The strength of no tie relationship in an online recommendation: Focused on interactional effects of valence, tie strength, and type of service

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether the interactional effects of recommendation valence, tie strength and service type produce different effects on attitude and buying intention in a social networking context.

Design/methodology/approach

A 2 × 3 × 3 between-subject experiment was carried out, involving 616 participants, and MANOVA was used to test hypotheses.

Findings

The interactions of valence by tie strength and valence by service type affect attitude, but not intention. The review valence × tie strength × service type interaction influences both attitude and intention, and its effect on intention is fully mediated by attitude.

Research limitations/implications

Negative recommendations for credence and experiential services communicated by individuals with no-tie relationships have a strong negative effect on attitude. However, positive recommendations from strong and weak ties for search and experience services are more influential than recommendations from no ties for credence services.

Originality/value

The results are explained by using cue sufficiency theory, which suggests that a single extreme cue serves as a defining feature.

Citation

Koo, D.-M. (2015), "The strength of no tie relationship in an online recommendation: Focused on interactional effects of valence, tie strength, and type of service", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49 No. 7/8, pp. 1163-1183. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-01-2014-0022