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

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.