Dissatisfaction, Disconfirmation, and Distrust: an Empirical Examination of Value Co-Destruction through Negative Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM)

Abstract

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is a key source of information for consumers and is also a vitally important source of value to business and website owners. In this study, we investigate what causes consumers to trust or distrust a review website and how value is created (or destroyed) through online reviews, which are one type of eWOM. Building on the expectation confirmation model, this study examines how consumers’ disconfirmation of previous eWOM leads to distrust of the eWOM, which in turn leads to negative eWOM and ultimately to distrust of the review website itself. Experience-based dissatisfaction directly affects the writing of negative reviews, but only indirectly influences distrust of the website. We analyze survey data collected from users of the TripAdvisor website (n = 227), with PLS results providing support for our model. Implications exist for consumers who are users of review websites as readers of eWOM, for business owners whose products and services are reviewed online, and for review website platforms.