Word-of-Mouth Communication as a Consequence of Relationship Quality in Online Environments

La comunicación de voz a voz como consecuente de la calidad de la relación en entornos online Comunicação boca a boca como consequência da qualidade do relacionamento em ambientes online DOI: 10.5294/pacla.2018.21.4.6 Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication generates content that constitutes an important source of information for users. Numerous researches have shown that the content of other users is more credible and influential than the content generated by the brand. The development of new technologies has brought about important changes in this process of interpersonal influence. However, studies analyzing the eWOM communication process are insufficient. In this sense, the main objective of this study is to examine the relationship quality with eWOM communication. In addition, trust, satisfaction and commitment are identified as the main dimensions that form the relationship quality, and we analyze how these dimensions are related and how they influence the development of eWOM communication. To achieve the objectives and the verification of the hypotheses, we developed a structural model with a multi-item scale of measurement adapted from previous studies. The questionnaire was filled out by 576 different people to empirically test the model. The study sample included users of online travel websites. Findings confirm that the quality of the relationship influences the development of eWOM communication. In addition, we were able to verify that the dimensions of satisfaction and trust in travel websites are the most determinant, mainly because users are looking for an interpersonal communication process that satisfies their need and that the source is reliable. The originality of this study is based on using the dimensions that best measure the quality of the relationship and analyzing how they influence the development of eWOM communication in an online context, very important aspects for the Spanish tourism sector