Testing a cultural orientation model of electronic word-of-mouth communication: a comparative study of U.S. and Korean social media users

Expanding electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) literature and cross-cultural literature, this study proposes a horizontal–vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism (HVIC)-eWOM model in a cross-cultural context. We employed HVIC at the individual level to explain the variance of eWOM communications on social media. We collected data from American and Korean social media users to examine how the hypothesized model fits the samples from each country. The analysis of the HVIC-eWOM model within and between the two countries revealed that there are some similarities and differences in influential cultural dimensions on eWOM communications in the two countries. The results suggest that vertical aspects of individualism and collectivism are significant drivers of opinion-leadership and opinion-seeking tendencies for both countries.