Hedonic and Utilitarian Search for Electronic Word-of-Mouth

Online information search is often seen as a highly utilitarian task but consumers´ diverse ways of using the web have brought forth more hedonic information search patterns. At the same time, the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on consumer purchase decisions is increasing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences between hedonic and utilitarian eWOM search in the light of eWOM utilization. Using survey data from 1660 customers of two travel agencies, the study finds that, unlike utilitarian information search, hedonic information search promotes the utilization of eWOM in buying decisions.