Message and source characteristics as drivers of mobile digital review persuasiveness: does cultural context play a role?

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of message valence (positive/ negative/sided) and perceived source similarity on user attitudes towards mobile restaurant reviews and review persuasiveness in low-and high-context cultures. Two experiments were conducted in the USA and Ukraine. The results reveal significant differences in consumer paths to adopting mobile digital reviews in low-context vs. high-context cultures. They indicate that in low-context cultures positive reviews are perceived as more trustworthy, credible, and helpful than negative or two-sided reviews. The same relationships are observed in high-context cultures only under conditions of perceived source similarity. Review helpfulness and credibility, in turn, positively impact its persuasiveness in both high-and low-context communication traditions. Based on the findings, future research avenues and managerial implications are proposed.

What makes an online review credible? A systematic review of the literature and future research directions

“…Several studies confirm that review valence influences review credibility (Lee and Koo 2012;Hong and Pittman 2020;Lo and Yao 2018;Manganari and Dimara 2017;Pentina et al 2018;Pentina et al 2017;vanLohuizen and Trujillo-Barrera 2019;Kusumasondjaja et al 2012;Lim and Van Der Heide 2015;Chiou et al 2018). Chiou et al (2018) explain review valence is negative or positive evaluation of the product or service in online reviews.…”

“…Tversky and Kahneman (1991) explain that loss-framed arguments have a greater impact on the behaviour of consumer than gain-framed arguments. Contradictory to these findings, a few studies found that positive reviews are more credible than negative reviews (Hong and Pittman 2020;Pentina et al 2017Pentina et al , 2018. Lim and Van Der Heide (2015) found that though negative reviews impact greatly on consumer behavior it is perceived to be less credible.…”

“…Several studies have examined credibility of reviews in experience products such as movies (Chiou et al 2014;Flanagin and Metzer 2013), restaurants (Ha and Lee 2018;Pentina et al 2017;vanLohuizen and Trujillo-Barrera 2019), hotels (Lo and Yao 2018;Manganari and Dimara 2017), and search goods such as audiobooks However, most of the products involve low to medium involvement of consumers and there is a gap in understanding online review usage, credibility, and impact in the context of high involvement decisions. There are several online review platforms on high involvement goods and services such as cars (eg: carwale, auto-drive), and destination holiday planning (TripAdvisor).…”