廣告抑或利他？社群媒體口碑分享動機對消費者反應之影響：社交連結強度與動機透明度的調節效果

Abstract

本研究旨在探討社群媒體上電子口碑（eWOM）分享動機對消費者感知eWOM品質及推薦者可信度的影響。電子口碑分享的動機可分為內在動機（如享受分享的樂趣）和外在動機（如追求金錢回報）。當消費者感知到電子口碑分享動機為內在動機時，其對電子口碑資訊品質與推薦者可信度的評價會高於感知電子口碑分享動機為外在動機的消費者。在本研究中，將此現象稱為動機效應（motivation effect）。 本研究進一步探討社交連結強度（強連結與弱連結）及動機透明度（透明與不透明）如何調節動機效應。我們假設社交強度正向調節動機效應。當消費者與推薦者之間為強連結時，動機效應強於弱連結的情境。此外我們假設動機透明度負向調節動機效應。當動機透明時，動機效應弱於動機不透明的情境。 本研究採用實驗法驗證假設，實驗結果顯著支持動機效應的假設，然而社交連結強度未顯著調節動機效應。實驗結果部分支持動機透明度的調節效應：當依變項為eWOM品質，動機透明度顯著負向調節動機效應；但當依變項為推薦者可信度時，負向調節效應未達顯著水準。綜合研究結果，企業可優先鼓勵具有內在動機的口碑分享；相較於人際關係，eWOM訊息本身的內容價值更為關鍵，此外，若能審慎揭露推薦動機，亦有助於提升eWOM的整體影響力。

This study examines how the motivation behind electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social media influences receivers' perceptions of eWOM quality and the credibility of the recommender. eWOM motivations are categorized into intrinsic (e.g., joy of sharing) and extrinsic (e.g., monetary rewards). When eWOM is perceived as intrinsically motivated, receivers tend to evaluate the message as higher in quality and view the recommender as more credible than when the motivation is perceived as extrinsic. This phenomenon is referred to as the “motivation effect.” This study further investigates how social tie strength (strong vs. weak) and motivation transparency (transparent vs. non-transparent) moderate the motivation effect. We hypothesize that social tie strength positively moderates the motivation effect, such that the effect is stronger when the receiver and the recommender share a strong tie compared to a weak tie. In addition, we hypothesize that motivation transparency negatively moderates the motivation effect, meaning the effect is weaker when the motivation is disclosed than when it is not. An experimental design was used to test the hypotheses. Results confirmed the motivation effect: participants rated eWOM quality and recommender credibility higher under intrinsic motivation. However, social tie strength did not significantly moderate this effect, suggesting that the value of the eWOM content itself is more influential than interpersonal closeness. Motivation transparency partially moderated the effect on perceived eWOM quality, weakening the motivation effect when the motivation was disclosed. No significant moderation was found for recommender credibility. These findings suggest that companies should prioritize encouraging intrinsically motivated eWOM. Compared to social ties, the perceived value of the message plays a more crucial role. Additionally, carefully disclosing motivation can help enhance the overall impact of eWOM.