Empirical Study on Formation Mechanism and Influential Factors of Consumers’ Word-of-Mouth Communications in Brand Wood Floor：Base on the Survey Data in Fujian Province

LIU Luxing

(1.Guanghua School of Management，Peking University，Beijing 100871 China；2.Development Research Center of Fujian Provincial People’s Government，F(xiàn)uzhou 350003 China；3.College of Anxi Tea，F(xiàn)ujian Agriculture and Forestry University，F(xiàn)uzhou 350002 China)

Empirical Study on Formation Mechanism and Influential Factors of Consumers’ Word-of-Mouth Communications in Brand Wood Floor：Base on the Survey Data in Fujian Province

LIU Luxing1，2，3

(1.Guanghua School of Management，Peking University，Beijing 100871 China；2.Development Research Center of Fujian Provincial People’s Government，F(xiàn)uzhou 350003 China；3.College of Anxi Tea，F(xiàn)ujian Agriculture and Forestry University，F(xiàn)uzhou 350002 China)

Background China is one of the largest wood floor production and consumption countries in the world．Because of lacking experience in the area of purchasing wood floor，customers often had to seek the advices of relatives or friends．So word-of-mouth gradually became the most common and reliable external information sources．The study of word-of-mouth communications had considerable significance to the marketing strategy of the company．

Methods The survey for this study was carried out in major home building materials market in Fujian Province，including Fuzhou City，Quanzhou City，Xiamen City．The survey paid a return visit to consumers who have had shopping experiences in these stores．The survey issued 450 questionnaires from March to April in 2016 and 382 valid questionnaires were received．Statistical analysis method of structural equation model was used to analyze customers’ inclination in word-of-mouth communications，as well as the key influential reasons．

Results Base on the survey data of Fujian Province wood floor consumers，service quality，satisfaction and brand image were 3 significant factors for influencing consumers’ word-of-mouth communications to wood floor．Satisfaction，brand image and service quality would directly affect the word-of-mouth formation．Besides，service quality and brand image would indirect affect the word-of-mouth formation through the mediating effect of satisfaction．In the measurement of quality of service，the reliability and assurance were the most influential factors，followed by empathy，tangibility and responsiveness．Consumers were also particularly concerned about a series of services and maintenance services of the brand wood floor．If the latter part of the service can get customers praise，it would dramatically increase the possibility of consumers’ word-of-mouth communications．In the study of satisfaction，consumers would pay more attention about the name of the wood floor and factory．Due to the wood floor different from the mobile phone，TV and other products，the material was the most important factor．In the study of the brand name，the formation of the re-recommendation of the consumers depended on the brand reputation and brand effect．This phenomena might be due to the domestic consumer environment and information asymmetry resulting in consumers in the incomplete rational．Consumers became impossible to be an experts in the wood floor industry，while they only had to seek brand advertising，industry associations and government propaganda to carry out purchase decision．

Conclusions and Discussions In order to improve the word-of-mouth communications of the brand wood floor in the consumers’ mind and enhance the brand reputation，the focus of marketing strategy is to improve the quality of service，followed by building a higher degree of satisfaction and creating a unique brand image．Wood floor enterprises should enhance the quality of the service as well as cultivate the outstanding manager in the chain stores．Brand wood floor should meet the needs of consumer satisfaction，as a result from the high degree of satisfaction would slowly evolve into word-of-mouth communications in the future．The results also showed that satisfied consumers are mainly focused on the material selection，processing and environmental protection standard of wood floor．Finally，brand wood floor should establish a complete set of brand recognition system，so as to allow consumers to identify them in a number of brand wood floor market．

wood floor consumer；word-of-mouth communications；satisfaction；service quality；brand image

Original Articlein劉路星．木地板品牌消費(fèi)者口碑傳播形成機(jī)理及影響因素實(shí)證分析：基于福建省的調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)．林業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)問(wèn)題，2017，37(2)：79-85．

10.16832/j.cnki.1005-9709.2017.02.015