The effect of emotions, eWOM quality and online review sequence on consumer intention to follow advice obtained from digital services
ISSN: 1757-5818
Article publication date: 3 June 2020
Issue publication date: 6 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses the interrelationships between emotions, the cognitive information cues of online reviews and intention to follow the advice obtained from digital platforms, paying special attention to the moderating effect of the sequencing of review valence.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 830 Spanish Tripadvisor users. In a two-step approach, a measurement model was estimated and a structural model analysed to test the proposed hypotheses. SmartPLS 3.0 software was used. The moderating effect of sequencing of reviews is tested.
Findings
The data analysis showed a bias effect of review sequence on the impact of online information cues and emotions on intention to follow advice obtained from Tripadvisor. When the online reviews of a restaurant begin with positive commentaries, their perceived persuasiveness is a stronger driver of the pleasure and arousal elicited by online reviews than when they begin with negative reviews. On the other hand, the perceived helpfulness of online reviews only triggers arousal when the user reads negative, followed by positive, comments. The impact of pleasure on intention to follow the advice provided in an online travel community is higher with positive-negative than with negative-positive sequences.
Originality/value
While researchers have demonstrated the benefits of customer reviews on company sales, a largely uninvestigated issue is the interplay between emotions and cognitive information cues in the processing of online reviews. This is one of the first studies to examine the moderating effect of conflicting reviews on the impact of emotions and cognitive information cues on consumer intention to follow the advice obtained from digital services.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) under Grant ECO2014-53837R.
Citation
Ruiz-Mafe, C., Bigné-Alcañiz, E. and Currás-Pérez, R. (2020), "The effect of emotions, eWOM quality and online review sequence on consumer intention to follow advice obtained from digital services", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-11-2018-0349
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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