The Behavior of Online Consumer Opinions Case Tunisian Communities

Abstract

Online consumer opinions are an essential source of information on goods and services, with the framework of a Research Online Purchase Offline behavior. However, in a virtual environment, there are two types of consumers: opinion leaders and "lurkers" who do not participate in virtual communities. This research presents the results of a qualitative study on the obstacles and motivations for the participation of "lurkers" in Social Media and especially case of Facebook groups. It shows that even though "Lurkers" consider virtual communities as a public space that can triturate their confidentiality, in some cases they can manifest themselves and give rise to new behavior, which is "mobilizing behavior".

Background/Objectives: The main purpose of the research is to study and understand, through a preliminary qualitative study, the barriers, and motivations of passive users in a virtual community on Facebook. The theoretical scope of this research is based on a lack of theoretical work, addressing the barriers and motivations to convert a Lurker into an Opinion Leader (Vasic, N & al. 2019) in the context of Research Online Purchase Offline "ROPO" behavior.

Methods/Statistical. Methodological tools of the research methods were qualitative, a survey based on an interview is conducted with a sample of the relevant population, namely, subsidiaries of Tunisian communities’ groups. Given the exploratory nature of this study, the choice of a qualitative analysis seems appropriate. The method of data collection through semi-structured interviews

Findings: This study examined the literature on online behaviors and aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of Lurkers' behavior context through a qualitative exploratory study. The qualitative study shows that the "Lurkers" brakes are mainly around the fact that they want to protect their private lives by leaving as little data as possible so as not to receive abusive requests for additions, they try to keep some perspective to avoid any kind of conflict with strangers when it comes to different opinions.

Improvements: This study can provide input at the managerial level, especially for creators of virtual communities. In practice, brands develop virtual communities intending to improve the "consumer-brand" relationship as well as the relationship between consumers. The obstacles for Lurkers to participate can give brands a clear idea of the need to develop engagement platforms. More specifically, the brand must give more opportunities to the lurkers to give their opinions so that they can participate without fear.