The Impact of Senders' Identity to the Acceptance of Electronic Word-of-Mouth of Consumers in Vietnam

Studies related to Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) show that the acceptance of eWOM information is an important factor in customer purchase decisions. When consumers accept eWOM information, they tend to use that information in considering before making purchase decisions. In Viet Nam, there are few studies about eWOM information, especially on the acceptance of eWOM information. Research is conducted to test the influence of consumers on the perception of the senders' identity to the acceptance of online reviews (a kind of eWOM) in Viet Nam - a case study in Ho Chi Minh City. Using adjustment techniques, inspecting the scales and a theoretical model represent the relationship among the influential factors. The research is based on a sample of 522 consumers who use the Internet to search for product reviews before buying and used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the relationships among the variables. The research results show that the scales of the variables: Message Quality, Source Credibility, Perceived Message Usefulness, Perceived Senders' Identity, Perceived Message Credibility, Message Acceptance attain the validity and reliability in the research. The research contributes to the understanding of the determinants that influence the acceptance of eWOM information, which are informational factors, and factors related to consumer skepticism.