earticle

영어

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM), such as consumer ratings, reviews, and comments, is an important information source influencing consumers’ behavior and purchase decisions. Prior studies about the effects of eWOM on movie success focus on box office revenue and DVD sales. As the video-on-demand (VOD) market has been growing rapidly in terms of revenue and number of users, research on movie success that focuses on this context is imperative. In addition, prior research concentrates on a single eWOM source and neglects the importance of the relative impact of different eWOM sources. Using eWOM data and movie ranking data of 111 unique movies over three months period, this research analyzes the relative impact of eWOM from internal vs. external sources and professional vs. general users on movie success in the context of VOD industry. Results suggest that eWOM from external sources has a significant impact on movie success at the VOD platform. Moreover, the general audience’s opinion is more influential on movie success compared with movie critics’ opinions. The findings demonstrate that eWOM from external sources and general users plays a critical role in the information search and behavior of consumers and movie success.