and WOM intentions as items of a unidimensional loyalty
construct. Loyalty is hypothesized as an antecedent of WOM because to the extent customers are more loyal to a
given provider, they are also more likely to (1) give positive recommendations of the company to the individuals in
their reference group (friends and relatives), (2) have greater motivation for processing new information about the
company, and (3) have stronger resistance to being persuaded by contrary information (Dick & Basu, 1994, p. 107).
Based on this rationale, we propose:
H4. Loyalty has a significant positive effect on WOM about airlines.
The level of customer satisfaction has an influence on two purchase behaviors, namely, repurchase intentions and
WOM (Richins, 1983). Specifically, the likelihood of customers spreading WOM will depend on their satisfaction

Gholamhossein Nikookar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 217 222

level for at least two reasons. First, the extent to which the product or service performance exceeds the customers
expectations might motivate him or her to tell others about his or her positive experience. Second, to the extent that
the customers expectations are not fulfilled, possibly creating a customer regret experience, this customer will
engage in WOM behavior as a form of venting his or her negative emotions, such as anger and frustration,
reducing anxiety, warning others, and/or seeking retaliation (Sweeney et al., 2005). Indeed, there are a number of
studies supporting the significant effect of satisfaction on WOM (Brown et al., 2005; Sderlund, 2006; Wangenheim
& Bayn, 2007). Thus, our conceptual framework proposes:
H5. Satisfaction has a significant positive effect on WOM about airlines.
WOM is acknowledged to play a considerable role in influencing and forming consumer attitudes and behavioral
intentions (e.g. Xia & Bechwati, 2008; Jalilvand & Samiei, 2012,a,b; Jalilvand et al., 2012). Soderlund and
Rosengren (2007) indicate that WOM transmission has an indirect impact on the receivers attitude toward the firm
through the receivers assessment of the senders emotions. In general, the more favorable the attitude toward the
behavior, the stronger will be an individuals intention to perform the behavior (Jalilvand &Samiei, 2012, b). The
role of subjective norm as a determinant of intention is well documented in situations where the actual behavior
entails tangible and beneficial consequences for the consumer Hung et al. (2003) and Pedersen (2001) both
concluded peer influence and external social influence as determinants of subjective norm. Peer influence usually
includes WOM from friends, colleagues, and family members, whereas external influence usually includes expert
opinions, media reports, and non-personal information (Teo & Pok, 2003; Jalilvand &Samiei, 2012, b). Thus, it is
hypothesized that:
H6. WOM has a significant positive effect on subjective norms.
H7. WOM has a significant positive effect on attitudes toward firm.
H8. WOM has a significant positive effect on referral intention.
H9. Attitude has a significant positive effect on referral intention.
H10. Subjective norms have a significant positive effect on referral intention.
3. Methodology
A field survey was conducted at Tehran, Iran. The target population was passengers who travelled with Iran
Airline Company during a four-week period of research in May 2013. The questionnaires were distributed based on
a convenience sampling method and collected at international airport of Mehrabad in Tehran. In all, 350
questionnaires were distributed and 296 usable samples were obtained after excluding the incomplete ones, yielding
a 85 percent response rate from those who agree to participate. A self-administrated questionnaire was designed to
measure the research model variable constructs. Each variable construct (e.g. WOM, attitude, subjective norm,
satisfaction, trust, perceived value, loyalty, service quality, and referral intention) was measured using multiple
items. A five-point rating scale (from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) was employed to measure the
constructs. A section of questionnaire was about demographic characteristics of tourists. This section concluded four
items: age, gender, education, and previous experience of using airline. Table 1 shows the demographic profile of the
respondents. A pilot study was performed to assess how well the survey instrument captured the constructs it was
supposed to measure, and to test the internal consistency and reliability of questionnaire items. The first draft of the
survey instrument was distributed to 50 randomly selected tourists who were resided in international airport of
Mehrabad, the largest airport among other international airports in terms of number of passenger transitions. A total
of 50 questionnaires were collected at the site. Cronbachs was used to verify the internal consistency reliability.
The WOM scale shows a significant internal consistency of 0.810. Cronbachs coefficients of referral intention,
attitude, subjective norms, service quality, satisfaction, loyalty, trust, and perceived value were 0.825, 0.733, 0.698,
0.750, 0.845, 0.805, 0.931 and 0.81, respectively. The reliabilities of the different measures in the model range from
0.698 to 0.931, which exceed the recommended threshold value of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1981). Based on the results of the
pilot study, the final version was modified considering questionnaire design, wording, and measurement scale. Data
analysis involves descriptive statistics using SPSS and structural equation modeling using AMOS structural equation
program.

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Gholamhossein Nikookar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 (2015) 217 222
Table 1. Demographical characteristics of respondents
Characteristic
Frequency
Age
Under 25
11
25-35
31
35-45
95
45-55
113
Upper than 55
46
Gender
Male
138
Female
158
Education
Primary or bellow
24
Secondary
83
University
120
Post-graduate
69
Number of previous traveling with this airline
Never
5
One time
48
Two times
92
3-5 times
103
6 times or more
48

Percentage

CF (%)

3.7
10.5
32.1
38.2
15.5

3.7
14.2
46.3
84.5
100

46.6
53.4

46.6
100

8.1
28
40.5
23.3

8.1
36.1
76.7
100

1.7
16.2
31.1
34.8
16.2

1.7
17.9
49
83
100

4. Data analysis and results


The model fit indices of the structural model and the cut-off value of those fit indices are presented in Table 2.
The goodness-of fit statistics show that the structural model fit the data reasonably well. The 9-item model produced
a chi-square of 996.669 (d.f = 312, p = 0.000). While the overall chi-square for this measurement model was
significant (p < 0.05), it is well established that this statistic is sensitive to large sample sizes. To alleviate the
sensitivity of the chi-square statistics, the value of chi-square is commonly divided by the degrees of freedom. The
re-estimated chi-square value was 3.104 and this new value is within an acceptable cut-off value range, from 1.0 to
3.0. The goodness fit index (GFI= 0.903, with 1 indicating maximum fit), Comparative Fit Index (CFI = 0.956,
1=maximum fit), the comparative fit index (NFI = 0.920, with 1 indicating maximum fit), TuckerLewis index
(TLI= 0.898, 1 = maximum fit) and the incremental fit index (IFI= 0.912) met the proposed criterion of 0.90 or
higher. Finally, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = 0.072, with values <0.08 indicating good
fit), one of the indices best suited to our model with a large sample, indicated that the structural model was a
reasonable fit.
Table 2. Maximum likelihood estimates for research model (n = 341)
Independent variable

Dependant variable

Service quality
Word of mouth
Trust
Word of mouth
Perceived value
Word of mouth
Loyalty
Word of mouth
Satisfaction
Word of mouth
Word of mouth
subjective norms
Word of mouth
attitudes toward firm
Word of mouth
Referral intention
Attitude
Referral intention
Subjective norms
Referral intention
**Significant at the p < 0.001 level (two-tailed)
* Significant at the p < 0.01 level (two-tailed)

Estimate
0.633
0.692
0.333
0.27
-0.283
0.602
0.302
0.183
0.55
0.042

Standardized
estimate
0.554
0.538
0.171
0.196
-0.391
0.324
0.42
0.462
0.997
0.196

Standard
error
0.115
0.124
0.12
0.092
0.06
0.117
0.068
0.067
0.125
0.047

t-statistic

5.511
5.579
2.779
2.952
-4.753
5.167
4.469
2.748
4.404
0.899

**
**
0.005*
0.003*
**
**
**
0.006*
**
0.369

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Table 2 presents the results of the individual tests of the significance of the relationship among the variables.
Among the 10 relationships tested, there were found to be significant at the alpha level of 0.01, and six relationships
were significant at the alpha level of 0.001. Service quality (= 0.554, t = 5.511), trust (= 0.538, t = 5.579),
perceived value (= 0.171, t = 2.779), loyalty (= 0.196, t = 2.952), and satisfaction (= -0.391, t = -4.753) had a
significantly positive impact on WOM about airline. Further, WOM about airline influenced attitude toward airline
(= 0.324, t = 5.167), subjective norms (= 0.42, t = 4.469), and referral intention (= 0.462, t = 2.748). The
statistical results, summarized in Tables 2, show that the relationship between subjective norms and referral intention
is not significant (= 0.196, t = 0.899) (Figure 2). In addition, there was found positive and significant relationship
between attitude toward airline and referral intention (= 0.997, t = 4.404).
5. Discussion and Implications
We developed a model to study the influential factors on word of mouth in airlines within a multi-stage decisionmaking framework, and we hypothesized that the antecedents of WOM's influence varied across stages and across
contexts. Our research methodology provided the model with data collected in a field study. We hypothesized and
found supporting evidence that satisfaction, trust, service quality, perceived value, and loyalty affect WOM about
firm. In addition, our study revealed that WOM has a strong effect on subjective norms, attitude towards airline and
referral intention. We showed that attitude towards airline can affect referral intention. However, the effect of
subjective norms on referral intention was not significant. The reason may be the cultural context of Iran. In
conclusion, the study has shed light on the implications of the WOM referral process on passengers behavior in the
context of airline industry. This study provides some useful insights for managers seeking to systematically generate
WOM as a promotional tool. Although many of the factors outlined in Figure 1 are beyond the control of the
organisations seeking to market their services (goods), they suggest that WOM is likely to be more effective when
the receiver needs further information about the product/service offering, when they have limited time for
comparison and when they wish to reduce the perceived risk of the purchase. The chances of a sender providing
WOM is likely to be enhanced when they are satisfied with the product/service experience and the receiver is more
likely to act on this if they already have a good opinion of the product/service provider. The organisation that invests
in both good customer service management and effective promotion of its image is likely to receive greater benefits
from WOM when it occurs as it reinforces the information provided in the communication process. The study was
limited as data were collected only in the service sector. However, as was noted earlier, this is the major sector of the
economy in developed countries. Further, as was also argued earlier, WOM is particularly relevant in service
contexts due to their inherent intangibility and the risk associated with that intangibility. We did not assess the WOM
message scale in a goods context and this represents an area for future research. Further, we recognise that the
present study assessed consumers WOM messages in a one-to-one context (i.e. giving WOM to someone else or
receiving WOM from someone else). The results cannot necessarily be extended to all contexts.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Dr. Mohammad Reza Jalilvand for his insightful suggestions.
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