* Thoo Ai Chin, Nur Ain Nasyazwanie Salimi, Zuraidah Sulaiman, Lee Yoke Lai, Huam Hon Tat
* Thoo Ai Chin, Nur Ain Nasyazwanie Salimi, Zuraidah Sulaiman
Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Email: acthoo@utm.my*, ainnasyazwanie@gmail.com, zuraidahs@utm.my
Lee Yoke Lai
Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Email: lylai@utm.my
Huam Hon Tat
Faculty of Business & Management, Southern University College, Malaysia
Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Email: hthuam@sc.edu.my
Abstract
Today, Grab is the leader of ride-hailing platform and most of the drivers and passengers in Southeast Asia prefer to use Grab application. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impacts of electronic referral (e-Referral) and electronic word-of-mouth communication (e-WOM) on Grab brand image, as well as the effect of e-Referral, e-WOM and brand image on purchase intention of GrabCar. A sample of 95 respondents was selected for the data collection using convenience sampling technique. Questionnaire is the main instrument for data gathering and the data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results show that e-Referral and e-WOM are positively related to Grab brand image. E-WOM is the strongest predictor for Grab brand image. In addition, brand image has a significant and positive relationship with purchase intention. The findings of the study are significant to Grab to develop marketing strategies in order to attract more customers to use its digital platform for car sharing service. Also, the marketer of Grab should focus on e-WOM and e-Referral to increase its brand image and to position Grab brand in consumer’s mind as a good quality and reliable service.
Key word: Electronic Referral (e-Referral), Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM), Brand Image, Purchase Intention, Grab Car
3-003TICFinal