Browsing by Author "Chakraborty, U."

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Are Online Opinion Leaders and Seekers Distinct? A Study on Consumer Electronics Industry in India
(2019) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
On various social media platforms, such as brand communities and brand pages, one segment of consumers shares product knowledge and another seeks product knowledge. Consumers sharing product knowledge are called online opinion leaders and those seeking product knowledge are called online opinion seekers. Given the importance of opinion leaders as low-cost marketing tools for marketers, there is an impending need to determine whether opinion leaders and opinion seekers are distinct constructs in the online context. The present study addressed this issue by analysing a relatively large sample of 1432 respondents from India. The study adopted a novel approach to collect data. Data has been collected from select e-commerce sites brand pages on Facebook social media platform through Google forms. The study focuses on three consumer electronic product categories, namely, smartphone, laptop and tablet. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the unidimensionality of the variables and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the variable scales. In all the three product categories, online opinion leader and online opinion seeker scales turned out to be unidimensional. Further, the results of the analyses prove that online opinion leaders and online opinion seekers are distinct. This study provides evidence that in the context of an emerging online market, namely, India, online opinion leaders and online opinion seekers are distinct. 2019 International Management Institute, New Delhi.
Are Online Opinion Leaders and Seekers Distinct? A Study on Consumer Electronics Industry in India
(Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd F 35-55, Triveni Commercial Complex.Sheikh Sarai,Phase I New Dehli 110 017, 2019) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
On various social media platforms, such as brand communities and brand pages, one segment of consumers shares product knowledge and another seeks product knowledge. Consumers sharing product knowledge are called online opinion leaders and those seeking product knowledge are called online opinion seekers. Given the importance of opinion leaders as low-cost marketing tools for marketers, there is an impending need to determine whether opinion leaders and opinion seekers are distinct constructs in the online context. The present study addressed this issue by analysing a relatively large sample of 1432 respondents from India. The study adopted a novel approach to collect data. Data has been collected from select e-commerce sites’ brand pages on Facebook social media platform through Google forms. The study focuses on three consumer electronic product categories, namely, smartphone, laptop and tablet. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the unidimensionality of the variables and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the variable scales. In all the three product categories, online opinion leader and online opinion seeker scales turned out to be unidimensional. Further, the results of the analyses prove that online opinion leaders and online opinion seekers are distinct. This study provides evidence that in the context of an emerging online market, namely, India, online opinion leaders and online opinion seekers are distinct. © 2019 International Management Institute, New Delhi.
Credibility of online reviews and its impact on brand image
(2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
Purpose: Brand image is considered as a signaling phenomenon because high brand image ensures quality product that can reduce consumer s uncertainty. A strong brand image induces consumers to pay higher prices, which in turn provides competitive advantage and market success to a company. Online reviews, blogs and texts on brand usage experiences are more effective than oral communication to build a strong brand image. Online reviews on products create distinct places for brands in the consumer s mind, and thus ultimately affect images of the brands. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images in the context of consumer electronic products in India. Design/methodology/approach: The present study adopts a novel approach to collect data. The data have been collected from select e-commerce sites brand pages on Facebook through Google form application. A number of respondents are 1,038. Structural equation modeling technique has been used to examine the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images. Findings: The data analysis reveals that source and review quality have more significant effect on credibility evaluation of online reviews as compared to the effects of review consistency and receiver. Moreover, credible online reviews have more impact on hedonic brand image rather than functional brand image in the context of consumer electronics product in India. Originality/value: The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of online reviews on brand image. 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Credibility of online reviews and its impact on brand image
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Howard House Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, 2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
Purpose: Brand image is considered as a signaling phenomenon because high brand image ensures quality product that can reduce consumer’s uncertainty. A strong brand image induces consumers to pay higher prices, which in turn provides competitive advantage and market success to a company. Online reviews, blogs and texts on brand usage experiences are more effective than oral communication to build a strong brand image. Online reviews on products create distinct places for brands in the consumer’s mind, and thus ultimately affect images of the brands. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images in the context of consumer electronic products in India. Design/methodology/approach: The present study adopts a novel approach to collect data. The data have been collected from select e-commerce sites’ brand pages on Facebook through Google form application. A number of respondents are 1,038. Structural equation modeling technique has been used to examine the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images. Findings: The data analysis reveals that source and review quality have more significant effect on credibility evaluation of online reviews as compared to the effects of review consistency and receiver. Moreover, credible online reviews have more impact on hedonic brand image rather than functional brand image in the context of consumer electronics product in India. Originality/value: The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of online reviews on brand image. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Effect of Credible Reviews on Brand Image: A Mixed Method Approach
(Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd, 2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
Rapid growth of online social media reduces the marketer’s control over brand management. Consumers share their brand-related experiences (through online reviews) in various online social media platforms. It is a major challenge for the marketers to understand the effects of online reviews on a brand’s image. This study addresses the issue and attempts to understand the effects of online reviews on brand image. The concept of brand image is broken up into two parts, namely, functional and hedonic. The study follows a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Quantitative techniques have been used to measure the objective experiences of the consumers, whereas qualitative techniques have been used to examine the subjective experiences of the consumers. For quantitative technique, structural equation modelling (SEM) has been adopted to determine the relationships between the variables. For qualitative technique, netnography has been followed. Quantitative data analysis reveals that online credible reviews have more significant effect on hedonic brand image. Qualitative study also shows evidences of functional and hedonic brand images in online community. Future directions for research are mentioned as well. © 2018 SAGE Publications.
The Effects of Credible Online Reviews on Brand Equity Dimensions and Its Consequence on Consumer Behavior
(2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
Consumers are using social media platform to gain and share knowledge on brands. In the virtual environment, consumers are exposed to various online reviews on brands that leave an impression of brands on the minds of the consumers. The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions. The present study views, through the lens of Yale attitude change model, the various factors that affect credibility evaluation of online reviews. Further, attribution theory is used as the theoretical backbone to analyze the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions and finally on purchase intention. This study uses structural equations modeling (SEM) to investigate the impact of online credible reviews on customer based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions and its consequence on consumer behavior (purchase intention). Results indicate that source and review quality are the most important factors that affect consumer's credibility evaluation of a review. Online credible reviews have more significant impact on brand awareness, perceived value and organizational associations and thus leads to consumer's purchase intention in the context of consumer electronic products in India. 2018 Taylor & Francis.
Online reviews and its impact on brand equity
(Inderscience Publishers editor@inderscience.com, 2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
The significant rise of online social media increases consumer's power over brands. Therefore, this study attempts to assess the impact of online reviews on brand equity dimensions, namely, brand awareness, brand associations (in terms of perceived value, brand personality and organisational associations) and perceived quality. The present study integrates source credibility theory and attribution theory to understand the impact of online reviews on brands. The study follows mixed method approach by using quantitative analysis (structural equation modeling) and qualitative text analysis (netnography). For quantitative study, data has been collected from select Facebook brand pages with the help of Google form application. For qualitative study, "Apple Users India" brand community is considered to conduct netnography. Quantitative analysis reveals that online reviews have more significant impact on brand awareness and perceived value. Qualitative analysis also finds evidences of brand equity dimensions in the online brand community. © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
The Effects of Credible Online Reviews on Brand Equity Dimensions and Its Consequence on Consumer Behavior
(Routledge aabs@uw.edu, 2018) Chakraborty, U.; Bhat, S.
Consumers are using social media platform to gain and share knowledge on brands. In the virtual environment, consumers are exposed to various online reviews on brands that leave an impression of brands on the minds of the consumers. The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions. The present study views, through the lens of Yale attitude change model, the various factors that affect credibility evaluation of online reviews. Further, attribution theory is used as the theoretical backbone to analyze the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions and finally on purchase intention. This study uses structural equations modeling (SEM) to investigate the impact of online credible reviews on customer based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions and its consequence on consumer behavior (purchase intention). Results indicate that source and review quality are the most important factors that affect consumer's credibility evaluation of a review. Online credible reviews have more significant impact on brand awareness, perceived value and organizational associations and thus leads to consumer's purchase intention in the context of consumer electronic products in India. © 2018 Taylor & Francis.