Inspired employees encourage eWOM.

Abstract

This pilot examines whether employees in SMEs within the food and drinks sector promote their business through eWOM. Another consideration is whether employees adopt and use eWOM because they are motivated by their job and/or because they are using Social Media in their personal life. The research avails of qualitative and quantitative methods and applied elements from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model to a random sample of SMEs with the food and drinks sector. Data from 99 online questionnaires were analysed using partial least squares structural equations modelling (PLS-SEM) software Smart-PLS. This paper examines three constructs: employee motivation, employee habit and eWOM intention and use. The findings confirm employees promote their business through eWOM because they are both encouraged by their employer and have a habit of using social media. Further results confirm that employee habit outweighs employee motivation to use eWOM for businesses.