The Effects of Review Configuration on Attitude toward Review in the Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) Context: The Moderating Role of Source of Review

Abstract

The present study aims to examine whether online review configuration (defined as the format in which contents of messages in review are arranged in view of message valence) influences attitude toward online review via review credibility. Further, this study tests if source of message is a moderator that influences when and why review configuration does or does not lead to a significant impact on attitude toward review. The first experiment shows that attitude toward review was significantly greater for consumers who read the two-sided review (both positive and negative) relative to the one-sided review (only positive). In the second study, it turns out that differences between the two-sided and the one-sided review only held when consumers were exposed to the firm-sponsored review rather than the consumer-initiated review. These findings contribute to e-WOM effects literature and offer insight into online review marketing for managers.