Former customers’ E-WOM in social media platforms: an investigation of motives, network size and social ties

Former customers can potentially be highly beneficial to firms, however, their e-WOM activity has been neglected in prior research. This research recognises the need to broaden e-WOM research, especially regarding how former customers engage in e-WOM, what motivates them to do so and the impact they have in online social networks. The results of an online survey and two experimental studies empirically establish the role of former customers in online social networks, provide insights about their motives for engaging in e-WOM about goods and services they no longer use, and their impact in online social networks, which depends on the characteristics of these networks. Former customers with small networks and strong social ties have the strongest impact on other actors, followed by those with large networks and what this paper terms utilitarian ties. From a managerial perspective, this research identifies the role of former customers in online social networks and their optimal behaviours for the firm in terms of e-WOM sharing and recommends distinct ways in which the influencing behaviour of former customers should be managed