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Journal of Promotional Communications

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Published

2017-07-20

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Vol. 5 No. 2 (2017)

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Quality versus Quantity: An Investigation into Electronic Word of Mouth’s Influence on Consumer Buying Intention

Tran Thi Huyen

Joyce Costello

Abstract

Online consumer reviews play an increasingly crucial role in shaping purchasing intention. With the wide-spread reviews available around the world on sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp, companies’ reputation and hence survival are potentially at risk.  The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on the individual’s attitudes towards the quantity and quality of online store reviews and consider how it impacts their behavior. We incorporate brand trust as a mediator in the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention. Using a vignette survey experiment centered on coffee shop reviews in Hanoi, Vietnam, we test our hypothesis with 223 respondents. Results showed that the number and quality of review does significantly affect purchase intention. Findings also show that brand trust has a mediating effect on the relationship between online reviews and buying intention. This study assists practitioners to develop user-oriented information review format in order to manage online consumer reviews properly and effectively.

Author Biography

Tran Thi Huyen

Dr. Janice Denegri-Knott worked in the not for profit sector after completing her undergraduate studies in communication and development at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. Shortly after that she earned a masters in marketing communications from the Bournemouth Media School and went on to gain her PhD from the Business School at the University of Exeter, England. She teaches consumer culture and behaviour at the Bournemouth Media School and is part of the Emerging Consumer Culture Group (ECCG). Her research deals with the structuring of consumption patterns and practices in digital virtual spaces. She has recently co-edited, Digital Virtual Consumption, a collection of essays that deal with these issues. She has published extensively in the field of digital virtual consumption and more recently about marketing and consumer behaviour in emerging economies. She has published in journals like: The Journal of Macromarketing; Consumption, Markets & Culture, Journal of Consumer Culture, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and the Journal of Consumer Policy. She also belongs to the editorial boards of Consumption, Markets & Culture and Marketing Theory. Her paper with Dr. Mike Molesworth mapping out the field of Digital Virtual Consumption was granted a Best Paper Award by the editorial board of Consumption, Markets & Culture. She has also worked with major UK brands on projects dealing with the valuation and capitalization of digital content.

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