Producing word of mouth – a matter of self-confidence? Investigating a dual effect of consumer self-confidence on WOM

Abstract

Several researchers emphasize the importance of consumer self-confidence in the production of word of mouth (WOM). However, most focus has been on consumer self-confidence as a positive WOM predictor, and a possible negative relationship between consumer self-confidence and WOM remains largely unexplained. Here, we aimed to elucidate the possibility of both a positive and a negative effect of consumer self-confidence on WOM production, attributed to different dimensions of consumer selfconfidence. Our results support this idea, demonstrating a positive effect of social consumer confidence on WOM and a negative effect of personal consumer confidence on WOM. Furthermore, we identify unique personality roots for each of the two dimensions of consumer self-confidence that provide explanations for their differential effects on WOM. In addition, this study shows that the dual effects of social and personal consumer confidence on WOM happen due to a suppression effect. Hence, we provide a statistical explanation that could be crucial in understanding the relationship between the multiple dimensions of consumer self-confidence and WOM. The findings have implications for the targeting of consumers for WOM marketing campaigns.