An empirical aspects of Viral Advertising: Incentives to Forward Online Element

This study survey one of the significant elements, namely Internet users' incentives to pass along online element. Theorizing the act of forwarding online element as a special case of a more general communication behavior, we classify four possible incentives: First one is the need to be part of a group; the second one is the need to be individualistic, third, the need to be humane, and finally the need for personal growth. Using a survey of immature adults, we survey the relationship between these incentives and the frequency of passing along online element. We also investigate if high trait inquisitiveness can indirectly lead to more forwarding by increasing the amount of online constituent consumed. Results show that Internet users, who are more individualistic and/or more humane, tend to forward more online element than others.

Keywords:

Incentive , Electronic word-of-mouth , Viral advertising