The Impact of Contradictory Online Reviews on Ambivalent Attitude and Purchase Intention

Abstract

Abstract:

In recent years, scholars have been paying increasing attention to online reviews. Previous studies focused on the impact of the number, polarity and emotional content of online reviews on sales or rankings. This study, by contrast, is concerned with how the contradiction between online reviews influences consumers. Contradictory online reviews can be divided into four types on the basis of two dimensions:product attributes and commentator source. From the perspective of attribution theory, we explore the differences in effects of different types of contradictory online reviews on consumers' ambivalent attitudes and purchase intentions. The conclusions are as follows. Firstly, any contradictory online review reduces consumers' positive attitude and increases the negative attitude and level of ambivalence. Secondly, compared with the contradictory online reviews for different attributes, contradictory online reviews for the same attribute are more likely to be attributed to the product itself rather than the reviewers. Consequently, though a positive attitude reduces amplitude and a negative attitude increases amplitude, the effect of negative reviews is more significant, leading to a smaller range of ambivalent attitudes. Thirdly, regarding the contradictory online reviews for the same attribute, the reduction of amplitude by a positive attitude and the increase in amplitude by a negative attitude are more significant and the range of ambivalent attitudes is smaller when the reviews are from the same reviewers than when they are from different reviewers. However, the effect is contrary for the contradictory online reviews for different attributes. Fourthly, an initial positive attitude and an eventual positive attitude have a significant positive effect on purchase intentions, and an ultimately negative attitude has a significant negative influence on purchase intentions. This study has shown that the effects of different types of contradictory online reviews on consumers' ambivalent attitudes and purchase intentions are different. On the one hand, it serves as a supplement for research on contradictory online reviews; on the other hand, enterprises can adopt different measures according to different types of contradictory reviews, making full use of the effect of online reviews on consumer purchase decisions.

Key words: contradictory online reviews, ambivalent attitudes, purchase intentions, attribution theory

Shi Wenhua, Zhang Qi, Cai Jialong. The Impact of Contradictory Online Reviews on Ambivalent Attitude and Purchase Intention[J]. , 2018, 30(7): 77-88.

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