Gratification

Marketing

Quantum mechanics

World Wide Web

Communication

Construct (python library)

Social psychology

China

Power (physics)

Zhàng

Computer science

Business

Physics

Advertising

Psychology

Social media

Applied psychology

Political science

Reliability (semiconductor)

Programming language

Affect (linguistics)

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

Drawing on uses and gratification theory, this article elucidates how consumers capitalize on online reviews for purchase decisions in three markets (Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam). Three studies demonstrate this objective. Study 1 considers online reviews as a one-dimensional construct consisting of three behavioral components, including textual comments, contextual images, and star ratings, that had been validated by using reliability and validity analyses. Study 2 employs an ANOVA to analyze how these components relate to different consumer groups in terms of gender, age, and location. Study 3 explores the mediating role of online trust in the online reviews and purchase decision relationship under the moderating effect of the perceived effectiveness of social media platforms. Using a cross-national survey and a two-stage partial least squares analysis, the authors substantiate the proposed relationships and discuss the theoretical and managerial contributions of this research.

Online reviews as a pacifying decision-making assistant