The effects of word‐of‐mouth consistency on persuasiveness

• Author: Sue‐Ting Chang,Pin Luarn,Tom M. Y. Lin
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1279
• Published date: 01 June 2014
• Date: 01 June 2014

The effects of word-of-mouth consistency on

persuasiveness

Sue-Ting Chang*

Tom M. Y. Lin

Pin Luarn

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Word of mouth (WOM) consistency can be readily

observed in online product evaluations. Previous studies on

the inf‌luence of WOM consistency on purchase intentions

have showed contradictory results. In this research, we

identify how stronger persuasiveness of WOM is achieved

when consistency, product type, and review content work

together. Study 1 shows that regarding search goods,

highly consistent factual reviews are more persuasive.

Study 2 shows that concerning experience goods and cre-

dence goods, highly consistent experiential reviews have

greater persuasiveness. However, low WOM consistency

can also achieve stronger persuasiveness under some cir-

cumstances. Moreover, in Study 3, we replicate our

f‌indings and explore the possible underlying mechanism.

Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley &

Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: product type, factual reviews, experiential reviews,

purchase intentions, persuasiveness, WOM

Résumé

La cohérence du bouche-à-oreille (BAO)est évidente dans les

évaluations des produits en ligne. Les travaux antérieurs

portant sur la manière dont elle inf‌luence les intentions

d’achat ont débouché sur des résultats contradictoires. La

présente étude montre que la cohérence, le type de produit

et le contenu des évaluations contribuent à renforcer le

pouvoir de persuasion. L’étude 1 indique qu’en ce qui

concerne les produits de recherche, ce sont les évaluations

factuelles très cohérentes qui sont plus persuasives. L’étude

2 montre que quant aux produits d’expérienceet aux produits

de conf‌iance, ce sont les évaluations expérientielles très

cohérentes qui ont un plus grand pouvoir de persuasion.

Toutefois, même une cohérence faible du BAO peut avoir un

plus grand pouvoir de persuasion dans certaines conditions.

L’étude 3 reprend les résultats et explore les mécanismes

sous-jacents potentiels. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published

by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés : type de produit, évaluations factuelles, évaluations

expérientielles, intentions d’achat, pouvoir de persuasion, BAO

Customers can easily share and search product

experiences and reviews online in addition to traditional

face-to-face word-of-mouth (WOM) communication.

Consumers often use WOM as an important information

source for purchase decisions, but in so doing they may

receive diversif‌ied opinions regarding the same product or

brand. Previous research has explored the effects of WOM

consistency. Zhu and Zhang (2010) found that consumers

who encounter high WOM consistency regardi ng a

product possess greater purchase intentions. However,

Clemons, Gao, and Hitt (2006) reported that low WOM con-

sistency for products increases consumer purchase intentions.

These conf‌licting f‌indings may be the result of moderating

variables. For example, some researchers (Martin, Barron, &

Norton, 2008; Sun, 2012) have pointed out that product type

may be a moderating variable on the effect of WOM consis-

tency. Park and Lee (2009) found that compared to search

products, experience products are more susceptible to the

inf‌luence of negative WOM. Moreover, Chevalier and

Mayzlin (2006) and Moon, Bergey, and Iacobucci (2010)

argued that the review content may moderate the inf‌luence

of WOM. Therefore, in this research, we set the product type

and review content as moderating variables to explore the

inf‌luence of WOM consistency on persuasiveness.

The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their con-

structive comments that have much improved the accuracy and readability

of this article. This work is supported by Taiwan’s National Science Council

grant: NSC 102-2410-H-011-019-MY2.

*Please address correspondence to: Sue-TingChang, National Taiwan University

of Science and Technology, Department of Business Administration 43, Sect. 4,

Keelung Rd, Taipei 106, Taiwan, R.O.C. E-mail: Sueting25@gmail.com

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

31: 128–141 (2014)

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1279

Can J Adm Sci

31(2), 128–141 (2014)Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 128