| Abstract: |
Recommendation-based communication plays a pivotal role in consumer choices.
From human sources to electronic word of mouth or different types of
recommender systems, recommendations help consumers adopt or reject leads, and
can be highly beneficial for organizations. In view of its relevance and the
distinct characteristics the evolution of the topic, this paper aims to
identify, summarize, and analyze the developments and impact of these
recommendations on consumer decision making. To achieve this, 194
evidence-based studies were systematically reviewed. The results from a
thematic synthesis showed that eWOM and recommender systems have a synergistic
effect fueled by non-verbal cues of eWOM and accuracy of the system.
Conversational recommender systems act similarly to WOM by encouraging
explicit feedback. However, data privacy concerns make interactions towards
these systems a difficult matter. Themes that emerged from WOM emphasized
interpersonal relationships that are homophilous and with strong ties. Themes
from eWOM focused on volume as a cue for popularity which increased
credibility and trustworthiness. Finally, themes for automated recommendation
center on usefulness and anthropomorphizing the recommender to build trust.
Implications and future directions are provided. |