Cross-cultural differences in electronic Word-of-Mouth : a literature review

The purpose of the study was to systematize and summarize the eWOM literature in the cross-cultural context in the two main streams: theoretical (conceptual framework) and methodological. A total of 42 relevant research articles from peer-reviewed sources published during 2004-2019 were analysed. The results show that researchers most often refer to the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory when explaining the differences in behaviours and the effects of eWOM. The research mainly concerns the comparisons of two culturally distant countries (e.g. China and the US). Surveys and secondary data analysis dominate among research methods. Future research should include more comprehensive comparisons, not only of consumers/or their statements from culturally similar countries but also of different products or different types of statements (text- vs image-based).