Purpose The purpose of this study is to review and analyze the status of word-of-mouth (WOM) research in the business-to-business (B2B) context and discuss and identify new possible future directions. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted and 36 articles on B2B WOM were collected to evaluate the current state of the literature and clarify possible future research directions. Findings This thematic analysis categorize these articles into three themes: WOM generation, WOM usage and reference marketing. Under each theme, the authors reveal research findings unique to B2B research and different from business-to-consumer (B2C) WOM research. This study identifies several research questions that should be addressed by future research. Originality/value Both academic researchers and business practitioners recognize that WOM plays an essential role in B2B marketing. However, no review paper focuses on WOM in the B2B context. Findings in the B2C WOM literature suggest that WOM substantially influences firms’ performance, but that managers cannot simply attempt to extrapolate B2C findings to the B2B arena. By synthesizing and assessing prior research on WOM in the B2B context, this study contributes to a better understanding of the B2B WOM phenomenon and facilitates future research on this topic.

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on products and services is getting more important in consumer behavior as well as marketing communication. Regarding the issue, marketing and consumer scholars have conducted research on eWOM message senders and recipients. Focusing on eWOM receiving behavior, this chapter presents academic knowledge regarding how recipients evaluate mobile e-WOM messages and how he/she behaves as a consequence. There are two kinds of eWOM, i.e., PC-based eWOM and mobile-based eWOM (mWOM). Moreover, two types of messages can be identified in each kind of eWOM—viral messages from marketers via friends and relatives, and eWOM reviews on products and services from anonymous senders. Prior studies on viral marketing can be further divided into two research streams; research that have constructed and tested causal models explaining why consumers participate in viral marketing, and research that have focused on illustrating comprehensively a multi-stage cognitive and behavioral customer journey towards receiving, using, and forwarding viral marketing messages.

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Today, the number of multichannel shoppers, consumers who shop at both physical and online stores, has increased. Previous research has implied that multichannel shoppers' regulatory focus may affect the store choice.However, there remain two limitations: (1) prior studies have not considered online shopping experience, which influences perceived channel attributes; and (2) they have failed to examine consumers' recommendation behaviors. To address these limitations, we investigate the effects of multichannel shoppers' regulatory focus on the store choice and recommendation, and the moderating effects of online shopping experience on the causal relationships. A survey using the scenario method was conducted and a dataset was collected from 241 participants. The results of regression analyses showed that a prevention focus has negative impacts on online store (vs. physical store) choice and recommendation. In contrast, when online shopping experience is high, a promotion focus has positive impacts on the online store (vs. physical store) choice and recommendation. By providing these findings, this study contributes to advancing research on channel choice, word-of-mouth, and regulatory focus theory. Keyword : Multichannel strategy, Shopping behavior, Word-of-mouth, Regulatory focus theory, Online purchase experience 要約：今日，実店舗とオンライン店舗の両方で買物する消費者，すなわち，マルチ･チャネルショッパーが増加している。既存 研究は，マルチ･チャネルショッパーの制御焦点が店舗選択に影響を及ぼすということを示唆してきた。しかし， (1)チャネル 属性の知覚水準に影響を及ぼしうるオンライン購買経験を考慮に入れていない点，および， (2)消費者の店舗推奨行動を検討し ていない点において問題が残されている。これらの問題に対応するために，本論は，マルチ･チャネルショッパーの制御焦点が 店舗選択・推奨に及ぼす影響，および，その影響に対するオンライン購買経験の調整効果を検討する。シナリオ法を用いた調査 を実施し，241 名の参加者からデータを収集した。回帰分析の結果，予防焦点は，オンライン店舗(対実店舗)の選択および推奨 行動に負の影響を及ぼす一方，消費者のオンライン購買経験が多い場合，促進焦点は，オンライン店舗(対実店舗)の選択および 推奨行動に正の影響を及ぼすということが見出された。こうした知見を提示することで，本論は，消費者のチャネル選択に関す る研究，クチコミに関する研究，および，制御焦点理論に関する研究の進展に貢献を成すだろう。 キーワード：マルチ･チャネル戦略，買物行動，クチコミ，制御焦点理論，オンライン購買経験 Information :

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