The advances of the Internet open consumers new opportunities to share their consumption experiences, opinions and feelings with others. Online customer reviews (OCRs) are a crucial source of information for consumers and are regarded as one of the most influential types of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in shaping consumer attitudes and facilitating purchase decisions (Plummer, 2007). Prior research has produced a number of valuable insights on OCRs (e.g., Dellarocas, Gao, & Narayan, 2010; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Mayzlin, Dover, & Chevalier, 2014). Especially the influence of OCR valence (positively vs. negatively framed information) has received considerable attention both from practitioners and from scholars (e.g., Xue & Zhou, 2010; Yang & Mai, 2010; Lee et al., 2009). However, we argue that scientific insights on the influence of OCR valence remain limited. Specifically, this paper shows that the level of source credibility (high vs. low) as well as the type of product (search vs. experience good) are important moderators of the influence of OCR valence on several consumer OCR reactions (product attitude, product quality, and product trust) under specific circumstances only.
Four hundred and sixteen respondents (70% females, average age 24 years) participated in an experiment with a 2×2×2 between-subjects full factorial design manipulating the OCR valence (positive vs. negative), the source credibility (high vs. low) and the product type (search vs. experience good). Results demonstrate that the effect of positive OCRs from highly credible sources on diverse outcome variables is larger than from low credible sources. By acknowledging Chaiken et al.’s (1989) theoretical extension of the heuristic-systematic model (Chaiken, 1980) we provide empirical evidence that source credibility intensifies the impact of positive OCRs due to the additivity effect. In contrast, credible negative information is not more influential than incredible information. A similar mechanism becomes operational when considering product type. Here, positive OCRs about experience goods have a stronger influence on product evaluations than similarly valenced information about search goods. This research provides further support for the crucial role of credible, positive OCRs in affecting consumer behavior in contrast to their negative counterparts. From a practical perspective, marketers should consider including highly credible OCRs from trustworthy and experienced customers’ peers as decision aids. This can be achieved, for instance, by including personal postings from Facebook. Such a strategy is particularly efficient as positive OCRs increase the consumer’s confidence towards the product while credible negative OCRs are not more harmful than incredible ones.

• Wolfgang Weitzl(University of Vienna, Austria)
• Elisabeth Wolfsteiner(University of Vienna/Seeburg Castle University, Austria)
• Udo Wagner(University of Vienna, Austria)
• Sabine Einwiller(University of Vienna, Austria)