THE IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC WORDOF-MOUTH (E-WOM) ON USER ENGAGEMENT

Abstract

Today, e-WOM plays a big role in shaping how people see a brand, how much they trust it, and whether they choose to engage with it. Because of its wide reach, speed, and credibility, it’s especially influential in service-based industries like telecommunications. At the same time, user engagement is about how connected and involved people are with a brand not just in using the service, but also in how they feel about it, talk about it, or recommend it to others. This research focuses on how e-WOM impacts user engagement, using Idoom Fiber, a service offered by Algérie Télécom, as our case study. The main goal is to understand whether online discussions and opinions actually influence how people connect with and stay loyal to the brand. To explore this, we used a mixed-method approach: first, a netnographic analysis was conducted over a period of two months by observing real discussions about Idoom Fiber on Facebook. Then, we shared a questionnaire with users to gather more data about how engaged they are and whether e-WOM played a role in their opinions or decisions. We based our analysis on four key hypotheses that connect different aspects of e-WOM like valence, volume, quality, and intensity with different levels of user engagement. This research is divided into two main parts: the first covers the theoretical background around e-WOM and engagement, and the second is dedicated to presenting our case study and analyzing the results we gathered. Through this work, we hope to show how much online conversations can influence user behavior, and how important it is for companies especially in Algeria to take e-WOM seriously. Our findings also offer practical recommendations for improving digital engagement strategies and managing online reputation more effectively