Abstract:

As a new product with technology that is still maturing， new energy vehicles （NEVs） often foster controversies and even negative word of mouth （NWOM） during consumer use. Thus， it is important for NEV enterprises to deploy timely webcare strategies to respond to NWOM. In this study， experiments in the Chinese market are implemented to analyze the influence of NEV NWOM on consumers’ purchase intention and the heterogeneous effects of enterprises’ webcare strategies. Firstly， experimental studies show that when the degree of NEV NWOM is high， consumers’ willingness to purchase will be more inhibited than when the degree of NWOM is low. Secondly， NEV NWOM influences consumers’ purchase intention by affecting their perceived risk. Thirdly， the interaction between NWOM and webcare strategies affects consumers’ purchase intention and perceived risk. There are differences in the effects of NEV enterprises’ webcare strategies in contexts with different degrees of NWOM. Therefore， NEV enterprises need to “adapt to the situation”：when facing a higher degree of NWOM， NEV enterprises should prioritize accommodative and no-action strategies； facing a lower degree of NWOM， enterprises should prioritize accommodative and defensive strategies. Finally， enterprises should improve products and publicize webcare strategies to reduce consumers’ perceived risk effectively to achieve sustainable consumption of NEVs.

Key words: new energy vehicles, negative word-of-mouth, webcare strategies, purchase intentions, perceived risk