The Influence of Peer Reviews on Source Credibility and Purchase Intention

Kristine L. Nowak and Rory McGloin
Additional contact information
Kristine L. Nowak: Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 337 Mansfield Road, Unit 1259 Storrs, CT 06269-1259, USA
Rory McGloin: Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 337 Mansfield Road, Unit 1259 Storrs, CT 06269-1259, USA

Societies, 2014, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) is information shared on the Internet about a product, which allows people to receive information from others they may not otherwise encounter. Online product reviews are a type of eWOM where a user posts a comment about a product and selects an image to represent the self. The perception of the image and the text in the product review can influence source credibility and the perception of the product, as well as the likelihood that someone will purchase the product. This study examines the effect of the product reviews and their different images and text on perceived credibility, source trustworthiness and purchase intention. Consistent with predictions based on the information processing theory, perceived anthropomorphism influences perceived credibility, source trust, and purchase intention.

Keywords: eWOM; purchase intention; source credibility; avatars; virtual representation; online product reviews; anthropomorphism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/4/4/689/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/4/4/689/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsoctx:v:4:y:2014:i:4:p:689-705:d:43199

Access Statistics for this article

Societies is currently edited by Ms. Farrah Sun

More articles in Societies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().