ISSN 2736-1721
Global Journal of Business Management ISSN 6731-4538 Vol. 4 (2), pp. 001-006, February, 2010. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
How do online reviews affect purchasing intention?
Sheng-Hsien Lee
Department of Business Administration, School of Management, Yu Da University, No. 168, Hsueh-fu Rd., Miao-li County, 36143, Taiwan. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 31 August, 2009
Abstract
Online reviews are widely used in recent years but scarcely researched. This study adopts the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explore the effects of online reviews. Two hundred and fifty eight undergraduates expressed their attitudes about a product in an online experimental study. Four findings emerged from the results. First, the argument quality of online reviews has a positive effect on the purchasing intention of online shoppers. Second, the review quantity positively affects the purchasing intention of online shoppers. Third, people under high-involvement conditions take the central route in attitude change; that is, they are more influenced by review quality. Fourth, low-involvement consumers tend to adopt the peripheral route in forming attitude; that is, they are more persuaded by review quantity. Managerial implications are provided.
Key words: Online review, elaboration likelihood model, attitude, persuasion