Exploring the Adoption of Online Product Reviews via the Yale Model: Brand Commitment and Need-for-cognition as Moderators

Abstract

With the rapid development of the Internet it has become a common trend for consumers to search for information about products or services online Online product reviews are usually considered by consumers as references that provide handy information about a specific brand The Internet enables quick sharing easy access and frequent usage of reviews The spread of information online can then in turn impact the product service and company image Thus the influence of online reviews on Internet users has now become a topic worth discussing In this study the Yale model was adopted to discuss the interaction of message (balance vividness number of shares) source (perceived similarity) and receiver (brand commitment and need-for-cognition) characteristics and their effects on perceived credibility and review adoption in the online environment To test the message characteristics an experimental design was developed that included eight online reviews scenarios that recommend the Windows 10 upgrade Hence "review adoption" in this study is defined as the acceptance of a review leading to an intention to upgrade to Windows 10 based on a belief that the review is credible The questionnaires were distributed and collected through the Internet with 496 valid responses The results for data analysis suggested that there is a positive relationship between message balance/vividness and perceived credibility/review adoption Brand commitment and need-for-cognition had moderating effects on message and perceived credibility as well as review adoption where brand commitment strengthened and need-for-cognition weakened the effects respectively In addition perceived similarity was positively related to perceived credibility which then affected receivers’ willingness to upgrade based on the review Finally this study offered recommendations for online reviews Companies or reviewers should provide the right information for the right consumers to enhance their acceptance of reviews Companies should also help consumers establish brand commitment to a persuasive online review

Date of Award	2016 Aug 2
Original language	English
Supervisor	Hsin-Hsin Chang (Supervisor)