Factors correlated with the perceived usefulness of online reviews for consumers: a meta-analysis of the moderating effects of product type
Aslib Journal of Information Management
ISSN: 2050-3806
Article publication date: 23 November 2021
Issue publication date: 23 February 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The conclusions of studies on the factors correlated with the perceived usefulness of online reviews are inconsistent due to differences in research perspectives, research objects, research methods and data types. This study conducted a meta-analysis to verify a proposed model of perceived usefulness to obtain general conclusions.
Design/methodology/approach
A meta-analysis was conducted to study the factors correlated with the perceived usefulness of online reviews based on 51 studies.
Findings
The results indicate that, with the exception of negative reviews, the order of relevance for the perceived usefulness of online reviews is as follows: the trust tendency of review readers, review replies, review depth, review pictures, reviewer trustworthiness, positive reviews, reviewer expertise, review time and reviewer information disclosure. Perceived usefulness was significantly positively correlated with purchase intention. Review time, positive reviews and negative reviews were also more significantly correlated with perceived usefulness for search products than for experiential products. Review depth, reviewer trustworthiness, reviewer expertise and purchase intention had greater positive correlations with perceived usefulness for experiential products than for search products.
Originality/value
This study proposes an extended information adoption model based on argument quality and source credibility. The model includes personal factors such as the trust tendency of review readers, constructs a theoretical model of the factors correlated with the perceived usefulness of online reviews and considers the moderating effects of product type.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the editor-in-chief Dan Wu and the three anonymous reviewers for their honest, helpful and constructive comments. This work was funded by grants from the Outstanding Youth Project of Hunan Provincial Education Department [Grant Number 18B040]; and supported by the Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China [Grant No. 18YJC630275].
Declarations of interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Zhu, Z., Liu, J. and Dong, W. (2022), "Factors correlated with the perceived usefulness of online reviews for consumers: a meta-analysis of the moderating effects of product type", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 74 No. 2, pp. 265-288. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-02-2021-0054
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited