Role of Conviction in the Impact of Electronic Word of Mouth on Purchase Intention for Financial Products and Services

This research proposed the theory to understand how purchase intention for financial products and services gets influenced through an online environment. Extensive review of literature explained the purchase behavior in an online environment. Based on this, the hypotheses were developed. Testing of hypotheses was done using different scales for different constructs. Electronic word of mouth, conviction, and purchase intention scales were adapted from the existing scales. Data were collected from customers of both private and public sector banks based on convenience sampling and subsequently, SPSS (for demographic analysis) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied. The results indicated that conviction partially mediated the impact of electronic word of mouth on purchase intention for financial products or services. Managers can develop appropriate strategies and communication tools for strengthening online conviction. Electronic word of mouth plays a vital role in positively influencing customers' purchase intentions, through development of conviction, resulting in a favorable image about the financial institution and its products, which in turn reduces promotional expenditures. This study gave a prescription for marketing of financial products and services emphasizing on the mediating role of conviction in the context of electronic word of mouth.