Promoting Reviewer-Related Attribution: Moderately Complex Presentation of Mixed Opinions Activates the Analytic Process

Guangming Xie,Yushi Jiang,Hongping Yuan,Wenbo Du

doi:10.3390/su13020441

Abstract

Using metacognition and dual process theories, this paper studied the role of types of presentation of mixed opinions in mitigating negative impacts of online word of mouth (WOM) dispersion on consumer’s purchasing decisions. Two studies were implemented, respectively. By employing an eye-tracking approach, study 1 recorded consumer’s attention to WOM dispersion. The results show that the activation of the analytic system can improve reviewer-related attribution options. In study 2, three kinds of presentation of mixed opinions originating from China’s leading online platform were compared. The results demonstrated that mixed opinions expressed in moderately complex form, integrating average ratings and reviewers’ impressions of products, was effective in promoting reviewer-related attribution choices. However, too-complicated presentation types of WOM dispersion can impose excessively on consumers’ cognitive load and eventually fail to activate the analytic system for promoting reviewer-related attribution choices. The main contribution of this paper lies in that consumer attribution-related choices are supplemented, which provides new insights into information consistency in consumer research. The managerial and theoretical significance of this paper are discussed in order to better understand the purchasing decisions of consumers.

Highlights

According to the recent surveys released by China Internet Network InformationCenter (CINIC), 77.5% of participants have considered online word-of-mouth (WOM) to be the most significant factor in affecting their purchasing decisions [1]
Across two studies our results reveal that the activation of the analytic system refers to the use of thorough thinking that is likely to evoke reviewer-related attribution choices, and the presentation type of mixed opinions exerts a powerful influence on consumers’
Extending our investigation to an attribution choice setting by manipulating the presentation of mixed opinions directly, Study 2 provided important evidence that the activation of the analytic system depends on the form in which mixed opinions are displayed

Summary

Introduction

According to the recent surveys released by China Internet Network InformationCenter (CINIC), 77.5% of participants have considered online word-of-mouth (WOM) to be the most significant factor in affecting their purchasing decisions [1]. Retailers believe that WOM dispersion leads to much more risks and uncertainties for prospective consumers [4,5,6], and consumers normally prefer products with consistent WOM [7]. Tells us that the distribution of ratings is often highly dispersed with a J-shape or unimodality, rather than consistent [8] This problem, reflected in practice, has attracted continuous research endeavors devoted to understanding the relationship between product sales and WOM dispersion, and further developing positive intervention measures to influence the manner in which WOM dispersion is perceived [2,9]. This would be useful in maximizing the positive impacts of WOM dispersion, and simultaneously mitigating its negative influence on retailers facing consumers’ disparate opinions about their products and/or service [4,10,11]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion