The impact of user genated content and social media networks in Dissertation

The impact of user genated content and social media networks in consumer behaviour - Dissertation Example Hence, the primary research question of the current study is what is the impact of user generated content and social media networks in consumer behaviour? There are very few studies conducted on the subject, which makes the potential contribution of this study to the marketing communications literature valuable. In order to answer the aforementioned question, the researcher adopts a qualitative design, or more particularly, in-depth interviews. The sample size is small and respondents are chose purposively. The researcher takes into account not just the strong points of the qualitative research method but also its empirical, practical, theoretical and ethical limitations. Introduction The primary research question this study will attempt to answer is â€Å"What is the impact of user generated content and social media networks in consumer behaviour?† More specifically, this study will try to answer the following questions: a. Do consumers consult user generated content and soci al media if they are planning to buy something? b. Do consumers consult product-review websites, such as Epinions.com, on a regular basis? c. Do consumers participate in an online forum where in direct discussions about particular products or services are carried out? d. Do consumers post content about the products they bought or plan of buying, or interested in, in product-review websites? e. What are the purpose(s) of consumers in participating in user generated content and social media? f. Do user generated content and social media networks promote unregulated buying behaviour? This topic has been chosen by the researcher because of the fact that word-of-mouth communications entrenched in social media and user generated content are occupying an ever more major role in the preferences of consumers by assisting consumers in making decisions about technologically intricate products, rummage through a sudden increase in product-focused information, amass consumers’ experience and opinion, and perform it at an immensely reduced cost (Laughlin & MacDonald 2010). The emergent influence of user generated content and social media in consumer behaviour deserves scholarly attention so as to present further knowledge of a major enigma of marketing. Relation to Previous Research A number of studies, even though few, have been carried out to identify whether or not user generated content and social media influences customer behaviour and decisions, but their outcomes diverge. The study of Schlossberg (1992 as cited in Thorson & Moore 1996) reports that social media may be useful to consumers as a persuasive instrument in influencing behaviours and decisions and perhaps in building more encouraging social attitudes and actions; others report that affirmative thoughts about the social media do not automatically affect the preference and decisions of consumers. Basically, the limited number of empirical research and contradictory results make the effects of user gene rated content and social media difficult to quantify. Hence, an important mission is assigned for researchers to study the form of user generated content that are successful in influencing buying behaviour and decision of consumers. Brown and colleagues (2007 as cited in Laughlin & MacDonald 2010) report that contrary to conventional face-to-face social messages, consumers seem