Evaluating the Wisdom of Strangers: The Perceived Credibility of Online Consumer Reviews on Yelp

This study examined the effects of review valence, the reviewer profile, and the receiver's familiarity with the platform (user/nonuser) on the perceived credibility of a review on Yelp.com and on the receiver's attitude toward the reviewed object. The results demonstrated a difference in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of computer-mediated communication 2015-01, Vol.20 (1), p.67-82
Main Authors: Lim, Young-shin, Van Der Heide, Brandon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consumer Behavior
Consumers
Cues
Data processing
Electronic Word-of-Mouth
Online
Online Credibility
Online Review
Platforms
Social Media
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Summary:This study examined the effects of review valence, the reviewer profile, and the receiver's familiarity with the platform (user/nonuser) on the perceived credibility of a review on Yelp.com and on the receiver's attitude toward the reviewed object. The results demonstrated a difference in cue‐taking between users and nonusers. For users, there was an interaction effect of 2 profile cues (number of friends and number of reviews) on competence. Users interpreted the cues in combination, whereas non‐users were not influenced by them. The friends × reviews × platform familiarity interaction indirectly affected attitude through competence. Further, review valence was positively associated with perceived credibility and attitude. The findings support and extend the social information processing theory and cue combination literature.
ISSN:1083-6101
1083-6101
DOI:10.1111/jcc4.12093