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ADOPTING AND PROMOTING A CAMPUS BIKE SHARE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. Nancy Eufemia Dalman & Vinita Sangtani North Georgia College & State University. Word of Mouth.
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ADOPTING AND PROMOTING A CAMPUS BIKE SHARE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA Nancy EufemiaDalman & Vinita Sangtani North Georgia College & State University
Word of Mouth • The individual consumer, alone or collectively, no longer needs or accepts being told by any aspirants to higher authority what to do, what to think, what to buy • Instead, • Brown 2008
Word of Mouth • Word of mouth—the opinions of one’s peers—became more authoritative. • Word-of-mouth has been widely reported to be many times more influential than information from prints, radio, and personal selling • more so on college campuses • Brown 2008 • Lam, Mizerski, and Lee, 2005 • Steffes and Burgee, 2009
Antecedents for Word of Mouth • Paucity of studies testing antecedents of WOM. • Most studies have looked at consequences of WOM • Some antecedents offered by Kaplan and Haenlein (2011) were: • memorable and interesting message • Presence of messengers, such as market mavens, social hubs, and salespeople • Luck to be in the right place at the right time
Research Hypotheses • Environmental concern • Liking for the green program • Green behavior • WOM about a green program on campus + • Intention to use a green program on campus
Green Program http://www.konabiketown.com/
Method • A survey was conducted at a regional university by handing out questionnaires in several business and science classes • Final sample size was 159
Measures (7 point Likert Scales) • Environmental Concern ( = 0.83) • I believe that/ wish that • Environmental conservation is an issue for the human race • More students were willing to discuss the environment • More students were concerned about the environment
Measures (7 point Likert Scales) • Green Behavior ( = 0.64) • In my personal life, I: • Use energy efficient lighting • Recycle most recyclable materials I use • Turn off lights when leaving a room • Turn off my computer when not in use • Unplug appliances not in use
Measures (7 point Likert Scales) • Liking for program ( = 0.86) • From the description, I like this program • I am very interested in this program • WOM( = 0.88) • I will discuss the program with other students • I would try to promote the program to my friends on campus
Results t=8.77; 0.000 • Environmental concern • Liking for the green program • Green behavior • WOM about a green program on campus • Intention to use a green program on campus for free R2 = 0.62 t=4.86; 0.000 t=12.3; 0.000 R2 = 0.50 t = -2.5; 0.013
Results • Liking for the green program • Green behavior • Intention to use a green program on campus for 10 cents per use t=8.96; 0.000 R2 = 0.37 t= - 2.10; 0.037
Discussion • The program appears to be well received on campus and it appears that students are likely to use as well as talk about the program to other fellow students • The most significant finding was that green behavior did not influence WOM and • negatively influenced both likelihood of using the program for free and for a small fee • An artifact of the measure, reflected in the low reliability?
Future Research • Leveraging Facebook to make the program successful
Facebook and other social networks have taken Word of Mouth (Mouse) to a new level
Unverified Figures • 78% trust what their social network says about a product or service compared to 55% for TV ads and 49% for brand sponsorships
Research Suggests.. • Information gained from the eWOM forum is more influential in their decision than speaking with friends in person (WOM) • Therefore, future research would focus on the role of online social networks as media for WOM on environmental sustainability and other issues on college campus • Steffes and Burgee, 2009
Green Program http://baltidome.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/jhu-student-government-considers-bike-share-program/ http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Bike-sharing-gets-students-around-off-campus-1330890.php