Sharing my experience or yours: the differential influence of self, social and social intention needs in stimulating positive word of mouth

Previous research on word of mouth (hereafter, WOM) distinguishes between two types of WOM senders; (a) WOM Generators who are likely to articulate recommendations based on their own consumption experience and (b) WOM Transmitters who are likely to engage in recommendations derived via other people consumption experience. However, while extant literature has extensively examined multiple drivers or stimulants of positive WOM intentions (hereafter, PWOM), such literature has overlooked the possibility that drivers of PWOM may depend on the nature of individual‘s consumption experience i.e. customers recommendations based on their own first-hand consumption experience with a product/service or someone else‘s consumption experience. This study contributes to the WOM literature by offering insights that psychological antecedents of PWOM differ between WOM Generators and Transmitters. Thus, future research must take into account the type of WOM sender when investigating the antecedents of PWOM and also extend the examination to the antecedents of negative word of mouth for Generators and Transmitters. ,