How do consumer attitude and eWOM influence the purchase intention, and how is the interaction between consumer attitude and eWOM concerning supply chain transparency? : qualitative research in the global clothing indus

(1)

How do consumer attitude and eWOM influence the purchase

intention, and how is the interaction between consumer attitude

and eWOM concerning supply chain transparency?

Qualitative research in the global clothing industry

Master thesis proposal

University of Amsterdam Business School

MSc Business Administration, Marketing Submitted by: Dominique Hamming, 11567147 Submission Date: 23 March 2018

(2)

Statement of originality

This document is written by student Dominique Hamming who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document are original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

(3)

Abstract

Despite the growing importance to disclose transparent information by clothing retailers about supply chains, little knowledge about supply chain transparency is known. Although there is reasonable competence about the meaning of the concept in itself, there is little familiarity with supply chain transparent clothing retailers. Nevertheless, this insignificant prior knowledge about supply chain transparency still provides a positive attitude towards purchasing of transparent clothes. Getting information about where a clothing product originates from, consumers may find this important within the policy of the retailers. Nevertheless, from a sender perspective, consumers do not express their positive attitude towards transparent clothes through eWOM. On the other hand, from a receiver perspective consumers do receive some eWOM concerning transparent information of clothing products and business practices. However, negative sentiment in this eWOM prevails, with content about bad supply chain activities from non-transparent clothing retailers and retailers that pretend to be supply chain transparent but actually perform malpractices. These posts ultimately result in a negative attitude and purchase intention from these retailers. Nonetheless, these negative eWOM posts do not reinforce the (existing) positive attitudes towards purchasing clothing products that have been produced transparently, nor does it lead to a positive purchase intention for transparent clothing products. Despite limited experience nowadays with supply chain transparent information through eWOM from consumers and from clothing retailers themselves, in the future consumer transparency may have a greater impact on the purchase intention of consumers rather than corporate transparency.

(4)

List of figures

Figure 1 Conceptual research model

Figure 2 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975)

Figure 3 TRA part 1 of conceptual model (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011)

Figure 4 Word cloud & hierarchical chart nodes (semi-structured interviews)

Figure 5 Word cloud & hierarchical chart nodes (focus-group)

(9)

List of tables

Table 1 Overview semi-structured interview participants

Table 2 Overview focus-group participants

Table 3 Prior knowledge about SCT (semi-structured interviews)

Table 4 Familiarity and preference of SCT dimensions (semi-structured interviews)

Table 5 Attitudes, external factors and purchase intention for SCT clothes (semi-structured interviews)

Table 6 eWOM determinants from a receiver perspective (semi-structured interviews)

Table 7 eWOM dimensions from a receiver perspective (semi-structured interviews)

Table 8 Influence of eWOM on attitude and purchase intention from a receiver perspective (semi-structured interviews)

Table 9 Preferred type of transparency (semi-structured interviews)

Table 10 Prior knowledge about SCT (focus-group)

Table 11 Familiarity and preference to SCT dimensions (focus-group)

Table 12 Attitudes, external factors and purchase intention for SCT clothes (focus-group)

Table 13 Preferred type of transparency (focus-group)

Table 14 Prior knowledge about SCT (combined overview)

Table 15 Familiarity and preference for SCT dimensions (combined overview)

Table 16 Attitudes, external factors and purchase intentions (combined overview)

Table 17 Familiarity with eWOM (combined overview)

Table 18 eWOM determinants from a receiver perspective (combined overview)

Table 19 eWOM dimensions from a receiver perspective (combined overview)

(10)

Table 21 Preferred type of transparency (combined overview)

Table 22 Influence of corporate and consumer transparency on attitude and purchase intention (combined overview)

(11)

List of abbreviations

Abbreviation Full phrase

SCT Supply Chain Transparency/Supply Chain

Transparent

WOM Word-On-Mouth

eWOM electronic Word-On-Mouth

TRA Theory of Reasoned Action

SNSs Social Networking Site(s)

(12)

1 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

“Transparency means businesses know who makes their products – from who stitched them right through to who dyed the fabric and who farmed the cotton. When businesses are working in a transparent way, this also implies openness, communication and accountability across the supply chain and with the public too.” (Fashionrevolution.org,

2016)

The last few years there is a lot of pressure on clothing businesses because they, according to consumers, are not transparent enough when it concerns supply chains (Fashion Revolution, 2016). Market leaders like Nike, Nestle and Pfizer have all faced image damage due to being unable to meet sustainability criteria. Supply chain transparency (SCT) has gained much awareness today. It is generally considered necessary that modern businesses clearly define their role in the community by taking responsibility for social, economic and environmental related issues, also referred to the 3 P's: Profit, People and Planet (Elkington, 2004). Therefore, modern businesses need to be transparent to consumers about their supply chain. Eventually, disclosure of supply chain transparent information is nowadays of great importance due it’s positive impact on consumer attitude and purchase intention (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014).

But at the same time with the rise of Web 2.0 and the Internet, businesses no longer have full control over their image. Because this Age of Transparency, whereby everything that can be exposed will be exposed, allows space to give criticism and pressure on businesses (Fournier & Avery, 2011) but also to put social pressure on other consumers by creating electronic

(13)

Word-On-Mouth (eWOM) (Kang & Hustvedt, 2014). This leads to a certain control of products and services that is brought by the consumer, whereby due to open source branding, consumers serve as co-creators and disseminators of branded content (Fournier & Avery, 2011). This consumer empowerment, where the power has been shifted from the business to the consumer (Labrecque, Vor dem Esche, Mathwick, Novak, & Hofacker, 2013) can be illustrated with the following quote from the ANP:

“Een drastische toename in het aantal media-platformen maakt het tevens een moeilijk beheersbaar risico. Consumenten ventileren steeds vaker een mening vrijuit, vooral online. Op het moment dat de helpdesk van een bedrijf onbereikbaar is, uiten klanten al snel hun ongenoegen. Bij de klantenservice van T-Mobile staan de negatieve uitingen van Youp van ’t Hek waarschijnlijk nog steeds zeer helder op het netvlies. Dat ontevreden klanten gefundeerd of ongefundeerd hun mening uiten is niet te voorkomen, maar het is zaak om hier snel op in te springen.” (ANP, 2015)

Consumers are empowered to have influence on their environment towards consumer decisions on purchase intention by creating eWOM content through forums, blogs and social networking sites (SNSs) (Labrecque et al., 2013; Chu & Kim, 2013). Word-on-mouth (WOM) has always been a dominant form of marketing for a retailer, but under the influence of social media this takes extreme forms; consumers have hundreds to millions of connections on social media that continuously influence each other (Inretail, 2018). This eWOM content (includes subjective norms) from consumers, like for example from Youp van ‘t Hek, create a certain social pressure that could positively or negatively affect directly, or indirectly via attitudes, the purchase intention of other consumers (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975). Hence, it is very important for

(14)

on other consumers regarding their business. To learn how to deal with this, it is necessary to gain insight into this eWOM that exerts social pressure online among consumers.

Concluding, there are two factors that influence the purchase intention of consumers; attitude and eWOM concerning SCT (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975; Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014; Tabbane & Hamouda, 2013; Hewett, Kelly, Rand, Rust, & Van Heerde, 2016). But in nowadays Age of Transparency, does attitude concerning SCT contribute to a weighted purchase intention when there is this social pressure through eWOM that is subjectively fed? According to Hewett et al. (2016) consumer attitude and eWOM both significantly affect business outcomes, but confirming the centrality of nowadays’ eWOM in driving business outcomes. Therefore, it is of great importance to put more emphasize on acquiring insights about eWOM as social media sites continue to grow (Hewett et al., 2016). Besides, it is also interesting to research the new interactive relationship between eWOM and attitude concerning SCT (Hewett et al., 2016).

1.2 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this research is to gain insights into the relationships between the three concepts of attitude, eWOM and purchase intention concerning SCT within the global clothing industry from a consumer’s perspective. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model by Ajzen & Fishbein (1975) will be used as a guideline for exploring consumer behavior in this research. The model will be adapted to a new current relationship; the interaction between attitude and eWOM (Hewett et al., 2016). By finally comparing the relationships between the three concepts, it will be mapped how the concepts are in force and how these relationships differ from each other. The qualitative findings of the role of the three concepts will make a theoretical contribution by answering the following research question:

(15)

“How do consumer attitude and eWOM influence the purchase intention, and how is the interaction between consumer attitude and eWOM concerning supply chain transparency?”

1.3 Scientific and managerial relevance of the study

Although there is already a lot of literature about attitude concerning (supply chain) transparency and the positive influence on purchase intention (Carter & Curry, 2010; Eisend, 2006; Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014), there are a number of shortcomings about these constructs in the literature. Firstly, research has already been conducted into the attitude concerning SCT products and the relation to purchase intention, but the effect of social pressure (eWOM) on purchase intention has not yet been taken into consideration (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). Due to the emergence of Web 2.0, in which interaction between consumers takes place online, this social pressure often takes place through eWOM (Hewett et al., 2016). Therefore, this study will investigate this growing concept of eWOM, along with attitude, in relation to purchase intention. Secondly, according to Hewett et al. (2016) and Tabbane & Hamouda (2013) eWOM impacts attitude but not the other way around, whereas Kang & Hustvedt (2014) suggests attitude also results in eWOM. Hence, this research will make a contribution by investigating this relation interactively. Thirdly, previous literature focused on relationships of the concepts of attitude, eWOM and purchase intention in a quantitative way; little is known about how the relationships look qualitatively (Hewett et al. 2016; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014). By qualitatively researching these concepts and the relationships between them from the environment of consumers, new qualitative insights will be developed into relationships between the three concepts. Fourthly, previous research focuses on the relationships between attitude and purchase intention on the one hand and subjective

(16)

industry. However, their research is already outdated; only traditional media has been recorded and no nowadays social media (Summers, Belleau, & Xu, 2006). Therefore, this study will investigate subjective norms by looking at eWOM via social media and this will offer new insights that are representative of contemporary times. SCT is also not included as an important current and influencing concept within their research (Summers et al., 2006), which will take this research into consideration. Besides, this research will be better generalized for the clothing industry as a whole, in contrast to a limited focus on the emu leather branch alone (Summers et al., 2006).

This study is also of managerial relevance, because gaining insight in this online consumer power which influences each other, can help clothing businesses engage in their eWOM marketing activities. Should a business pursue disclosure of supply chain transparent information if their image can be overcome in a negatively manner by influential consumers through online eWOM? Or, do businesses need to release more SCT information so that through eWOM by consumers creates positive social pressure about the business and this ultimately has a positive effect on the purchase intention? Due to the rise of Web 2.0 and the Internet, which makes information available more and more (Labreque et al., 2013) and space for criticism and responses, it is believed that there is more eWOM among consumers about businesses. Besides, eWOM has fallen into a negativity spiral, which means that with an increase in eWOM, the consumer attitude decreases (Hewett et al., 2016). Therefore, it is of great importance for businesses to know how consumers are affected in their purchase intention when it comes to eWOM regarding SCT. By gaining insights into the constructs between attitude, eWOM and purchase intention concerning SCT, it can be decided to invest more in SCT information from businesses themselves to the consumer or in eWOM marketing strategies to regulate social

(17)

pressure online. With this research, businesses will also be made aware of the degree of importance of monitoring eWOM online among consumers.

1.4 Structure of the study

The research question will be answered on the basis of academic literature and empirical research. In the second chapter a theoretical background will be given to elaborate on the three concepts based on existing literature. The research design will be discussed in the third chapter, which will be followed by the empirical results in the fourth chapter. In the fifth chapter discussion of the findings, scientific and managerial implications, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research will be drawn.

2 Theoretical background

This chapter discusses the theoretical background on which this study is based. Firstly, a theoretical framework will be given in which the conceptual model of this research is presented and explained on the basis of existing literature. To gain insights into the relationships between the research concepts, sub-questions have been formulated and need to be answered in order to answer the research question. Secondly, SCT is discussed at a conceptual level. This highlights the SCT dimensions, perspectives and the effect on business performance. Thirdly, the effects that SCT has on consumer behavior are discussed by using the TRA model from Ajzen & Fishbein (1975). The effects on attitude, eWOM and purchase intention are cited and the relationships between these concepts will be discussed.

(18)

2.1 Theoretical framework

2.1.1 Conceptual model

By using academic literature and theoretical models and ultimately integrating with each other, the following conceptual model1_{has been developed (Figure 1).}

Figure 1 - Conceptual research model

By starting from this model, an answer will eventually be given to the research question. The TRA model will be investigated regarding SCT and this concept will therefore be added to this model as an external factor that have influence on the attitude. Therefore, in the upper part of the TRA model (TRA part 1), attitudes will be based on attitude concerning SCT clothing products. The lower part of the TRA model (TRA part 2), the subjective norms are translated into eWOM regarding SCT clothing products and transparent business practices. Both attitude

1_{TRA behavioral model of Ajzen & Fishbein (1975) adopted and modified in accordance of this research. Firstly, the}

reverberating relationship between attitude and eWOM, which is supported by Hewett et al. (2016), Kang & Hustvedt (2014) and Tabbane & Hamouda (2013), is added to the TRA model part of the conceptual model. Secondly, the research model of Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire (2011) has partly been integrated in the upper part of the conceptual model.

(19)

and eWOM have an influence on the purchase intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975; Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Hewett et al., 2016; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014) but also attitude and eWOM have an impact on each other (TRA reverberating part) (Hewett et al., 2016; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014; Tabbane & Hamouda, 2013).

According to Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire (2011) it is prior knowledge among consumers about SCT that explains this attitude towards purchasing. This attitude will ultimately have influence on the consumers purchase intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975), but this relationship will be influenced by the degree of (dis)trust consumers have in the transparency claims of businesses (TRA part 1) (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011).

At the same time, the consumers attitude can also enter into a reverberating relationship with eWOM (Kang & Hustvedt, 2014; Hewett et al., 2016). Consumers may want to share their opinion about the retailer’s business practices with other consumers by creating eWOM via social media channels (SNSs), online reviews, websites, forums and blogs (Kang & Hustvedt, 2014). Likewise, eWOM from others may also impact their own attitude. eWOM can change the consumers attitude from positive to negative and reverse (TRA reverberating part) (Hewett et al., 2016; Tabbane & Hamouda 2013).

Eventually, eWOM about clothing retailer’s business practices may also have a direct impact on consumer’s purchase intention for SCT products. Consumer's motivation to comply with other’s opinions regarding the purchase of transparent clothes, may be effected by eWOM via the online environment. Therefore, consumers may not follow their own preference but follow the opinions shared by consumers through eWOM (TRA part 2) (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

(20)

All of these impacts will eventually influence the consumer's purchase intention to buy (or not to buy) clothes. This study will give new insights about the relations between the concepts of attitude, eWOM and purchase intention concerning SCT in the clothing industry.

2.1.2 Relationships between concepts

In addition to the three main concepts (eWOM, attitude and purchase intention), the model also presents other concepts (SCT and degree of trust in businesses’ transparency claims) that are also to be examined. By examining the relationships between all concepts, the research question will eventually be answered. To cover these relationships between the concepts, a number of sub-questions are drawn up that all relate to SCT of clothing retailers:

1. “How can the relationship between supply chain transparency and attitude towards purchasing clothing products be characterized?”

2. “How can the relationship between attitude and purchase intention concerning supply chain transparency be characterized?”

3. “How can the reverberating relationship between attitude and eWOM concerning supply chain transparency be characterized?”

4. “How can the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention concerning supply chain transparency be characterized?”

2.2 Supply chain transparency on a conceptual level

2.2.1 Supply chain transparency - dimensions & perspectives

Transparency implies “the visibility and accessibility of information especially concerning business practices” (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011) and share these activities openly with stakeholders (Dapko, 2012). Specifically, due to increased technology in communication and

(21)

the awareness of the environment and social aspects, the demand for disclosure of transparent supply chain information is increased (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). Nowadays, it is of great importance to share supply chains openly with stakeholders (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). SCT can be defined in two ways. The first dimension focuses on the ‘traceability’; “the ability to track a product’s flow throughout the production process and supply chain” and “in terms of disclosure of the names of the supplier involved in producing a product” like Nike, Adidas and H&M do (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015, p. 6). The second dimension focuses on disclosing information concerning the ‘sustainability conditions’ at suppliers. Many businesses meet one of the two dimensions, but some try to meet both, disclosing information concerning the ‘traceability’ of the product as well about the ‘sustainability conditions’ (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). Consumers are interested in acquiring information about processes related to the manufacturing of products. Businesses can benefit by responding to this demand of transparent information about supply chain activities (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). A transparent supply chain has a positive impact on customer loyalty, brand image and guarantee safety standards and product quality (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). In addition, it has been found that consumers value information communicated through transparent pricing. Hereby, consumers are able to pay more for the same product, when there is transparent pricing which provided that part of it goes to the sympathetic agent of the product (Carter & Curry, 2010).

There are two kinds of perspectives on how to perceive SCT; as a ‘corporate or as a ‘consumer tool’ (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). Firstly, SCT can be seen as a 'corporate tool', the power lies in the businesses to eventually increase sales. This happens because businesses give trust to consumers by being transparent about their supply chains. Secondly, SCT can also be seen as a 'consumer tool' by which consumers possess more power by having access to information

(22)

Hereby, consumers can criticize businesses regarding their supply chain activities through the interactive character of Web 2.0 via SNSs, online reviews, websites and blogs. The accessibility of transparent information empowers consumers to put pressure on businesses to improve sustainability conditions (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). Besides consumers are also able to influence other consumers online in their product and brand choices during their decision making process. According to the ‘consumer tool’ perspective, the number of empowered individuals will increase, that will have access to organizational information, when transparency becomes larger. When both perspectives are taken into account in how to perceive SCT, then it is called the communication and relationship frame (Wehmeier & Raaz, 2012).

2.2.2 Supply chain transparency’s effect on business performance

The implementation of a traceable supply chain in which the entire distribution process from manufacturers to the end users is transparently shared with consumers, has some positive effects on business performance (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Kim, Lee, & Yang, 2013). SCT provides an increase in customer loyalty, brand image, higher credibility in socially responsible entrepreneurship, product quality and safety standards (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). Ultimately this results in a positive effect on business performance; it provides an increase in firm value and firm profit, by increasing sales of their products or services (Kim et al., 2013). Therefore, businesses must invest in valuable relationships with consumers to enhance firm profitability and firm value by providing disclosure of accurate information about the supply chain of their products or services (Kim et al., 2013).

2.3 Supply chain transparency’s effects on consumer behavior

The positive effect of transparency on business performance (firm profit and firm value) is realized by a positive effect of transparency on consumer behavior that results in a higher

(23)

purchase intention of products. To make consumer behavior clear regarding SCT, the TRA model from Ajzen & Fishbein (1975) will serve as the starting point for this research. This model is explained in more detail in 2.3.1. Subsequently, the relationships within this model between attitude, eWOM and purchase intention concerning SCT are explained in more detail (2.3.2 to 2.3.5).

2.3.1 TRA model as a classic model of consumer behavior

The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model, as shown in Figure 2, by Ajzen & Fishbein (1975) assumes that the purchase intention is the best predictor of the actual action of the buying behavior of a person. This purchase intention is formed by two factors; attitude and subjective norms.

Attitudes are opinions that give direction to what consumers think about a certain concept, phenomenon, product or brand. These attitudes are again determined by two sub factors; behavioral beliefs and behavioral evaluations. Behavioral beliefs refer to the beliefs about the expected outcomes of the behavior; consumers may expect certain outcomes when buying transparent clothes. In addition, behavioral evaluations refer to the evaluations of the expected outcomes of behavior, and this concerns the assessment of the expected outcomes (the behavioral beliefs) that are associated with purchasing SCT clothing products. This assessment or evaluation is characterized by positivity, negativity or neutrality (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

As mentioned, according to the TRA the purchase intention is not only determined by attitudes but also by subjective norms, which are created from normative beliefs from the environment and the personal motivation to comply with these normative beliefs. These subjective norms,

(24)

pressure among consumers. Namely, subjective norms are defined as “consumers’ perceptions of social pressures by others regarding the purchase of the product of interest” (Summers et al., 2006, p. 248). Consumers can have the motivation to adjust to these eWOM, which entails the subjective norms, without modifying their own attitude because of social desirability (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

Figure 2 – Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975)

2.3.2 Effect of supply chain transparency on attitude and purchase intention

SCT has an impact on consumer’s purchase intention (Figure 3) (Dapko, 2012; Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire 2011; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014). Transparent business practices lead to the reduction of consumer skepticism and doubts (Dapko, 2012) which has a positive effect on the first part of the TRA model (TRA part 1); on consumer attitudes and eventually on purchase intention for SCT clothing products (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire 2011; Kang & Hustvedt 2014). Consumer may develop a certain attitude due to prior knowledge about SCT; SCT in general and SCT efforts from clothing retailers in particular (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). As discussed earlier under 2.2.2., prior knowledge among consumers about SCT includes SCT definitions, degree of familiarity with this concept as well as the consumer perspectives of SCT (Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). Furthermore, transparent efforts of businesses focus on aspects such as social and environmental conditions in manufacturing processes like labour conditions,

(25)

safety conditions, pollution, salary labour and traceability of transportation (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011; Egels-Zandén & Hansson, 2015). This attitude ultimately leads to the consumers' purchase intention to buy or not to buy products from clothing retailers. Nevertheless, this relationship between attitude and purchase intention can be influenced by a certain degree of consumers' trust or distrust in businesses’ transparency claims. Even when consumers have a positive attitude towards purchasing transparent clothing products, they can ultimately not buy the products due to lack of trust in the legitimacy of a business's transparency claims (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011).

Figure 3 – TRA part 1 of conceptual model (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011)

2.3.3 Reverberating relationship attitude and eWOM - Effect of attitude on eWOM

Consumers' attitudes towards purchasing transparent clothing products do not necessarily have to lead directly to the purchase intention of transparent clothes, however can also result in sharing their opinions via WOM (Kang & Hustvedt, 2014). After all, there is a strong need by consumers to share their own opinions with other consumers. Consumers may feel a strong internal reward when they are disclosing information about themselves (Tamir & Mitchell, 2012). Chu & Kim (2011) define this possibly created WOM as "the act of exchanging

(26)

attitudes and behavior towards products and services" (Chu & Kim, 2011, p. 48). But due to the arrival of social media, WOM results in eWOM which is defined as "any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or business, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet" (Chu & Kim, 2011, p. 48). Because eWOM is created by consumers, this content is often received as more trustworthy than when businesses share information themselves. Sharing eWOM content is done through various channels such as virtual consumer communities, blogs, emails, consumer reviews, websites, forums and SNSs (Chu & Kim, 2011). Nowadays, SNSs includes social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr, Soundcloud and Tinder (Lifewire.com, 2017).

Certain products are talked about more than others, both right after the consumers first experience (immediate eWOM) with them and in the months that follow (ongoing eWOM). This can be explained by two psychological drivers of eWOM; interest and accessibility. Firstly, eWOM is driven by interest; nobody prefers to talk about boring products, it should hold attention, be unusual and surprising. Secondly, eWOM is also driven by accessibility; products have to be top of mind. Product accessibility is determined by public visibility and environmental cues (product usage and other related stimuli). Product accessibility is high, when products are highly public visible and when products are used often in their environment. The more publicly visible a product is, the more people will talk about it. Concluding, interesting products will lead to immediate eWOM after their experience but not to on-going eWOM, whereas publicly visible products2_{are talked about in both immediate and on-going}

2_{Clothing products are highly public visible and the product usage is high (high accessibility). Hence, this study}

(27)

eWOM. So overall, more interesting products do not lead into more overall eWOM (Berger & Schwartz, 20113_).

To gain insights into how eWOM regarding transparent clothing products and transparent clothing practices takes shape among consumers, eWOM dimensions (Smith, Fischer & Yongjian (2012) and eWOM determinants (Chu & Kim, 2011), these will be briefly discussed in this following section. Smith et al. (2012) come up with a few eWOM dimensions for brand-related user-generated content (UGC) that explains the difference in content. Although UGC is broader than eWOM, there is an overlap with eWOM in brand-related UGC. Therefore, the dimensions of brand-related UGC can also be used for eWOM in this study. The dimensions that will be used in the research will be; self-presentation, brand centrality, factually informative about the brand and brand sentiment. Firstly, self-presentation is a performance in which consumers use possessions, symbols and brands to bring their own identity to the outside world. Brand-related UGC on YouTube is more likely, than brand-related UGC on Twitter or Facebook, to feature consumer self-promotion. Secondly, brand centrality refers to the spot that the brand occupies in brand-related UGC; a full focus on the brand or just as a supporting element in the post. Brands are most likely to be central in brand-related UGC on Twitter and least likely to be central in brand-related UGC on YouTube. Thirdly, factual information about the brand refers to the extent to which factual information about a brand is shared, as opposed to opinions or complaints about the brand which are subjective. Brand-related UGC on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube is equally likely to feature brand-related factual information. Ultimately, brand sentiment refers to the type of sentiment/polarity that is linked to the eWOM. Sentiment can be differentiated as being positive, negative, neutral or unclear. There is more negative

(28)

sentiment on FB and Twitter, probably due to their culture or interactive communication and conversations among consumers where it is more likely to share their opinions and complaints (Smith et al., 2012). Besides, eWOM can differ from each other on the basis of determinants (Chu & Kim, 2011). To get more concrete insight into how eWOM gets shape through social media, Chu & Kim (2011) come up with four determinants factors i.e. tie strength, homophily, trust and interpersonal influence (see Appendix 1). Firstly, tie strength refers to the strength of links between two individuals within a social network. When talking about strong ties, like friends and family, the emphasis is on giving social and emotional support. Weak links focus more on information-seeking about certain topics and refers to relationships between acquaintances and colleagues. Secondly, homophily refers to the extent to which individuals in a social network are equal to one another when looking at certain characteristics such as gender, race, age, attitudes and beliefs. Despite the large variety of consumers on the Internet, they still want to make contact with individuals who have equal characteristics (Chu & Kim, 2011). Thirdly, trust is seen as an important factor in social networks and describes “the extent to which individuals relies on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence” (Chu & Kim, 2011, p. 55). Lastly, there are two types of interpersonal influence to distinguish; normative and informational influence. Normative influences refer “to the tendency to conform to the expectations of others, affect attitudes, norms and values” and informational influences refers “to the tendency to accept information from knowledgeable others and be guided in product, brand and store search” (Chu & Kim, 2011, p. 56). If consumers are very vulnerable to interpersonal influence, according to many studies, eWOM is the most powerful source for influencing consumers in making consumer decisions (Chu & Kim, 2011).

(29)

2.3.4 Reverberating relationship attitude and eWOM - Effect of eWOM on attitude

At the same time, eWOM is also influencing other consumer attitudes via online channels (Hewett et al., 2016, Tabbane & Hamouda, 2013). Therefore, eWOM about transparent produced clothes and transparent business practices can influence other's attitude towards purchasing SCT products from clothing retailers. eWOM plays an important role in creating a positive or negative attitude towards a certain attitude and could ultimately determine the purchase intention. Both positive and negative eWOM have an effect on the receiver's product attitude (Tabbane & Hamouda, 2013). Nonetheless, the so-called ‘negativity spiral’ prevails; "Negative messages lead to more messages, which leads to a negative tone, and so on" (Hewett et al., 2016, p.15). Negative messages, which predominate the online environment, have a greater impact on consumer attitudes than positive eWOM . So, more eWOM leads to a drop in consumer attitude due to their bigger volume of negative messages (see Appendix 2) (Hewett et al., 2016). Concluding, eWOM can have an indirect influence, via attitude, on purchase intention of SCT clothing products (Tabbane & Hamouda, 2013; Hewett et al., 2016).

2.3.5 Direct impact eWOM on purchase intention

In addition to the indirect impact that eWOM can have on the purchase intention, eWOM can also have a direct influence on the consumers' purchase intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975). Due to the rise of Web 2.0 and the Internet (Labreque et al., 2013) eWOM is growing as well as the effect of eWOM on purchase intention (Hewett et al., 2016). eWOM creates social pressure that arises from views and opinions of other consumers and eventually may affect consumer purchase intentions for SCT clothing products directly (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975). This only happens when consumers are willing to actually behave in accordance with this given social norm, that is given by the online environment through eWOM. In this case, consumers

(30)

question: "Do consumers actually have the intention to act in accordance to the persuasive views of other consumers about (purchasing or not purchasing) SCT clothing products and transparent businesses’ practices without changing their own attitude?" (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975).

3 Methodology

3.1 Case study

The purpose of this research is to build a theory from qualitative explorative research, based on a single case study (Eisenhardt, 1989), concerning two constructs. These are attitude and eWOM in relation to purchase intention concerning SCT. Apart from that, this study has also explored the reverberating relationship between attitude and eWOM. Theory-building research is based on the ideal not to test hypotheses and not to take the theory under consideration. Admittedly, it is impossible to disregard existing theories and it must be used to describe concepts that serve as a starting point for starting theory-building research (Eisenhardt, 1989).

3.1.1 Single case study

This qualitative research has adopted a single case study design. An interpretive approach was used as a starting point, in which the experiences, opinions and perceptions of consumers within the transparent clothing industry are wanted to be understood (Van den Bunt & Nencel, 2012). It has looked at the social processes that give meaning to the main concepts of attitude, eWOM and purchase intention concerning SCT. These relationships were researched within the (single) context of the global clothing industry. Therefore, this research has an exploratory character (Eisenhardt, 1989).

(31)

3.1.2 Case selection

The single case selection, the global clothing industry, is based on a few factors. Firstly, the research has focussed on an industrial sector where SCT sufficiently appears. Secondly, in the clothing industry SCT is of great significance as becoming a growing concept. Thirdly, a lot of literature about information transparency associated with financial institutions is already available, but there is still little known about the effects of SCT in the clothing industry (Bhaduri & Ha-Brookshire, 2011). Fourthly, various international brands are engaged in SCT (Fashion Revolution, 2016). Therefore, the universal clothing industry was chosen as a case to study where SCT was taken as a global concept. To obtain richer data, the research has not focused on a single brand, country or branch of the clothing industry only, but on the global clothing industry as a whole. Finally, because clothing products are highly public visible, sufficient eWOM can be expected (Berger & Schwartz, 2011). Hence, it is thought of interest to conduct the research within this type of industry.

3.2 Research design

For theory building research, it is characteristic to use multiple data collection methods (Eisenhardt, 1989). These methods comprise of document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a focus group. These will answer the sub-questions which latter are formulated to respond to the research question.

3.2.1 Document analysis

The first method applied in this research is a document analysis. By making use of this analysis, a fundamental basis for the research has been defined with regard to the research concepts. A theoretical framework has been formed based on existing models from academic literature with

(32)

research concepts that will guide the execution of the research. From this it follows the conceptual model of this study (Figure 1).

3.2.2 Semi-structured interviews

The second method that will be used are the semi-structured interviews, which will be conducted from nine different participants. These individual interviews can provide depth and openness about individual perceptions and experiences (Yin, 2009) regarding the concepts of attitude and eWOM in relation to the purchase intention. The use of a semi-structured topic list involves handling topics to give direction on the one hand, and provides rich data on the other hand (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). The interview topic act as a guideline for structuring the interviews and are based on the concepts from the conceptual model so to make the relationship between the concepts clearly visible. An overview of the participants and their characteristics is given in Table 1.

Gender Age Education (highest level)

Purchase frequency Appreciation of clothes

Alex Male 61 Master Bi-annually Low

Ewoud Male 27 HBO Monthly High

Stephanie Female 24 Master Every 2 months High Adeleid Female 32 Master Bi-annually Medium

Jordi Male 30 HBO Monthly High

Carlijn Female 23 HBO Bi-monthly High Sophie Female 25 Bachelor Bi-monthly High

Margreet Female 46 HBO Monthly High

Coen Male 24 Bachelor Every 2 months High

(33)

3.2.3 Focus group

The same interview topic list as used for the semi-structured interviews is used here although differently addressed. Some questions are excluded for the focus group in order to create enough space and time for the conversations. The added value of including a focus group is that the research concepts usually become more lively among the group participants and that the interactive character will trigger people live more and the interactive character will trigger people to share experiences and perceptions related to these concepts. One can look at the difference in the perceptions, opinions and the attached values to each of these. Due to the argumentative nature of the focus group, the process that evolves during the focus group helps participants to clarify their own perspectives and viewpoints. This results in acquiring more rich and concrete insights, whereby the participants are challenged to think deeper about the concepts (Yin, 2009).

In organizing the focus group the following was taken into account: Firstly, when composing the group it was considered to include the interests of the participants as well as the needs of the researcher. Secondly, special interest was given to create a relaxed atmosphere so that everyone felt free to share her or his opinions and experiences. Finally, it was considered usefully to create a group of participants who were actively interested in the subject (Morgan, 2004). Because two research concepts (SCT and eWOM) are fairly new, it was expected that these concepts do not yet live very well among the participants. Besides, because the research focuses within a specific industry, the participants can experience the questions as difficult and specific. Therefore, it was decided to allow two participants who had been individually interviewed and had a high interest in the subject to participate again in the focus group in order

(34)

to get the discussion going. The focus group consisted of six participants in total. An overview of the focus-group participants with characteristics are given in Table 2.

Gender Age Education (highest level)

Purchase frequency Appreciation of clothes

Exisiting4

Alex Male 61 Master Bi-annually Low

Stephanie Female 24 Master Every 2 months High

New5

Anne-Dirk Male 63 Master Annually Medium Joke Female 60 Master Every 2,5 months Medium Martin Male 25 VWO Every 3 months High Liselotte Female 52 Master 8 times a month High

Table 2 – Overview focus-group participants

For both qualitative research methods (the semi-structured interviews and the focus group) the unit of analysis were consumers of clothing products that where reasonably familiar with SNSs, online reviews, blogs and forums, and with the concept of SCT. The research will focus on two consumer perspectives, i.e. the sender and the receiver perspectives whereby the first studies the effect of the consumer’s attitude on eWOM and the second the effect of eWOM on the consumer’s attitude. The focus group session and the individual interviews are recorded in order to transcribe the interviews these.

3.1 Strengths & Limitations

Validity and reliability are complex but important subjects within qualitative research (Saunders et al., 2009). Validity refers to the correctness and precision of the research results.

4_{Existing participants from the semi-structured interviews}

(35)

By making use of a multi-method approach (document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a focus group), the pursuit of so-called triangulation, the validity of the research increased (Gibbert & Ruigrok, 2010). Reliability addresses the degree of replicability of the research; the extent to which the same results arise when the research is performed again (Gibbert & Ruigrok, 2010).

3.3.1 Validity

Internal validity refers to the extent to which a research actually investigates what it claims to investigate (Saunders et al., 2011). Firstly, using a topic list this research increased the internal validity; topics that cover the concepts that need to be investigated will give direction to the participants to ultimately give rich information about the concepts. Nevertheless, freedom will be taken to deviate from the formulated interview questions and to ask further (probing) about a particular topic. By taking this freedom, deviating from the questions, using probes and asking additional questions, the answers will gain more depth and this will lead to the acquisition of richer data. When collecting rich in-depth data, this will increase the validity due to a greater chance of answering the sub-questions detailed. Secondly, a pilot was carried out to test whether the interview questions were formulated properly in order to measure the concepts in the most effective way. Ultimately, the opportunity is given to the participants to comment on the transcribed interviews and to check for accuracy, so-called member checks (Saunders et al., 2009). External validity references to the generalizability of the results for other contexts (Saunders et al., 2009), outside the global clothing industry. Since this research is a single case study, it is not obvious to apply the results in a different context. Nonetheless, because the case concerns the global clothing industry, the results can be generalized for specific branches within the clothing industry (for example sport clothes, evening clothes, swimwear or underwear).

(36)

3.3.2 Reliability

Because this approach is based on interpretivism, where data will be interpreted by the researcher, the results will not be entirely objective. In addition, participants can influence the results, as well as the researcher by giving guidance during the interviews. To prevent any bias in this and increase the internal reliability, a critical look and reflexive attitude is taken by the researcher with continuous perception of personal values and assumptions (Creswell & Miller, 2000). External reliability of the research refers to whether the research is repeatable (Bryman, 2012). External reliability can be increased through transparency of the research procedure and by careful documentation of the interview topic list, interview transcripts and tape records of interviews (Gibbert & Ruigrok, 2010). This will facilitate retrieval for later investigators (Ying, 1994). In this way, the interview topic list could be repeated in a similar setting, but in spite of this, obtaining data through semi-structured interviews remains dependent on the interviewer's personal interview capacities (Saunders et al., 2009).

3.4 Operationalization & data analysis

3.4.1 Pilot

Before a start was made with the interviews and focus group discussion, a test interview was conducted by interviewing one participant to investigate if the questions were formulated accurate. The first, tentative conclusion was that the interview turned out to be pretty intense whereby a lot had to be explained by the interviewer about SCT by providing examples and situations prior to the questions. The definition of SCT and the provision of concrete existing examples of eWOM helped the participant to understand the research topic and to better prepare him digesting the questions and coming up with answers. It was also learnt to turn the technical terms, research concepts (such as eWOM, SCT and purchase intention & trust in transparency claims) into easily understandable terms. Moreover, the test interview also showed that by

(37)

repeating answers and questions sometimes the participant's opinion changed due to his increasing awareness of the subject.

3.4.2 Conducting interviews and focus group discussion

Semi-structured interviews and a focus group have been conducted with clothing consumers. The interview list consists of eight topics addressing the various research concepts and the relationships between these. The topics, also called starter codes, where (based on) the theoretical concepts from the document analysis and therefore a deductive reasoning approach is conducted for the interviews. The interview list for the individual semi-structured interviews is shown in Appendix 3. The same interview topic list was used for the focus group, but in which some questions have been removed to reduce the role of the interviewer. In Appendix 4 the interview list for the focus-group is shown. Both the semi-structured interviews and the focus-group lasted on an average one hour. During the data collection process, memo’s and field notes were created. This helped the researcher to reflect at a later moment and possibly make changes in the conduction of the interviews, e.g. in the interview list but also make changes in the role interviewer assumes during the interview.

3.4.3 Data processing

After collecting and transcribing the interviews, analysis began in QRS Nvivo 11 by coding the data (Welsch, 2002). Firstly, the open coding process started whereby relevant words or short pieces of text are linked to open codes. After open coding, non-relevant codes where deleted, codes where redefined by making their code name shorter and similar open codes where merged together under the same open code name. Secondly, category codes are given during the axial coding process, which connected the open codes to each other (Bourque, 2004). Giving a theme

(38)

large amount of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Finally, the existing topics operate as the selective codes which originate from the theoretical framework. These selective codes can be considered as the parent codes of all codes (Lockyer, 2004). During the coding process one should be reminded constantly about the concepts you want to research. Therefore, the conceptual model and sub-questions are kept at hand to ensure only the information will be coded that is salient for my research. Concluding, there is a mixed reasoning approach (deductive and inductive); you use theoretical concepts derived from the theoretical framework, but also create and add new codes after transcribing. In Appendix 5 you can see an overview of the codes.

To make a visual representation of the coded references, word clouds and hierarchical charts of the codes were created in Nvivo 11. The word clouds provide insight into the most frequently used words within all coded data. The word clouds and hierarchical charts can be found in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 - Word cloud & hierarchical chart nodes (semi-structured interviews)

kleding

m

is

sc

hi

en

ei

ge

nl

ijk

be

dri

jve

n

_bedrijf

produc

t

belangrijk

natuurlijk

transparant

bijvoorbeeld

vandaan gemaakt informatie consument helemaal duurz aa m pos iti ef tra ns pa ra nt ie ui te inde lij k om st andi ghe de n duurzaamheid cons um ent en ee rl ijk allemaal bericht pre ci es duidelijk wanneer überhaupt invloed mijzelf produc te n ge produc ee rd be pa al d sowieso verhaal negatief aandacht da arove r betrouwbaar geweest iedereen ne ga tie ve aspecten fabrieken ge kom en int erne t moeilijk di ege ne duurz am e instagram kri jge n om ge vi ng produc ere n anderen documentaire kwaliteit pri m ark produc tie ve rt el le n Intr od ucti on SCT TRA

(39)

Figure 5 - Word cloud & hierarchical chart nodes (focus-group)

The hierarchical charts show the selective codes compared with the number of coding references. It shows that most coded data fall under the TRA model which comprises four of the five research concepts from the conceptual model (4.1.2 to 4.1.3); attitude, (dis)trust in transparency claims, eWOM and purchase intention. The depth in data is reflected by the number of circle layers, which refers to the sub-codes. Also, coded references fall under SCT (4.1.1) which is also a research concept from the model. Hence, due a proper spreading of the coded in-depth data over the selective codes this will hopefully leads to accurate results that give meaning and value to the concepts.

4 Results

In this chapter the results from the data analysis will be discussed. Firstly a description from the semi-structured interviews will be given (4.1), followed by data from the focus group (4.2) and finally the data combined (4.3).

kleding

allemaal

bedrijven

consumenten

transparant

be

la

ngri

jk

kl

edi

ngm

erke

n

misschien

ei

ge

nl

ijk

inform

at

ie

kinderarbeid

pre

ci

es

volgens

consument geregeld _natuurl ijk m akke lij k restaurants ervaring helemaal ke urm erk kwaliteit ve roorl ove n or ga ni sa tie beïnvloeden ge ge ve n gekomen gemaakt onbe ke nde n praktijk produc t reclame vergelijkt wereldwijd as soc ie er be st aa t booking bra nc he s daarmee hi erm ee Final conclusion_Introd uctio n SC_T TRA

(40)

4.1 Semi-structured interviews results

4.1.1 Supply chain transparency

All participants have some sort of prior knowledge; 89% of the participants is known with the concept of SCT and 67% of the participants are even familiar with at least one clothing retailer that is transparent about their supply chain (Table 3). All participants, except one, have similar and positive associations with the concept of SCT. They give associations such as ‘green’ ‘openness about the entire production process’, ‘good working conditions’ and ‘honest work’. One participant provided a negative association with SCT:

“…mijn eerste associatie sneller negatief is als in ik zelf vaak niet weet hoe de kleding

gemaakt wordt, dat je toch altijd veel verhalen hoort over dat dat door kleine kindertjes of op [ in een Aziatisch land wordt gemaakt.” Jordi

Definition Familiarity How many retailers?

Alex Yes No 0

Ewoud Yes No 0

Stephanie Yes Yes 1

Adeleid Yes Yes 1

Jordi Yes Yes 3

Carlijn Yes Yes 3

Sophie No Yes 3

Margreet Yes Yes 1

Coen Yes No 0

(41)

One of the SCT clothing retailers he mentioned, was his own hat brand which he had in the past:

“Ik heb toen bewust ook in het verhaal duidelijk vertelt, het kwam uit Italië daar ook op een gegeven moment voor de blog bericht ook foto's gemaakt ook hoe het inderdaad in de fabriek er uitzag en waar die stoffen vandaan komen en dat soort dingen.” Jordi

The three participants who were able to name the most number of clothing retailers who are transparent about their supply chains, all have a background in fashion. In the end, all participants indicated that they were not really familiar with concrete transparent activities of clothing businesses. Almost everyone gave as reason a low degree of visibility of transparent information of which two participants blamed this low degree of visibility on the type of industry:

“Ik hoor namelijk vrij weinig over supply chain transparantie van kleding merken.” Jordi

“Ik zou nu echt niet weten welk bedrijf überhaupt zo transparant is. Dus nee. Ik ben er nog nooit mee in aanmerking gekomen. Maar eigenlijk alleen maar omdat er in zo'n labeltje staat van made in Turkije of zo. Voor de rest zie ik er echt niets van terug, echt helemaal niets gewoon.” Coen

“Nee helemaal niet eigenlijk. Maar zoals bijvoorbeeld een winkeltje in Maastricht waar ik is binnen kwam en ze zeiden het wordt helemaal maatschappelijk of weet ik veel

(42)

verantwoord geleverd, maar dat kwam omdat ze op mij af stapte en erover vertelde zonder dat ik er naar vroeg..” Margreet

“Ik vind dat ik niet een heel goed beeld hebt van qua duurzaamheid welk kledingbedrijf dan heel goed is. Ik heb dat niet echt meegekregen tot nu toe.” Adeleid

“Ik ken ze niet”. Alex

“Misschien ook omdat het ook wat lastiger is. je ziet bijvoorbeeld ook wel vaker bij meubels of zo weetje wel dat ze zeggen van deze tafel is gemaakt van die en die boom en vanuit dat bos. Misschien dat het bij kleding wat lastiger is omdat er gewoon heel veel tussenpersonen en mensen en bedrijven tussen zitten, waardoor bedrijven zelf vaak nog geen eens weten.. Dus ja, je ziet het denk ik daardoor ook nog niet veel.” Sophie

“Met kleding is het natuurlijk lastiger omdat dat vaak uit Bangladesh komt en dat zet je natuurlijk niet op je site.” Carlijn

All participants indicated that SCT is not sufficiently expressed by clothing retailers. Nevertheless, the experiences with SCT have shown that the preferred and most familiar SCT dimension alternate among the participants (Table 1); 78% of the participants are familiar with disclosure of information about ‘sustainability conditions’ in which clothes are made at suppliers, and 33% of the participants are familiar with disclosure of information regarding the ‘traceability’ of clothing products. Most of the participants indicate a preference for disclosure of ‘sustainability conditions’ (56%) ‘rather thantraceability’ (44%). An overview with the most important quotes are given in Table 4.

(43)

Sustainability conditions Traceability

Alex Preference & familiar Not familiar

Ewoud Familiar Preference & not familiar Stephanie Familiar Preference & not familiar Adeleid Preference & familiar Not familiar

Jordi Not familiar

“…dat raakt mijzelf niet diep in mijn hart dat vind ik meer een zakelijke must vandaag de dag dan dat je daarna echt punten mee scoort zeg maar.”

Preference & familiar

“Toen ik met dat hoedenmerk bezig was zelf, ging ik bij bekende merken na welke stappen zij allemaal hadden genomen in dat proces, dus op die manier heb ik veel over traceerbaarheid gelezen om te snappen waar stoffen vandaan komen.”

Carlijn Preference & (most) familiar

“...dat ik dat belangrijker vind dan waar het vandaan komt, want dat zegt natuurlijk ook niet altijd iets waar het vandaan komt.”

(less) familiar

Sophie (Less) familiar Preference & (most) familiar

“…niet zozeer dat ik ooit een lijst met leveranciers heb gezien, maar je leest wel eerder van waar wordt het gemaakt en waar komen die stoffen vandaan en waar komt de katoen vandaan, dan dat je precies weet wat er in zo'n fabriek gebeurt.”

Margreet Preference & familiar Not familiar Coen Preference & not familiar Not familiar

(44)

Almost everyone, except for one participant (Jordi) who sees SCT as a ‘corporate tool’, looks at SCT from a ‘communication & relationship frame’ perspective. They look at SCT with two objectives; 1) to bolster businesses for gaining trust among consumers and to generate final sales but also 2) to empower consumers by putting pressure on businesses through the online environment and, ultimately, to influence other consumers. The following quotes (taken from two individual interviews) explain:

“een soort van win-winsituatie hoe ik het zie, ja voor de consument want die kan een reactie geven door middel van het schrijven van een online review en andere mensen informeren en helpen, en dan dus ook die druk dan op de bedrijven zelf als bv iets niet klopt volgens hen zelf, maar ook de keuze een product wel of niet te kopen naar aanleiding van de informatie van anderen. En aan de andere kant weer winnen voor het bedrijf en uiteindelijk omzet dus ik denk dat het heel mooi is.” Margreet

“..een mix is want je kan natuurlijk niet om de consument tevreden te houden en sales hoog te houden alleen informatie droppen want de consument kan prima checken hoe het allemaal zit en daarover weer iets zeggen online. Consumenten kunnen tegenwoordig niet meer dom worden gehouden zeg maar, met het Internet erbij.” Coen

Nonetheless, most participants who look at SCT from the ‘communication & relationship frame’ perspective still place emphasis on the ‘corporate tool’ and indicate that the ‘consumer tool’ is increasingly emerging.

How do consumer attitude and eWOM influence the purchase intention, and how is the interaction between consumer attitude and eWOM concerning supply chain transparency? : qualitative research in the global clothing indus