Home The Influence of Online Reviews on Restaurants: The Roles of Review Valence, Platform, and Credibility
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

The Influence of Online Reviews on Restaurants: The Roles of Review Valence, Platform, and Credibility

  • Anne-Wil van Lohuizen and Andres Trujillo-Barrera EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: October 2, 2019

Abstract

Online reviews influence consumer decision making, retrieving valuable information about consumers to the companies. We investigate how review valence, platform type, and review credibility affect purchase intention (visit to restaurants). We use an experimental 2 × 4 between-subjects factorial design with two platforms (company websites and independent websites) and four types of review valences (neutral, negative, positive and balanced), with data of 256 respondents. Results show that purchase intentions are influenced by review valence. The effect is moderated by perceived review credibility. Review platform has no moderating effect on the influence of review valence. Results provide practical information for marketers in the service industry.

References

Babić Rosario, A., F. Sotgiu, K. De Valck, and T. H. Bijmolt. 2016. “The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on Sales: A Meta-Analytic Review of Platform, Product, and Metric Factors.” Journal of Marketing Research 53: 297–318. http://journals.ama.org/doi/10.1509/jmr.14.0380http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmr.14.0380.10.1509/jmr.14.0380Search in Google Scholar

Breazeale, M. 2009. “Forum - Word of Mouse - An Assessment of Electronic Word-of-mouth Research.” International Journal of Market Research 51: 297–318. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2501/S1470785309200566.10.2501/S1470785309200566Search in Google Scholar

Chen, Y.-F. 2008. “Herd Behavior in Purchasing Books Online.” Computers in Human Behavior 24: 1977–92. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0747563207001458.10.1016/j.chb.2007.08.004Search in Google Scholar

Cheung, C., C.-L. Sia, and K. Kuan. 2012. “Is This Review Believable? A Study of Factors Affecting the Credibility of Online Consumer Reviews from an ELM Perspective.” Journal of the Association for Information Systems 13: 618–35. http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss8/2/.10.17705/1jais.00305Search in Google Scholar

Cheung, M. Y., C. Luo, C. L. Sia, and H. Chen. 2009. “Credibility of Electronic Word-of-Mouth: Informational and Normative Determinants of On-line Consumer Recommendations.” International Journal of Electronic Commerce 13: 9–38. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2753/JEC1086-4415130402.10.2753/JEC1086-4415130402Search in Google Scholar

Chiou, J.-S., and C. Cheng. 2003. “Should a Company Have Message Boards on Its Web Sites?” Journal of Interactive Marketing 17: 50–61. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S109499680370139X.10.1002/dir.10059Search in Google Scholar

Doh, S.-J., and J.-S. Hwang. 2009. “How Consumers Evaluate eWOM (Electronic Word-of-Mouth) Messages.” CyberPsychology & Behavior 12: 193–97. http://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/cpb.2008.0109.10.1089/cpb.2008.0109Search in Google Scholar

Economic Research Service (ERS/USDA). 2019. “Food Dollar Series.” https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-dollar-series/.Search in Google Scholar

Floh, A., M. Koller, and A. Zauner. 2013. “Taking a Deeper Look at Online Reviews: The Asymmetric Effect of Valence Intensity on Shopping Behaviour.” Journal of Marketing Management 29: 646–70. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0267257X.2013.776620.10.1080/0267257X.2013.776620Search in Google Scholar

Gershoff, A. D., A. Mukherjee, and A. Mukhopadhyay. 2007. “Few Ways to Love, but Many Ways to Hate: Attribute Ambiguity and the Positivity Effect in Agent Evaluation.” Journal of Consumer Research 33: 499–505. https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-lookup/doi/10.1086/510223.10.1086/510223Search in Google Scholar

Hennig-Thurau, T., K. P. Gwinner, G. Walsh, and D. D. Gremler. 2004. “Electronic Word-of-Mouth via Consumer-Opinion Platforms: What Motivates Consumers to Articulate Themselves on the Internet?” Journal of Interactive Marketing 18: 38–52. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1094996804700961https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1094996804700961.10.1002/dir.10073Search in Google Scholar

Hu, N., L. Liu, and J. J. Zhang. 2008. “Do Online Reviews Affect Product Sales? The Role of Reviewer Characteristics and Temporal Effects.” Information Technology and Management 9: 201–14. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10799-008-0041-2.10.1007/s10799-008-0041-2Search in Google Scholar

Ismagilova, E., E. L. Slade, N. P. Rana, and Y. K. Dwivedi. 2019. “The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth Communications on Intention to Buy: A Meta-Analysis.” Information Systems Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-019-09924-yhttp://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10796-019-09924-y.10.1007/s10796-019-09924-ySearch in Google Scholar

Lee, C. H., and D. A. Cranage. 2014. “Toward Understanding Consumer Processing of Negative Online Word-of-Mouth Communication.” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 38: 330–60. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1096348012451455.10.1177/1096348012451455Search in Google Scholar

Lee, K.-T., and D.-M. Koo. 2012. “Effects of Attribute and Valence of e-WOM on Message Adoption: Moderating Roles of Subjective Knowledge and Regulatory Focus.” Computers in Human Behavior 28: 1974–84. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S074756321200146Xhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S074756321200146X.10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.018Search in Google Scholar

Mayzlin, D., Y. Dover, and J. Chevalier. 2014. “Promotional Reviews: An Empirical Investigation of Online Review Manipulation.” American Economic Review 104: 2421–55. http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aer.104.8.2421.10.1257/aer.104.8.2421Search in Google Scholar

Meuter, M. L., D. B. McCabe, and J. M. Curran. 2013. “Electronic Word-of-Mouth Versus Interpersonal Word-of-Mouth: Are All Forms of Word-of-Mouth Equally Influential?” Services Marketing Quarterly 34: 240–56. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15332969.2013.798201.10.1080/15332969.2013.798201Search in Google Scholar

Namkung, Y., and S. Jang. 2007. “Does Food Quality Really Matter in Restaurants? Its Impact On Customer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions.” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research 31: 387–409. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1096348007299924.10.1177/1096348007299924Search in Google Scholar

Pan, Y., and J. C. Siemens. 2011. “The Differential Effects of Retail Density: An Investigation of Goods versus Service Settings.” Journal of Business Research 64: 105–12. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0148296310000548.10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.02.011Search in Google Scholar

Park, C., and T. M. Lee. 2009. “Information Direction, Website Reputation and eWOM Effect: A Moderating Role of Product Type.” Journal of Business Research 62: 61–67. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0148296308000040.10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.11.017Search in Google Scholar

Pentina, I., A. A. Bailey, and L. Zhang. 2018. “Exploring Effects of Source Similarity, Message Valence, and Receiver Regulatory Focus on Yelp Review Persuasiveness and Purchase Intentions.” Journal of Marketing Communications 24: 125–45. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527266.2015.1005115.10.1080/13527266.2015.1005115Search in Google Scholar

Purnawirawan, N., P. De Pelsmacker, and N. Dens. 2012. “Balance and Sequence in Online Reviews: How Perceived Usefulness Affects Attitudes and Intentions.” Journal of Interactive Marketing 26: 244–55. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1094996812000229.10.1016/j.intmar.2012.04.002Search in Google Scholar

Qiu, L., J. Pang, and K. H. Lim. 2012. “Effects of Conflicting Aggregated Rating on eWOM Review Credibility and Diagnosticity: The Moderating Role of Review Valence.” Decision Support Systems 54: 631–43. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167923612002357.10.1016/j.dss.2012.08.020Search in Google Scholar

Schuckert, M., X. Liu, and R. Law. 2015. “Hospitality and Tourism Online Reviews: Recent Trends and Future Directions.” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 32: 608–21. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2014.933154.10.1080/10548408.2014.933154Search in Google Scholar

Senecal, S., and J. Nantel. 2004. “The Influence of Online Product Recommendations on Consumers’ Online Choices.” Journal of Retailing 80: 159–69. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022435904000193.10.1016/j.jretai.2004.04.001Search in Google Scholar

Shaw, G., A. Bailey, and A. Williams. 2011. “Aspects of Service-Dominant Logic and Its Implications for Tourism Management: Examples from the Hotel Industry.” Tourism Management 32: 207–14. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0261517710001044.10.1016/j.tourman.2010.05.020Search in Google Scholar

Sheeran, P. 2002. “Intention—Behavior Relations: A Conceptual and Empirical Review.” European Review of Social Psychology 12: 1–36. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14792772143000003.10.1080/14792772143000003Search in Google Scholar

Sparks, B. A., and V. Browning. 2011. “The Impact of Online Reviews on Hotel Booking Intentions and Perception of Trust.” Tourism Management 32: 1310–23. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0261517711000033.10.1016/j.tourman.2010.12.011Search in Google Scholar

Spears, N., and S. N. Singh. 2004. “Measuring Attitude toward the Brand and Purchase Intentions.” Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising 26: 53–66. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10641734.2004.10505164.10.1080/10641734.2004.10505164Search in Google Scholar

Truong, Y., and G. Simmons. 2010. “Perceived Intrusiveness in Digital Advertising: Strategic Marketing Implications.” Journal of Strategic Marketing 18: 239–56. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09652540903511308.10.1080/09652540903511308Search in Google Scholar

Tsao, W.-C., and M.-T. Hsieh. 2015. “eWOM Persuasiveness: do eWOM Platforms and Product Type Matter?” Electronic Commerce Research 15: 509–41. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10660-015-9198-z.10.1007/s10660-015-9198-zSearch in Google Scholar

Wu, P. F. 2013. “In Search of Negativity Bias: An Empirical Study of Perceived Helpfulness of Online Reviews.” Psychology & Marketing 30: 971–84. http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/mar.20660.10.1002/mar.20660Search in Google Scholar


Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (DOI:https://doi.org/10.1515/jafio-2018-0020).


Published Online: 2019-10-02

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 22.11.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jafio-2018-0020/html
Scroll to top button