Identifying the Effective Factors of Oral Electronic Marketing on Brand Equity

Journal of System Management

دوره 9، شماره 1 - شماره پیاپی 33، فروردین 2023، صفحه 15-36   

نوع مقاله: Research Paper

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.30495/jsm.2022.1966066.1680

نویسندگان

Azadeh Darvish¹؛ Fereshteh Lotfizadeh^{* 2}؛ Kambiz Hiedarzadeh³؛ Rahim Mohtaram⁴

¹Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Bussiness Management, UAE Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

²Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

³Associate Professor, Department of Business Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

⁴Assistant Professor Department of Business Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

چکیده

The main challenging issues for e-commerce operators are building trust in customers to make purchases and gaining a suitable position in the minds of consumers to repeat purchases. Therefore, this research aims to identify the effective factors of word of oral electronic marketing on brand equity. For this purpose, the researcher tried to use the grounded qualitative research method (Glaserian grounded theory) and, with the help of MAXQDA software, to identify and present the dimensions, components, and indicators of oral electronic marketing effective on "brand equity" from the analysis of theoretical bases, upstream documents, and interviews with experts. This research is in the category of applied-developmental research, and in terms of method, strategy, and nature, it is part of exploratory qualitative research, whose philosophy is based on the interpretative-constructive paradigm. It has a single time horizon, collects data from both documentary and field methods, and its tool is recording in the documentary (library) section and interviews in the field section. The statistical population of this research is experts in the fields of human resources management, marketing, and branding; managers and vice-presidents; and employees of e-commerce companies. Based on research findings, oral electronic marketing has two dimensions: technical and technological factors and individual factors, and the dimension of technical and technological factors includes the components of electronic marketing tools and situational features, message features, and the dimension of human factors includes the components of individual factors and interpersonal factors. The special value of the brand also has two dimensions of consumer perception and consumer behavior. The dimension of consumer perception includes the components of brand association, perceived quality, and brand awareness, and the dimension of consumer behavior includes the components of brand loyalty, customer relationships, and brand consistency.

کلیدواژه‌ها

E-commerce؛ Electronic advertising؛ Brand equity؛ Grounded theory؛ MAXQDA

اصل مقاله

Abstract

The authors of this article are trying to use the qualitative research method " Grounded theory" and MAXQDA software; Identify and present the dimensions, components and indicators of " Electronic Word of Mouth" effective on "special brand value" from the analysis of theoretical bases, upstream documents, interviews with experts.The statistical population of this research is experts in the fields of human resources management, marketing, and branding; managers and vice-presidents; and employees of e-commerce companies. Based on research findings, Electronic Word of Mouth has two dimensions: technical and technological factors and individual factors, and the dimension of technical and technological factors includes the components of electronic marketing tools and situational features, message features, and the dimension of human factors includes the components of individual factors and interpersonal factors. The special value of the brand also has two dimensions of consumer perception and consumer behavior. The dimension of consumer perception includes the components of brand association, perceived quality, and brand awareness, and the dimension of consumer behavior includes the components of brand loyalty, customer relationships, and brand consistency.

Keywords: Electronic Word of Mouth, E-commerce, Electronic advertising, Brand equity, Grounded theory, MAXQDA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

In today's world, due to the tremendous developments in the fields of communication and information technology and the continued creation and development of e-commerce, the areas related to business have faced extensive and deep changes (Yankah, 2022: 124). In this regard, large and small companies and brands, by using this type of modern and extensive technology, started to establish electronic and digital stores for better and more sales and business in order to:

1: expand their sales areas in different areas and 2: Fulfilling customer needs in the shortest possible time (Tao et al., 2022: 361). By using these technologies, companies and electronic stores have achieved another concept in recent years, which is the trust of customers and obtaining their maximum satisfaction. In other words, simultaneously with the use of new information technologies by companies, the increase in persuasion, customer satisfaction and trust in electronic companies and digital stores has also increased. This issue has ultimately caused digital companies to secure and develop their income (Fleischmann et al., 2020: 417). Therefore, digital companies are well aware of the fact that they are only able to achieve long-term profits if their customers make repeated purchases (Kafilaleh et al, 2021: 316). Therefore, the most important strategy of such companies is managing customers after purchase to encourage them to buy again from the website (Wassan et al., 2021: 74). However, one of the challenging issues for activists in this field is to build trust in e-commerce customers. Although some important researches have been conducted in this regard, it has been shown that there is a lack of trust among e-commerce customers, which is an important inhibiting factor for the development of electronic stores. Therefore, trying to increase the trust of customers in the e-commerce environment is one of the main concerns of the e-commerce activists (Malenkov et al., 2021: 287).

The main issue is that buyers face many questions and debates in order to make a decision in the purchase process; The variety of different products has made customers have the right to many choices, and companies have also realized that the cost of attracting new customers is five times the cost of keeping existing customers, and losing a customer is not just the loss of a sales lead, but beyond that, it means the loss of Giving is the total flow of purchases that a customer could make during his life (Verhoef et al., 2021: 893). Therefore, commitment to customers is one of the important and essential principles of e-business without it cannot expect growth and development in e-commerce. The second important issue is that commitment and trust are influenced by valuable information; most importantly, the two components of commitment and trust are significant drivers in purchasing and affect customer loyalty (Kheilnejad et al, 2020: 155). Therefore, the information presented in e-commerce sites affects the commitment and trust and improves the continuous use of the consumer (Baltas, 2020: 4).

The importance of this issue is that the real value of a product does not exist inside that product or service, rather, this value is in the minds of potential and actual customers, and in modern marketing science, it is the brands that attribute this value in their minds (Mogaji, 2021: 109).

Surprisingly, all types of organizations and people tend to be managed as a brand, and one of the essentials of the top management of any organization is to create strong brands that keep their promises and commitments and improve their strength and capabilities over time (         Alilou et al., 2019: 26). In this regard, the influence and personal effects of people in online environments are effective on the evaluations and decisions of customers regarding the purchase of a product or brand. In fact, although electronic word of mouth may be more personal than traditional word of mouth, it is seen as a more effective tool because it has significant reach and is much more accessible to the public. This type of advertising (word of mouth advertising) is an effective and efficient method in modern marketing. This type of electronic advertising refers to a type of informal communication about a product or service that can be used as a filter for consumers; because the independence and non-correlation of electronic word-of-mouth advertising to producers brings confidence in consumers' decision to buy and also the intention to buy again (Buhalis & Park, 2021: 3).

The main necessity of this research is that the special brand value of a product or service is affected by Electronic Word of Mouth and from this point of view, parameters and components are effective on brand special value. Also, in order to manage costs and obtain higher satisfaction from current customers and retain them, as well as attract new customers through previous customers and turn them into the most loyal customers, companies should focus and monitor more on some aspects of subjective perceptions, which are specially the emphasis is on the effect of word-of-mouth e-marketing on brand equity.

The purpose of this article is to "Identifying the effective factors of Electronic Word of Mouth on brand equity" in order to solve the aforementioned concerns in electronic commerce markets, whose achievements can be a guide for the activists of this field at the strategic, operational and executive levels in the sector. Public and private companies and on the other hand lead to the development of Electronic Word of Mouth knowledge.

 Therefore, the questions raised in between are:

(1) What are the dimensions, components and indicators of the paradigm model of Electronic Word of Mouth?

 (2) What are the dimensions, components and indicators of brand equity?

 (3) What is the impact of Electronic Word of Mouth marketing on brand equity?

Theoretical framework, Electronic Marketing

Basically, in the definition of "electronic marketing", this concept has been defined as the use of information technology in the processes of creating, communicating, giving value to customers and managing customer relationships in ways that are beneficial for the organization and stakeholders. This type of marketing has several important and effective indicators:

First; Internet use in customer-related activities, Internet use in channel-related activities, and Internet use in marketing research-related activities (Laroche et al., 2021: 1083);

Second; generating value and gaining a share of the market, using the Internet and other electronic tools, to conduct Internet businesses, including advertising, selling goods and services, etc. (Copeland & Bhaduri, 2020: 6);

Third; Statements based on positive, neutral or negative experiences made by actual or former potential consumers about a product, service, brand or company that are available to many individuals and institutions over the Internet (via websites, social networks, instant messengers, news readers, etc.) are available to people;

Fourth; All informal communication of consumers through Internet-based technology is considered to be related to the use or characteristics of specific goods or services or their sellers, and they are an important arena for consumer opinions (Soni & Agrawal, 2021: 119).

Research Background

1. Norouzi et al (2022) in an article with title: "Investigating the mediating role of brand equity in the impact of social media marketing activities on customer response (Case study: Dorsa luxury brand)" conclued that significant value and path coefficients, social media marketing has a positive and significant effect on customer response and brand equity. Also, brand equity has a positive and significant effect on customer response. Because the significance value of all direct hypotheses of the research is greater than 95% at 95% confidence level. Also in this study to test the fourth hypothesis of the study, the VAF index or the inclusion of variance has been used. According to the obtained numbers, it can be concluded that brand equity has a full mediating role in the impact of social media marketing activities on customer response in luxury brands. That is, our mediating variable makes the whole effect of the independent variable dependent on its presence.
2. Aazami and Ayeneh (2021) in research with title:"Impact of social media marketing activities on brand value with respect to the mediating role played by consumer perception (Case Study: Auto Parts Supply Companies of Kermanshah Province)" argued that social media marketing activities have a positive and meaningful effect on special brand value through consumer perception.
3. Almasi et al (2021) in an article with title: "The mediator role of brand-awareness and brand image in the realtionship between the advertisment-awareness and the brand equity" argued that the research model has a moderate fit, advertising awareness had a direct effect on the variables of brand awareness, brand image and brand equity. Also, awareness of advertising indirectly affected brand equity through brand awareness and brand image. Sports brand managers need to realize that branding in an industry is the way to go; Endless and requires research and application of relevant sciences, pay attention and understand the importance of brand value and the impact it has on customer loyalty to study and invest in the factors that affect it, such as advertising, brand awareness and brand image.
4. Ghomi Aveili et al (2021) in reserch with title:"Systematic review of meta-synthesis technique based brand equity: Analysis of constituents and its consequences from a combined perspective (financial-customer)" argued that 4 factors in valid studies related to the last ten years constitute the dimensions of brand equity. Perceptual dimensions, attitudinal dimensions, cognitive dimensions and communication dimensions are the main dimensions of brand equity. Also, two consequences related to the customer and the consequences related to the company constitute the consequences of brand equity.
5. Sanjari Nader et al (2020) in research with title:"The Impact of Social Network Based Brand Communities on Brand Evangelism through Strengthening Brand Trust" argued that conceptual model of the research was measured using the structural section of the structural equation model called path analysis. The results showed that consumer relationships with brand elements (product, brand, company and other customers) in the in brand community based on social networks through the mediating variable of consumers brand trust have a positive and significant effect on brand evangelism.
6. Shahabadi and Saadat (2020) in research with title: "The Effect of Components of Knowledge on Nation Brand in Selected Countries of the World." Conclued that the effect of economic incentive and institutional regime, innovation system, education and human resources and information and communication technology infrastructure on the nation brand is positive and significant. In the meantime, the impact of economic incentive and institutional regime is greater than other components of knowledge.
7. Alwan (2022) in research with title: "The effect of digital marketing on purchase intention: Moderating effect of brand equity"showed that the assumptions which stated the digital marketing had a positive significant effect on purchase intention, and the moderating effect of brand equity revealed a significant effect.
8. Abina (2022) in research with title:"Effect of Consumer Perception of Brand Equity Fit on Purchase Intention for Brands in Symbolic Alliances" showed that brand equity fit employed had positive significant impact on purchase intention for the brands in the symbolic alliance.

 

9. Gasawneh (2021) in reserch with title: "The impact of social media marketing on brand equity: A systematic review" showed that social media marketing positively impacted CBBE dimensions namely brand awareness, perceived quality, association, and loyalty.
10. Sadyk (2021) in an article with title:" Brand Equity and Usage Intention Powered by Value Co-Creation: A Case of Instagram in Kazakhstan" showed that brand equity’s importance for firm sustainability in terms of long-term business strategy is indisputable.

Although there have been other researches in this field that could not be introduced due to space limitations, however, the researcher has fully addressed them in the main work of his research. However, the current article is different from all the previous researches in terms of the approach to the research problem, the method of doing it and the statistical population.

Methodology

This research is in the category of applied-developmental research, and in terms of the method, it is a part of exploratory qualitative research, and in terms of strategy, it is qualitative research, which is by nature exploratory research. In this way, by using the qualitative research method "grounded theory" and with the help of MAXQDA software, the categories, concepts, and signs (dimensions, components, and indicators) of "Electronic Word of Mouth" and "brand equity" were identified and designed. In addition, the philosophy (paradigm) of this research is based on the interpretative-constructive paradigm. In terms of the time horizon, this research is a one-time study, and the collection of data and information required was a one-and-a-half-year period from October 2020 to April 2022. The time horizon of the analysis and results was considered to be 5 years, i.e., until the year 2025, according to the regular planning pattern at the country's level and in line with the country's development plans.

In this research, both documentary and field methods have been used to collect information, and the tools in the documentary (library) section were taking a survey, and in the field section, interviews.

The statistical population of this research includes: a) experts in the field of management with human resources, marketing and brand orientations who have scientific, research and educational records; Due to the limited number of these people, the studied sample was investigated and interviewed in a theoretical (non-probability) and purposeful way. That is, the focus was on people who had more knowledge about the subject of the research; b) Managers and vice presidents of e-commerce companies with at least 2 years of experience; c) Employees of e-commerce companies with at least 5 years of work experience. The volume of statistical samples was the theoretical saturation level in all groups; that is, the interviews continued until more interviews led to newer data and more knowledge about acceptance, its constituent components, and how to implement it was obtained. Therefore, while the sampling method was purposeful, the snowball sampling method was also used, and the interviewed people were asked to introduce us to the people who could provide us with suitable qualitative data in this regard. A total of 10 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted and implemented.

The method of data analysis was grounded in data analysis using MAXQDA software; in this way, first the researcher analyzed the research literature and the general framework of the interview questions was extracted, and then, by conducting in-depth interviews and collecting new data using the grounded method and the help of the aforementioned analysis software, the effective factors in Electronic Word of Mouth were identified. The researcher's reasons for trustworthiness, transferability, and verifiability in this research are: compliance with the implementation steps of the grounded data method; member review method; multiple perspectives in data consensus; and method consensus (alignment with documents, interviews, and theoretical foundations). The continuous engagement of the researcher with the topic and the reasons for the reliability of the research are: re-test in a different time frame; agreement between different coders.

 

Research Findings

Considering the exploratory nature of the research, first the theoretical foundations of the research were coded and analyzed using the qualitative data analysis MAXQDA software; the sample coding of the content of this section is given in the table below, and based on the non-structured qualitative method of the data foundation and with the help of MAXQDA software, the output of the analysis of this part of the work is presented in the form of the following images and graphs.

Table 1: Example of open coding of literature and background

concepts	Selected text
Electronic trust	Also, the variables of homogeneity, trust, normative influence and informational influence (Mirzaei et al, 2020) as well as electronic trust, electronic commitment (Hosseini et al, 2018) are among the influencing factors on Electronic Word of Mouth.
Electronic commitment	Customer commitment is one of the important and essential principles of e-business, and without customer commitment, growth and development in e-commerce cannot be expected. Commitment and trust are influenced by valuable information. Most importantly, the two factors of commitment and trust are significant drivers in making purchases and affect customer loyalty; Therefore, the information provided on e-commerce sites influences consumer commitment and trust and improves continued use (Nouri et al, 2011).
Competitive differentiation	Today, Electronic Word of Mouth has become a modern and simple tool to achieve competitive differentiation and promote customer loyalty to a particular brand.
Electronic trust	One of the challenging issues for activists in this field is to build trust in e-commerce customers. Research shows that the lack of trust in e-commerce customers is one of the main obstacles to the success of e-sellers and the most important factor preventing their participation. Customer commitment is one of the important and essential principles of e-business and without customer commitment one cannot expect growth and development in e-commerce. Commitment and trust are influenced by valuable information. Most importantly, the two factors of commitment and trust are significant drivers in making purchases and affect customer loyalty; Therefore, the information provided on e-commerce sites influences consumer commitment and trust and improves continued use. (Nouri et al, 2011).
Electronic trust	Electronic oral variable has a positive and significant effect on electronic trust on repurchase intention. Also, electronic commitment has a positive and significant effect on the repurchase intention, and electronic trust has a positive and significant effect on the repurchase intention of Samsung mobile phone customers (Kiyomarsi ret al, 2021).
Electronic Word of Mouth	As the online market has grown rapidly over the past few years, e-marketing activities have attracted a lot of attention (Shahabadi and Saadat, 2020).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart 1. Dimensions and components of Electronic Word of Mouth based on the analysis of theoretical foundations

 

 

 

 

 

Chart 2. Dimensions and components of brand equity based on the analysis of theoretical foundations

 

 

 

The general instructions for the interviews were designed based on the previous analysis, and new data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews. Then, in the second stage, the text of the interviews was implemented, and then, with the help of Max QDA software, three-stage coding (open, central, and selective) was done using the non-structured method of the grounded data theory. An example of the open-coding output of this data is given in Table 2.

Finally, according to the content analysis of the theoretical foundations, documents, and interviews, with the Glaserian grounded data theory method, a number of 700 codes were identified. By removing duplicate codes and merging similar codes, forming categories and dimensions, finally, for "Electronic Word of Mouth concept" there were 61 indicators, 5 components and 2 dimensions, and for the concept of "brand equity" there were 55 indicators, 6 components and 2 dimensions, classified according to tables and diagrams.

Table 2. An example of open coding of interviews output from Max QDA software

 

Selected text	code	Source
Overall consumer satisfaction code; It is considered one of the key predictors of consumer behavior. Overall satisfaction is a comprehensive evaluation of the experience of buying or consuming products and services over time	Customer satisfaction	Interview number 10
Perceived quality is a competitive necessity and today most companies have turned to customer-oriented quality as a strategic weapon.	Customer Orientation	Interview number 10
Special brand value helps the organization to attract and retain customers.	Customer attraction and retention	Interview number 10
Perceived quality is measured by factors of satisfaction, trust, customer loyalty, oral communication, customer retention, information security and availability.	Customer attraction and retention	Interview number 10
Today, consumers pay more attention to product quality and focus more on the real value and perceived quality of the product.	Perceived quality	Interview number 10
Brand image is conceptually similar to brand association.	Brand association / mental image of the brand	Interview number 10
Brand awareness refers to the strong connection power of the characteristics created in the mind and enables customers to recognize and remember the brand in different conditions.	Calling/reminding	Interview number 10
For this purpose, the most basic activity in electronic marketing is to have a website with an attractive and unique design that can convey the characteristics of a product to the audience as much as possible, both in terms of images and in terms of technical and specialized information. Different, have the power to compare and make informed and accurate choices.	Websites	Interview number 9
Personal factors are measured by the factors of recognition, interest, behavior, the level of awareness of the sender, the credibility of the message sender, the currentness of the received information, and the level of the receiver's belief in the person who sent the message.	Situational features	Interview number 9
When the social motives of participating in oral electronic advertising are combined with messages that have situational characteristics such as honesty, reliability, usefulness, and life-likeness, it can lead to an increase in purchase intention.	being useful	Interview number 9
When the social motives of participating in oral electronic advertising are combined with messages that have situational characteristics such as honesty, reliability, usefulness, and life-likeness, it can lead to an increase in purchase intention.	Real loss match	Interview number 9
When the social motives of participating in oral electronic advertising are combined with messages that have situational characteristics such as honesty, reliability, usefulness, and life-likeness, it can lead to an increase in purchase intention.	being honest	Interview number 9
Personal factors are measured by the factors of recognition, interest, behavior, the level of awareness of the sender, the credibility of the message sender, the currentness of the received information, and the level of the receiver's belief in the person who sent the message.	being up to date	Interview number 9
Therefore, in addition to getting proper information about the desired product, customers are encouraged to buy a product with a specific brand. The more product features need to be evaluated, the more electronic oral will affect sales as a long-term phenomenon.	Quantity and quality of information	Interview number 9
Personal factors are measured by the factors of recognition, interest, behavior, the level of awareness of the sender, the credibility of the message sender, the currentness of the received information, and the level of the receiver's belief in the person who sent the message.	The validity of the message and its sender	Interview number 9
Technical and technological factors using information technology in sales are considered one of the necessary links to increase interactive communication with customers and improve efficiency at the level of the national economy, which leads to personalization of advertisements and person-to-person methods, communication with customers on the Internet and Online without time and place restrictions, the ranking of the company's website in search engines and... Is increased.	Not limited to time and place	Interview number 9
Advertisements in non-internet media are mostly expensive and expensive, and in this situation communication with the audience through web pages can be a solution.	Low cost	Interview number 9
Interpersonal factors are measured with the indicators of the degree of interactivity of communication between the receiver and the sender of the message, availability of customers, ease of purchase, cost-effectiveness, the degree of persuasiveness in the recipient of the message, awareness of the competitors' situation, use of information from the company's regular customers, and feedback.	accessibility	Interview number 9
Then, under the influence of interpersonal factors and the interaction established between the receiver and the sender of the message, he decides to buy and with continuous purchase, he becomes a permanent customer of the company.	Individual factors/interpersonal factors	Interview number 9
Interpersonal factors are measured with the indicators of the degree of interactivity of communication between the receiver and the sender of the message, availability of customers, ease of purchase, cost-effectiveness, the degree of persuasiveness in the recipient of the message, awareness of the competitors' situation, use of information from the company's regular customers, and feedback.	Interactivity of communication	Interview number 9
Interpersonal factors are measured with the indicators of the degree of interactivity of communication between the receiver and the sender of the message, availability of customers, ease of purchase, cost-effectiveness, the degree of persuasiveness in the recipient of the message, awareness of the competitors' situation, use of information from the company's regular customers, and feedback.	Motivational factors/possibility of obtaining feedback	Interview number 9

 

Finally, according to the content analysis of theoretical bases, upstream documents and interviews, 700 codes were identified with the foundation data theory method (emergent or Glazerian approach), which by removing duplicate codes and merging similar codes, forming categories and dimensions, finally for " The concept of Electronic Word of Mouth " has 61 indicators, 5 components and 2 categories (dimensions) and for the concept of "special brand value" 55 indicators, 6 components and 2 categories (dimensions) have been classified according to the tables and diagrams.

Table 3. Indicators, components and dimensions of Electronic Word of Mouth

 

Concept	Dimensions	Component	Indicator
Oral  electronic marketing	Technical and technological factors	Electronic marketing tools	Virtual networks - discussion rooms - news groups - e-mail - blogs - search engines - social networks - websites - Internet - mobile - software - hardware
		Situational features	Adherence to psychological principles - usefulness - similarity with real life - high credibility - honesty - style of expression - attractiveness and fun - alive and dynamic - credibility of the message and its sender - ability to understand and understand - obtaining ideas for product development - differentiation Competitive - electronic trust - electronic commitment - the possibility of comparison and ranking
		Message features	Up-to-dateness - high publication speed - accessibility - no commercial bias - unlimited scope - ease of navigation - high durability - not limited to time and place - - possibility of sharing experiences - low cost - online evaluation and review
	Human Factors	Individual factors	People's experiences - expertise and skills - age - education - occupation - opinions and beliefs - credit of the sender - interests and tastes - lifestyle - motivation
		Interpersonal factors	Interactivity of communication - Intimacy - Perceived homogeneity/similarity - Closeness of relationships - Social influence - Intensity of dependence/strength of relationship - Strength of sender and receiver relationships - Informal communication - Commitment - Exchange of technical knowledge between customers - Possibility of obtaining feedback - Satisfaction with relationships

 

 

Chart 3. Indicators, components and dimensions of Electronic Word of Mouth

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4. Indicators, components and dimensions of brand equity

Indicator	Component	Dimension	Concept
Willingness to pay a higher price - increase in product sales - share of the customer's wallet - more profit - possibility of choosing a brand - repeat purchase	Brand loyalty	Consumer behavior	Brand equity
Facilitating the decision-making process - mastery - identification of consumer needs - reducing advertising and sales costs - increasing market share - attracting and retaining customers	Customer relations
Recommending the product to others - emotional and cognitive responses of customers - active involvement and dependence - feeling of community - behavioral loyalty	Brand Consistency
Prominence of the brand in the customer's mind - brand recognition / recognition - recall / reminder	Brand awareness	Consumer perception
Reliability and reliability (payment procedures - reducing risk - durability and availability) - Responsiveness (ease of purchase - how to send and deliver goods - product or service distribution - communication channels) - Empathy (fit with lifestyle - mental comfort - enjoyment - Empathy) - communication channels	Perceived quality
Reliability and reliability (payment procedures - reducing risk - durability and availability) - Responsiveness (ease of purchase - how to send and deliver goods - product or service distribution - communication channels) - Empathy (fit with lifestyle - mental comfort - enjoyment - Empathy) - communication channels	Brand associations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart 4. Brand equity indicators, components and dimensions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart 5. Model of the effective factors of Electronic Word of Mouth on brand equity

 

 

Discussion and conclusion

With the growth of information technologies and the Internet, the influence and interpersonal effects of people on each other in online environments on the decisions of choosing and buying a product or brand have increased. Today, brands are considered to be the most valuable assets and sources of profitability for many companies, and companies spend a lot of money on strengthening their brand. In this research, it has been tried to identify the indicators of Electronic Word of Mouth and brand equity and to examine the effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on improving brand equity. After studying the literature in this field, Electronic Word of Mouth and brand equity there were two very important variables that were identified, and therefore the indicators and components of electronic marketing were identified as follows. Based on the research findings, Electronic Word of Mouth has two dimensions, technical and technological factors and individual factors, which according to experts, these factors have an effect on Electronic Word of Mouth, and with the development of technical and technological factors and the improvement of the status of individual factors, Electronic Word of Mouth expands.

Based on the findings of the research, according to the participants, technical factors have the greatest effect on Electronic Word of Mouth, and the effect of individual factors is the next priority. And then the technical and technological factors also have the components of electronic marketing tools and situational features, message features. The component of electronic marketing tools has indicators; Virtual networks, discussion rooms, news groups, e-mail, blogs, search engines, social networks, websites, internet, mobile, software and hardware. The component of situational features has indicators; Adherence to psychological principles, usefulness, similarity with real life, high credibility, honesty, style of expression, attractiveness and fun, alive and dynamic, credibility of the message and its sender, ability to understand and understand, obtaining ideas for product development, differentiation. It is competitive, electronic trust, electronic commitment and the possibility of comparison and ranking. The message features component has indicators; Up-to-date, high publication speed, accessibility, lack of commercial bias, unlimited scope, ease of navigation, high durability, not limited to time and place, possibility of sharing experiences, low cost, and online evaluation and review.

The dimension of human factors includes the components of individual factors and interpersonal factors, and the component of individual factors includes indicators; People's experiences, expertise and skills, age, education, occupation, opinions and beliefs, credit of the sender, interests and tastes, lifestyle and motivation. Individual factors are one of the most important characteristics that influence the recipient's behavior as effective factors in marketing effectiveness in various researches.The component of interpersonal factors has indicators; Interactivity of communication, intimacy, perceived homogeneity/similarity, closeness of relationships, social influence, intensity of dependence/strength of relationship, strength of sender-receiver relationships, informal communication, commitment, exchange of technical knowledge between customers, possibility of obtaining feedback and satisfaction from relationships. Also, variables related to interpersonal factors are among the most important variables that are considered in this section. Then the indicators and components of the special value of the brand were identified. One of the important reasons for paying attention to brand equity is the strategic and important role of brand equity in management decisions and creating a competitive advantage for organizations and their customers. The special value of the brand enables the organizations to demand more money for their brand in addition to maintaining their market share, thus making the brand profitable and creating cash flow for the organization.

Brand equity has two dimensions: consumer perception and consumer behavior. Based on the findings of the research, according to the participants, brand equity has the greatest effect on consumer perception, and consumer behavior is the next priority.The dimension of consumer perception has three components: brand association, perceived quality and brand awareness, and the brand awareness component includes brand prominence persons in the customer's mind, brand identification/recognition-recall/recall, and the perceived quality component has reliability and assurance indicators. Responsiveness is empathy and communication channels, and the association component of branding is the indicators of brand characteristics, brand performance, mental image of the brand, attitudes and resources. The consumer behavior dimension includes the components of brand loyalty, customer relations, and brand congruence, and the brand loyalty component includes indicators of willingness to pay a higher price, increase in product sales, share of the customer's wallet, more profit, the probability of choosing the brand and repurchasing. The customer relations component includes indicators; Facilitating the decision-making process, customer orientation, identifying consumer needs, reducing advertising and sales costs, increasing market share, and attracting and retaining customers. The brand consistency component includes the indicators of recommending the product to others, emotional and cognitive responses of customers, active involvement and dependence, community feeling and behavioral loyalty.

Comparing the findings of this research regarding brand equity with the model of Abina (2022), Sadyk (2021) and the model of Gasawneh (2021), Alwan (2022). However, in the model of Abina, the discussion of Electronic Word of Mouth as an independent research variable has not been discussed, but the findings of this research have a wider scope than the mentioned researches. The ratio of the findings of this research with Gasawneh's special model (2021), Alwan's model (2022) is such that the components of the mentioned model are available in this research and in addition to them, new components have been added to the model. The special value model of the customer-oriented service brand of Sadyk (2021) is different from the model of this research in terms of dimensions and components, but in this model, the findings of the described model.

Regarding the comparison of the findings of this research with internal research, it can be mentioned that there is no model that is exactly the same as the title of this research, but regarding the components and dimensions of the model, we can comment as follows.

The dimensions and components of the model of this research are different from the findings of the research of Sanjari Nader et al (2020), but due to the breadth of the model of this research, the indicators of the described model are available in this research. The findings of this research are in line with the research of Aazami and Ayeneh (2021) regarding the existence of a relationship between marketing and oral advertising and the research of Almasi et al (2021) regarding the effect of electronic word of oral advertising on brand image and consumer purchase intention. The findings of this research are in line with the research of Dehdashti et al. The findings of this research are different from the findings of Ghomi Aveili et al (2021) have not a mediator variable. The findings of this research are in line with the research of Shahabadi and Saadat (2020). The relationship, identification of indicators, dimensions and components were also considered, which was not done in the research of Seri Mortasih et al. in the qualitative part.

Considering the greater influence of technical and technological factors, the following suggestions are proposed:

The effect of technical and technological factors: considering the trend of technological changes and the spread of online shopping after the start of the Corona epidemic, especially in the field of the Internet and with the emergence of the 3D Internet and technologies related to the metaverse, it is suggested that companies, in order to avoid falling behind, use their electronic marketing tools complete and update as soon as possible.

Among the components related to technical factors, considering the greater impact of Electronic Word of Mouth tools, it is suggested that companies focus on choosing and using appropriate Electronic Word of Mouth tools, and the use and effectiveness of these tools should be regularly monitored and proportionate. Use one or more tools simultaneously with the results.

Companies should try to create a positive experience and image in their minds when communicating with their customers. The customer's familiarity with the company's website or virtual pages can be his first encounter, and in this context, a website or virtual page that has desirable features is very important. Therefore, the use of previous customers and experienced designers in the field of designing apps and virtual pages is one of the main suggestions of this section. It is suggested that companies create a customer club in order to increase the number of visits to their website and make it possible to compare other companies on the company's website, because by increasing the number of references and access of customers to the website and creating satisfaction in them, the desire to buy from the company increases.

After the electronic marketing tools, the characteristics of the message are in the second place, therefore, considering that the quality and quantity of information leads to giving meaning to the facts, therefore, for the Electronic Word of Mouth, the characteristics of the message play a significant role, and therefore it is suggested to pay attention to the characteristics of the message should be given special attention and companies should use expert groups and experts to prepare the message and should not ignore or underestimate the impact of the message and increase its impact by using appropriate graphic platforms, transparent and simplifying the message.

The third component is the influence of situational characteristics. This dimension is after the two components, and considering that physical events and actions related to marketing, through data and information, find their way to the cognitive field of people and are given meaning there, therefore, it is suggested that in Electronic Word of Mouth, the situational characteristics of marketing The necessary attention should be paid and the presentation of information in the platforms at the disposal of the organization should be in such a way that it is easy to learn and use and an easy user panel to use the services provided for customers.

Individual factors: Considering the role of human factors in Electronic Word of Mouth and the activeness of young people in this field, special attention should be paid to the individual and interpersonal factors of employees working in the field of marketing, and by improving the status of these factors, the process of Electronic Word of Mouth will be facilitated. Among the components of individual factors, interpersonal factors are in the first position of influence and individual factors are in the next position, therefore, it is suggested to consider interactiveness of communication, the strength of sender and receiver relationships, the possibility of obtaining feedback and satisfaction from the relationship in the design of marketing programs. The needs and demands of customers should be investigated, analyzed and evaluated, and the negative oral advertisements of customers regarding products and services should be eliminated. The conditions for a positive shopping experience for customers (through increasing the quality of services or products, offering discounts, warranty services and surveying customers) should be provided so that they can help the company's goals through Electronic Word of Mouth. Establishing a permanent relationship with consumers, especially after buying and using the product, so that this relationship continues.

Creating a database of special customers, communicating with them and encouraging them to advertise to friends, acquaintances, colleagues, etc.; by providing incentives (discounts, ancillary products and services, etc.). Considering that the use of social media among people is progressing rapidly, users should also raise their level of familiarity with social media in order not to fall behind in the benefits of using social media. Users communicate with previous customers by familiarizing themselves with social media and learn about the advantages and disadvantages of different brands in the virtual space. This will make them make a better decision in choosing the desired brand according to the comparisons made on social media.

Users should have an active presence in social media, which is a sales factor, and express their opinions without being biased towards a particular brand, so that the advantage of using social media includes all customers and a better and more economical purchase is made. Regarding the dependent variable of the research (specific value of the brand), it can be said that the brand, as the most valuable intangible asset of any organization, plays an important role in the success of the organization and effective communication with customers due to the extraordinary advantages it creates. Therefore, creating and maintaining its appropriate position in the minds of customers to influence their decision-making and purchase intention is one of the important goals of any organization. This dimension has the two dimensions of consumer perception and consumer behavior, and considering the greater influence of consumer perception, the following suggestions are proposed:

Consumer perception: perception plays a key role in people's behavior, therefore, consumer perception will have a direct effect on consumer behavior, therefore, advertising and promoting the brand make customers familiar with the brand, and by improving the perception of the brand in the mind of the customer and creating a reputation for the brand, and it creates a halo effect. Create for their services, which can lead to consumer behavior.

Considering the fundamental role of the brand on the consumer's perception and behavior, marketing managers should try to create a favorable perception and mental image among the consumers by considering the psychological and social processes in the construction of the brand, so that the consumer, through the use of the company's brand, identify, therefore, considering the role of perceived quality in enhancing brand equity, in electronic marketing, the subject of customer experience from the organization, trustworthiness and reliability, and responsiveness should be given due attention in order to increase the quality of customers' perception of the brand. Among the components of consumer perception, brand association has the greatest effect on consumer perception, and the components of perceived quality and brand awareness are in the next place; Therefore, according to the role of brand association in choosing a product or service, attention should be paid to brand characteristics, brand performance, brand image in the marketing process, and in order to inform customers about the company's range of services and products, the company's advertising should be developed and increased, and the image Improve the brand using electronic marketing techniques.

Consumer behavior: the behavior of the consumers of the company's goods or services also play a significant role in creating brand equity, then consumer behavior has three components: customer relations, brand loyalty and brand congruence, which according to the effect of these components, customer relations with the brand, loyalty They should be measured and monitored continuously to the brand and their compatibility with the brand to prevent the possibility of damage to the brand from the field of consumer behavior. Creating an environment to create positive experiences for customers through a detailed examination of their needs in order to improve their experience in using the company's products and services. Creating positive perceptions about services and goods can be beneficial because positive thinking influences purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is suggested that organizations focus on participating activities. Companies and organizations can improve their marketing strategies to enrich this process among customers.

Research limitations

-There are very few and limited scientific resources (at least in Persian) in this field that are directly related to the subject of article. For this reason, we have had to use English sources.

-The difficulty of accessing accurate statistics and databases regarding brands, especially electronic brands;

-Difficulty accessing top managers of famous brands;

-Every research work in its different stages requires financial expenses, and student research is certainly not exempt from this issue due to the researcher's special conditions.

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