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" Word-of-mouth communication and its influence on the purchase of cars in Jordan "
El-Omari, Hussein Abdulla
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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827844
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TLets261840
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| Main Entry
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El-Omari, Hussein Abdulla
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| Title & Author
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Word-of-mouth communication and its influence on the purchase of cars in Jordan\ El-Omari, Hussein Abdulla
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| College
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University of Glasgow
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| Date
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1991
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| student score
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1991
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| Degree
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Thesis (Ph.D.)
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| Abstract
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The central question of this thesis is whether or not personal sources of information and word-of-mouth communication influence the purchase of cars in a developing country such as Jordan. With this question in mind, this study was carried out on consumer durables (cars) A random sample of 600 respondents, who were car owners, was drawn from files obtained from the Jordanian Licence Authority and 600 questionnaires were hand delivered to them. The response rate was 68.5% (i.e. 411 usable questionnaires). The capital of Jordan (Amman) was chosen for the study as it had 55% of the total population of Jordan and this area contains a cross-section of people reflecting different social classes. Four objectives were specified for research. They were: Firstly, to investigate the importance of personal sources in providing Jordanian buyers with the necessary information when buying cars. Secondly, to examine the influence exerted by personal sources on Jordanian car buyers. For example, what sources influenced Jordanians when buying a particular car. Thirdly, to examine if Jordanians give information to other car buyers, whether car opinion leadership exists in Jordan and what characteristics information givers and opinion leaders have. Fourthly, to examine forms of communication used by Jordanian car buyers when giving and receiving information and the role of word-of-mouth communication and opinion leaders in influencing the purchase decision of cars in Jordan. The social normative influence of personal sources on the purchase decision of cars was examined, and it was found to have played an important role in the selection of a particular car. Moreover, Jordanians were found to have compared their cars with others cars. Factors such as income, occupation, general opinion, education, and age were taken into consideration when choosing a referent for this comparison. There were significant differences between car information givers and seekers with regard to certain social characteristics such as; innovativeness or early adoption of new cars, level of influence on others' purchase decisions, level of experience in cars, and level of self-confidence when making the purchase decision. No significant differences were found between information givers and seekers with regard to level of exposure to mass media, level of social participation and level of interest in the product area (cars) . The findings indicated that the concept of car opinion leadership exists in Jordan, and those opinion leaders were more likely to have these seven social characteristics than non-leaders (followers). Moreover, those opinion leaders were both information givers and seekers which suggests the inaccuracy of the two-step flow model of communication. A face-to-face form of communication was the most important method used by Jordanians when seeking information from car owners or when conveying information to other car buyers. The major conclusion of this work is that word-of-mouth communications (through face-to-face interaction) and opinion leaders were found to have played a great role in influencing the purchase decision of cars in Jordan.
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| Subject
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Management business studies
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University of Glasgow
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