A picture is worth a thousand words: how images influence information quality and information load in online reviews

Robert Zinko (), Paul Stolk (), Zhan Furner () and Brad Almond ()
Additional contact information
Robert Zinko: Texas A&M University-Central Texas
Paul Stolk: University Dr
Zhan Furner: East Carolina University
Brad Almond: Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Electronic Markets, 2020, vol. 30, issue 4, No 8, 775-789

Abstract: Abstract Decision science researchers have studied the influence of information overload extensively. Current electronic word of mouth (eWOM) research suggests that too much or too little information in a review can lead to decreased trust and purchase intent. This study adds to that paradigm by exploring the effects of images on uncertainty reduction in eWOM. More specifically, this study analyzes how images may influence trust and purchase intent based on an online review when there is too little or too much textual information. Findings indicate that when there is too little textual information, adding images increases trust and purchase intention, as information load increases. Likewise, when there is too much textual information, research suggests that consumers tend to skip over parts of the text. As such, images are still valuable, as they offer information that might have been missed in the text. These results suggest that when an improper amount of text is provided in a review, images may moderate the potential negative effects of that text length on trust and purchase intent.

Keywords: Electronic word of mouth; Information overload; Information quality; Images (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12525-019-00345-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:elmark:v:30:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s12525-019-00345-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ystems/journal/12525

DOI: 10.1007/s12525-019-00345-y

Access Statistics for this article

Electronic Markets is currently edited by Rainer Alt and Hans-Dieter Zimmermann

More articles in Electronic Markets from Springer, IIM University of St. Gallen
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().