WANG Ruoxi, a 2025 graduate in Business Management from the Sino-British College, has published a reference entry titled “Electronic Word of Mouth” in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cyberpsychology, an authoritative reference work published by Palgrave Macmillan (an academic imprint of Springer Nature). The entry, developed from Ruoxi’s Final Year Project (FYP) under the supervision of Pascal Schock, a lecturer in the School of Business and Management at SBC, lists Ruoxi as first author and Pascal as corresponding author.
The paper examines how electronic word of mouth (e-WoM), the public dissemination of consumers’ opinions, reviews, comments and recommendations about products or services across digital platforms, shapes consumer behaviour. Integrating its core characteristics with relevant psychological theories, the paper argues that e-WoM is not merely a channel for information dissemination but a psychologically rich process intertwined with individual cognition and emotional responses. Understanding these mechanisms enriches theoretical discussions of e-WoM and offers practical insights for brand management and platform design.
Wang Ruoxi described the research process as demanding but rewarding. Her main challenges lay in organising a large body of academic literature, collecting sufficient and suitable questionnaire responses, and situating her findings within existing research. To meet these challenges, she learned to break tasks into smaller steps, manage her time carefully and draw on her supervisor’s feedback to refine her work, an experience that made her more independent, patient and confident in solving problems. After graduation, she chose to gain practical experience and explore her interests before continuing her studies, and is now pursuing a master’s degree in Supply Chain Management.
Reflecting on the achievement, Pascal said: “Ruoxi’s persistence and perseverance made it possible for her to produce a dissertation of such quality that part of it could be published. This publication is extremely valuable for her, as more universities and employers worldwide now recognise and value such intellectual achievements. I congratulate Ruoxi on her success.” He added that the achievement reflects both the value of the College’s day-to-day teaching, particularly its research-led approach, and the development students undergo at SBC.
This achievement reflects how SBC supports its students by encouraging them to engage in research from an early stage, while also fostering a culture in which staff are encouraged to pursue their own research and bring it back into the classroom. It is this two-way relationship between teaching and research that underpins the College’s approach to learning, a model in which research is not confined to the lab or the page, but becomes a shared habit of mind that enriches both those who teach and those who learn.
Access the reference entry here: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52643-5_229-1
