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With the ever-expanding online shopping, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become a significant factor affecting the consumer decision-making behaviour. This is specially the case when considering Generation Y (Millennials), who are old enough to be independent buyers and young to be almost immersed in online living. This article aims to assess the impact of eWOM on purchase intention by developing a conceptual model of hypotheses encompassing a multitude of factors that may be associated with this relationship.

The researcher investigates what factors impact eWOM credibility and make the consumer may adopt it when making a purchase. To examine our research model, a quantitative approach is employed for this purpose using a sample through online survey from Thailand – where there is a large number portion Generation Y consumer base.

It was found that source style as a visual attribute information is the most significant factor that may impact eWOM credibility in addition to source credibility, argument quality and source homophily, respectively.

From a practical point of view, it helps firms to understand what needs to be taken into consideration when building their marketing strategy.

This is believed to add significant insights into the eWOM literature by identifying its route of impact toward the purchase intention on Generation Y.

The purpose of this paper is to discover the primary components of credibility of three types of online newspapers and how the credibility of news differs by type.

The paper participants were recruited at a large north‐eastern US university. All items of credibility scales were measured using seven‐point Likert‐type scales. For each of the three credibility scales, the mean was computed and the scales were analysed for similarities and differences. The scales were factor analysed to determine their underlying dimensions.

Three factors (expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness) were common to the three types, but the different factor structure of each type was identified. The result of multiple comparisons shows that the differences between all three types of online newspapers were significant. Also the summated scores of the mainstream type were the highest on most items. However, the summated score of the index type of online newspaper was the highest on attractiveness. Overall participants rated the independent type of online newspapers lowest in credibility.

The limitations and implications of findings are examined in three dimensions: theoretical implications, implications for the online newspaper industry, and implications for strategic media use.

The paper divides online newspapers into three categories according to their characteristics: mainstream, independent, and index type. These three types of online newspapers were evaluated in terms of credibility structure, which made this study useful and unique.

Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic is changing how consumers shop, encouraging deeper levels and increased reliance on e-commerce systems and social media such as online communities. The online interaction of consumers is more important and brings many uncertainties, which impact the original commerce environment. This study aim to investigate the ethical consideration of information credibility and perceived privacy risk from a psychology perspective in marketing, this study draws on social support theory from social psychology to develop a research model to investigate the role of information credibility and perceived privacy risk on social commerce websites.

This study investigated social commerce websites and communities. The research data of this study was collected through a questionnaire from consumers on three famous social commerce platforms. Using PLS-SEM to perform data analysis, this study research the importance of information credibility, perceived privacy risk and trust on social commerce websites.

The findings discuss individuals' reaction to privacy issues and to understand the motives to disclose or reveal personal information within a marketing or consumption context. The research also explores the theoretical implications by integrating theories from information systems and social psychology to investigate ethical issues in social commerce.

Covid-19 makes peer-to-peer communication in online communities is developing collaborative consumption, and information produced in these communities can influence the decisions of consumers. Covid-19 has exacerbated such a change in social commerce environment. Therefore, information credibility plays an important role in developing online communities. It is important to look at the psychological antecedents that drive consumers' willingness to share their personal information when using online communities. The author has clarified which aspects of trust in social commerce should be strategized, including information trustworthiness, perceived privacy risks, social support and information sharing. These are the details that companies should pay more attention to when operating social commerce. Only by paying more attention to these details and giving consumers a positive feeling can consumers' trust be maintained or enhanced, ultimately leading to a successful trust economy.

Specifically focusing on one antecedent (information seeker's characteristics) for electronic word‐of‐mouth adoption and credibility assessments, the purpose of this paper is to attempt to shed light on consumer motivations for making and taking online recommendations, and how technically savvy consumers assess credibility online.

To investigate the role and influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) amongst technically savvy online consumers, purposeful sampling was used to limit participants to those who have made online purchases and who spend more than three hours a day on the internet. Using an adaptation of the grounded theory method, this study was triangulated via one face‐to‐face interview with each participant, member‐checking, analysis of online communications deemed “not credible” by the participants, and through relevant literature from marketing and information systems (IS).

Analysis shows that participants exhibit more of a “bricks‐to‐clicks” than a “clicks‐to‐bricks” purchasing cycle. In addition to relying on customer reviews online, participants accept online WOM to enhance their self‐worth, avoid risk, or enact negativity bias. Additionally, assessment of online WOM credibility is based on four factors: the polarity and quantity of posts, the logic and articulation of posts, the ability to find corroborating sources, and the previous experience of participants with particular sellers.

Previous research in WOM has not specifically explored how technically savvy consumers assess the credibility of online information and how these consumers may help to identify future trends for online customer exchanges. This qualitative study fills this gap. Conceptual framework and managerial implications are discussed.

This paper explores the online customer experience (OCE) within business-to-business (B2B) websites. The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of website credibility and information quality on the OCE during search for information and services. In addition, this paper acknowledges the role of customer support within the offline environment and thus explores the potential role of online customer support during a customer’s online experience.

An online experiment was conducted with 195 participants along with an associated questionnaire for data capture. Three tasks were developed for participants which they had to complete on three different business advisory websites. The online experiment gave all participants the experience of using a business advisory website. In order to analyse the hypothesised relationships, structural equation modelling was used.

The results outlined that the credibility of the website and the quality of the information on the website have a significant effect on the OCE in a B2B context. The research highlights the need for online customer support with a service representative during search on a B2B website. The credibility of the website as well as the success of the search drives the need for online customer support. The lack of online customer support will result in customers becoming dissatisfied with their experience if they have an unsuccessful search.

Managers of B2B websites should acknowledge the importance of website credibility cues and information quality cues. Each of these variables drive the success of a customer’s search and in turn the customer’s impression of the experience. Additionally, managers ought to provide customers online support, through functions such as an online help desk or a live chat function, as those who have an unsuccessful search expect to be able to seek online support from a company representative, the same way as they would do in the offline environment. Online customer support can act as a service recovery tool for website providers.

Empirical research on the OCE within B2B websites is limited and somewhat out-dated. Due to technological advancements and changing customer expectations, this research has filled a knowledge gap on the OCE in a B2B perspective. Website credibility and information quality have been overlooked in previous research in relation to the OCE. In addition, this study outlines the need for online customer support resulting from the need to clarify information and the success of the search.

Purpose: Many Internet users search for health information but they struggle with assessing the quality of the information they find. By drawing on a multi-modal approach to data collection, this study aims to understand further the nuanced cognitive processes that people utilize as they acquire and evaluate online health information.

Design: We used a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys, interviews, and observations of 76 diverse adults of all ages in the Chicago area completing various health information-seeking tasks.

Findings: Most participants begin their information-seeking process on search engines. We identified the most popular credibility-assessment strategies used on the search engine results’ pages (SERP) as well as on websites. We also explored how the process of executing such strategies reveals greater and lesser savvy among users.

Research Limitations: While the sample size and methods limit its generalizability, this study included a larger and more diverse group of participants than most observational work, which results in data about a wider range of behaviors than is typical of such research.

Social Implications: Our findings showed that most of our participants could use additional education regarding credibility assessment of online health information. Additionally, since a great deal of credibility assessment occurs on SERP, search companies bear a particular responsibility for ensuring the quality of the information their results highlight.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the synergistic effects of online multimedia by categorizing it into online broadcast media (OBM) and online interactive media (OIM).

The authors used an online experiment method to manipulate the online message stimuli level (online media synergy and online single media repetition).

The results revealed that participants exposed to message stimuli of online media synergy reported greater source credibility, cognitive responses (brand credibility and positive thoughts about the brand), attitude toward the brand and purchase intention. In online multimedia, source credibility influences attitude toward the brand through brand credibility and positive thoughts about the brand; in online single media repetition, source credibility influences attitude toward the brand through only brand credibility.

In addition, the relationship between online media synergy and marketing outcomes might be moderated by consumers’ goals and thought patterns, and future research could further explore the moderating effects of these variables.

This study contributes to media synergy research, assists marketing planners in their understanding of the importance of online media synergy and serves as a reference for marketing planners considering an integrated online marketing plan.

The current study investigated how the synergy of OBM and OIM influences message persuasiveness for consumers (cognitive responses, attitude toward the brand and purchase intention).

To understand the effectiveness of electronic word of mouth, the purpose of this paper is to examine how high- vs low-knowledge consumers judge and attribute the credibility of positive and negative online reviews by drawing upon accessibility–diagnosticity theory and attribution theory.

This study conducts an observation-based study in an online forum and a 2 (review valence) × 2 (consumer knowledge) between-participants factorial experiment to examine the proposed hypotheses.

High-knowledge consumers elicit less perceived credibility and make more non-product-relevant attribution than low-knowledge consumers in negative online reviews. Consumer attribution is also found to mediate the effects of the review valence by consumer knowledge interaction on review credibility.

This study adds to extant research by examining how consumer knowledge plays a key role in determining consumer perception of online review credibility. This study also advances the understanding of different casual inferences about online reviews between high- and low-knowledge consumers.

Understanding customer behavior from the perspective of channel integration has become a major stream of research in multi-channel retailing literature. Yet, despite recent advancements in scholarship, how retailers can most effectively sustain customers in online retailing remains unclear. Scholars have suggested online–offline channel integration (OOCI) as an effective multi-channel approach for increasing online loyalty; yet, few studies have explored OOCI's influencing mechanism. This study addresses that gap by investigating how OOCI helps achieve customer loyalty online and further examines the moderating role of retailer credibility in the influencing mechanism of OOCI.

The research model driving this study draws upon the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model and cue consistency theory. The authors collected a sample of 259 customers in China with experience making multi-channel purchases from retailers that have implemented OOCI in online retailing. Structural equation modeling and response surface analyses were employed to conduct data analysis.

The results revealed that the relationship between OOCI and customers' online channel loyalty was mediated by customers' perceptions of the usefulness and risks of online channel usage. The results also found that congruence and incongruence between informational OOCI (IOOCI) and fulfillment OOCI (FOOCI) had different curvilinear associations with perceived online channel usefulness and perceived online channel risk. In addition, retailer credibility weakened the effects of IOOCI on perceived online channel usefulness and FOOCI on perceived online channel risk but strengthened the effect of IOOCI on perceived online channel risk and had no impact on the effect of FOOCI on perceived online channel risk.

Theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.

Current online testing often lacks credibility, integrity, and reliability, though many online tests are implemented. Online testing with face recognition is a relatively new form of web‐based testing model in comparison to current testing. The purpose of this paper is to discuss implementation of face recognition technology to increase quiz efficacy and build credible online quiz systems.

While existing models of web‐based quiz systems are being improved, most current quiz models do not consider the function of fraud detection during a web‐based quiz. Online testing credibility includes the perceptions of the student and teacher on how the site would meet their expectations and how believable the testing scores are.

In a survey of faculty (25) and students (257) on online testing credibility, 80 percent of the teachers and 98 percent of the students doubt the score credibility of the current online testing system. After explaining and implementing face recognition system to the subjects, 74 percent of the teachers and 69 percent of the students positively believe the online testing result. According to hypothetical examination, face recognition, practicality, and interaction greatly shape users' opinions regarding online testing credibility.

The most prominent finding in this paper is that face recognition technology positively improves the online testing credibility.