The impact of e-word-of-mouth on the online popularity of restaurants: A comparison of consumer reviews and editor reviews

With the growing availability and popularity of web-based opinion platforms, online product reviews are now an emerging market phenomenon that is playing an increasingly important role in consumer purchase decisions. Generally speaking, there are two types of online reviews: consumer-generated reviews that are based on personal experiences, and reviews that are written by professional editors. However, little prior research efforts have been devoted to evaluate whether these two types of reviews have different influences on the behavior of online users. This study shows that consumer-generated ratings about the quality of food, environment and service of restaurants, and the volume of online consumer reviews are positively associated with the online popularity of restaurants; whereas editor reviews have a negative relationship with consumers’ intention to visit a restaurant's webpage. The findings will help hospitality researchers and practitioners better understand the impact of electronic word-of-mouth on purchase decisions.     

网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的影响——信任的中介作用探讨

网络点评是影响民宿顾客住宿意愿的重要因素。本研究以信任理论为基础,从顾客需求视角探讨民宿顾客对网络平台的信任和对民宿主人的信任在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间的作用。研究发现:(1)网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的直接影响效应显著;(2)顾客信任的二维度(对网络平台的信任和对民宿主人的信任)在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间起串联中介作用,但是顾客信任的两个维度不能单独在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间起中介作用。本研究揭示了网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的作用路径,为民宿营销提供了新视角。     

When online reviews meet virtual reality: Effects on consumer hotel booking

This study examines the direct and interaction effects of online reviews (quality and quantity) and virtual reality on consumer hotel booking. Data were collected from two 2 × 2 experimental studies. The results show a direct effect of both online review and virtual reality's application on behavioral intention, and the influence of online reviews on behavioral intention was weakened when virtual reality was applied. Moreover, online reviews and virtual reality had a significant combined effect on behavioral intention, with greater strength than that of online reviews alone. The findings provide insights for travel and tourism managers to enhance marketing communication effects by proper use of virtual reality to complement online reviews.     

Influence of the user’s psychological factors on the online purchase intention in rural tourism: Integrating innovativeness to the UTAUT framework

This study explores the process of adoption of new information technologies by the users of rural tourism services and, more concretely, the underlying psychological factors of individuals that explain their intentions to make bookings or reservations directly through the websites of the rural accommodations (online purchase intentions). Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study establishes a theoretical model that includes five explanatory variables of the online purchase intention: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and innovativeness. The empirical results obtained in a sample of 1083 tourists that had previously visited several websites of rural accommodations suggest that the online purchase intention is positively influenced by: 1) the levels of performance and effort expected with regard to the transaction; and 2) the level of innovativeness of users. In addition, the innovativeness construct has a moderating effect on the relationship between performance expectancy and online purchase intention.     

Exploring the online buying behavior of specialty food shoppers

Food producers are experiencing a fast-growing need to use the Internet to enhance competitive advantage. Past researchers have urged the need to understand market segmentation mechanisms as applied to different consumer behavior models to better understand the online buying behavior of consumers. This study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior and food-related lifestyle to explore consumer's characteristics of online specialty food buying behavior, and the differences in the online buying process among consumers with different FRL. 569 undergraduate students who purchased specialty food online were surveyed. Findings indicated that consumers have positive attitudes toward purchasing specialty food online; more are inclined to heed the suggestions of others, perceive higher levels of control when using a website, and experienced a higher intention to purchase online. The study then classified consumers into ‘traditionalists’ or ‘adventurous and healthy-conscious’ groups based on their FRL via a two-step cluster analysis. These two groups of consumers had significant differences in terms of (a) attitudes toward online specialty food buying, (b) subjective norms, (c) perceived control, (d) behavioral intention, (e) demographics and (f) online specialty food-buying behavior. This investigation explored whether there is a correlation between consumer FRL and online specialty food-buying behavior. Findings reveal relevant ways for managers to enhance their website marketing strategies.     

The Influence of Reviewer Demographic Information Provision on Trust and Purchase Intent for Users of Online Websites

E-commerce websites are increasingly interested in how to effectively utilize online reviews to positively influence consumer decisions. One potential mechanism is providing socio-demographic information about reviewers along with the reviews. This study investigates how consumer decision outcome variables (e.g., perceived usefulness, trust and purchase intent) change when reviewers’ age and gender are provided and when a consumer’s and reviewer’s age/gender are same or similar. The hotel industry was utilized as the context. The results from the experiment showed that, regardless of the compatibility of the provided demographic information (reviewers’ vs. consumers’), providing reviewers’ age and gender positively impacted consumers’ perceived online trust, and about half of the participants processed and remembered the demographic information. It was additionally noted that people who could remember reviewers’ demographic information had not only more trust in the reviewer, the specific company’s website, and the specific hotel itself, but also higher intention to recommend and book the hotel.     

Booking now or later: Do online peer reviews matter?

Consumers always face a tradeoff between making a purchase decision now and continuing information searching with delayed purchase decision. This study extends extant literature by empirically investigating the effects of online peer reviews on consumers’ timing of booking a restaurant using a merged data set of online peer reviews and consumer reservation records. The results show that the rating valence, rating variation, and review content richness of online peer reviews positively motivate potential consumers to book a restaurant earlier, while the time interval between successive reviews hinders consumers’ booking decision. It is also found that the effects of rating valence on timing of restaurant booking depend on the different levels of rating variation and review content richness. The findings of this study help practitioners better understand consumers’ purchase decision process and improve marketing strategies.     

Examining traditional restaurant diners’ intention: An application of the VBN theory

Prior research has demonstrated the significance of traditional food in the marketplace. However, there is a lack of studies that elucidate the consumer behavior of traditional restaurant patrons, particularly local residents. By utilizing the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, the current study develops a consumer behavior model to enhance our understanding of the effect of consumers’ attitudes toward traditional restaurants. To this end, the study examines the structural relationships among traditional values, beliefs, social norms, personal norms, and purchase intention. The results show that individuals’ value of cherishing traditional culture has a significant effect on their purchase intention through beliefs and norms. In addition, we find that age and gender serve as partial moderators. The results of this study provide traditional restaurateurs with insights for developing effective marketing strategies to attract and retain local customers.     

Online Shopping of Travel Products: A Study of Influence of Each Dimension of travelers' Attitudes and the Impact of travelers' Online Shopping Experiences on Their Purchase Intentions

This study examines the impact of three attributes (perception of convenience, perception of merchandise options, and perception of value) on travelers' attitudes toward different online agencies online shopping for travel products and the impact of online shopping experiences on their online purchase intentions. The collected data arises from an Internet survey of registered members of an online travel service company that caters to leisure travelers. The study finds that perceptions of convenience and value are two valid dimensions that measure travelers' attitudes. Findings also confirm that those two attitudes' attributes and travelers' online shopping experiences exert significant influence on their online purchase intentions. Travelers have a more positive attitude toward travel portal websites than toward companies' branded websites in terms of perception of convenience, perception of merchandise options, and perception of value.     

Involvement theory in constructing bloggers' intention to purchase travel products

Blogs recently have demonstrated their enormous marketing potential, and more and more travel advertisements are being posted in blogs. In light of this observation, this study aims to provide insights into the structural relationship among travel bloggers' involvement level, the advertising effect from blog messages, and travel bloggers' intention to purchase travel products. A travel blogger's purchase intention model was constructed and empirically tested. A total of 900 questionnaires were distributed to identified travel bloggers; 398 valid responses were returned. The data were examined with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results demonstrated the positive impact resulting from the ad effect as well as the ad effect on purchase intention, which could be verified in travel blog environments. It also indicated that high-involvement travel bloggers are more likely to form favourable impressions with regard to ads in travel blogs. Travel blogs play a positive role in the processing of ad messages; brand management is essential to business marketers since brand attitude is the most influential factor related to the ad effect on purchase intention. Meanwhile, while ad attitude is not significantly effective concerning purchase intention, it remains essential in forming brand attitudes. Several implications for posting advertisements in travel blogs will be discussed and suggested in this paper.     

Can time soften your opinion? The influence of consumer experience valence and review device type on restaurant evaluation

The objective of this study is to investigate how review temporal distance influences the conformity of consumer restaurant review ratings. By employing an innovative dataset pairing consumer reservation records and consumer online reviews, the findings of this study indicate that (1) in general, temporal distance has a positive influence on restaurant evaluation conformity; (2) consumption experience valence moderates the influence of review temporal distance on restaurant evaluation conformity, with a negative dining experience strengthening the positive effects; (3) review device moderates the influence of review temporal distance on review conformity, with reviews posted via mobile devices weakening the positive effect of temporal distance; and (4) compared to reviews posted via PCs, mobile reviewers appear less likely to be influenced by prior reviews. Findings from this study provide practical insights for restaurants’ management of online reviews.     

Does conspicuous decoration style influence customer's intention to purchase? The moderating effect of CSR practices

Using an experimental research design, this study examines the main effect of conspicuous hotel decoration style on consumer purchase intention, and tests the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and the mediating role of image perception on the relationship between conspicuous decoration style and purchase intention with Chinese consumers. The results indicate that decoration style had a critical role in explaining Chinese customers’ purchase intention. Specifically, a low conspicuous decoration style led to stronger customer purchase intention than did a high conspicuous decoration style. The relationship between conspicuous decoration style and customer purchase intention was found to be fully mediated by image perception. The findings emphasize the significance of CSR in influencing Chinese customers’ purchase intention with hotels of a highly-conspicuous decoration style. Externally oriented CSR practices (i.e., corporate philanthropy, environmental protection) were found to be more significant in moderating the relationship between conspicuous decoration style and purchase intention than internally oriented CSR practice (i.e., employee treatment). Hotels engaging in philanthropy and environmental protection, can not only elicit a positive response from consumers, but also help mitigate the risks of a loss of organizational legitimacy as a result of high conspicuous decoration.     

Exploring Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) in The Consumer Purchase Decision-Making Process: The Case of Online Holidays – Evidence from United Kingdom (UK) Consumers

This study explores the role of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the consumer decision-making process when purchasing a holiday. Using an ethnographic approach, it explores the role of eWOM on consumers’ attitudes toward online reviews (eReviews) and their subsequent behavior. Across the consumer decision-making processes – information search, evaluation, and purchase – the study develops a conceptual framework with three eWOM dimensions: (1) motivation, (2) source, and (3) content. Findings explore the variations of eWOM’s influence across the decision-making stages with implications for theory and practice. The study further highlights implications for segmentation practices in the tourism industry.     

Consumers’ perceptions,attitudes and behavioral intentions regarding the symbolic consumption of auspiciously named foods

The extant literature documents the significance of an auspicious naming strategy using lucky names and/or numbers to promote consumer behavior. However, this practice has rarely been examined in the hospitality literature. Therefore, by integrating value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study developed a consumer behavior model to examine the influence of customer perceptions of auspiciously named foods on their attitudes and purchase intention. In total, 475 surveys were collected using a panel data service in China. This study examined the structural relationships among personal values, superstitious beliefs, attitudes, social norms, and purchase intentions. The results revealed the salient role of social norms in determining auspicious consumption. Additionally, age was found to moderate the effects of attitude and social norms on purchase intention. These results provide important insight into how to develop effective marketing strategies to increase the sales of auspiciously named food products.     

The Impact of Internet Travel Advertising Design,Tourists' Attitude,and Internet Travel Advertising Effect on Tourists' Purchase Intention: The Moderating Role of Involvement

Nowadays, Internet advertising has a great potential in increasing customer's purchase intention. According to the literature, involvement significantly influences customer's online behavior and purchasing process; however, much of the present literature concentrates on independent and/or dependent effect of involvement on online shopping. This study focuses on the moderating role of involvement to explore the relationships among Internet travel advertising content design, Internet travel advertising attitude, Internet travel advertising effect, and purchase intention. The study collects a total of 386 responses and the data are examined with structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate that involvement as a moderator had the greatest effect on the relationship between Internet travel advertising attitude and Internet travel advertising effect. Involvement also influenced the relationship between Internet travel advertising content design and Internet travel advertising attitude followed by the relationship between Internet travel advertising effect and purchase intention. In addition, several practical implications have been discussed.     

The effects of consumer experience and disconfirmation on the timing of online review: Field evidence from the restaurant business

This study investigated the effects of consumer experience and disconfirmation on the timing of online reviews. Based on a unique dataset of restaurant reservations and online reviews, the empirical results indicate that (1) there is a reverse U-shaped relationship between consumer experience and online review posting timing, i.e., consumers who have strongly dissatisfying or satisfying experiences tend to post online reviews earlier than consumers who have moderate experience; (2) the disconfirmation between a customer’s experience and the average rating of prior reviews has a negative effect on his or her online review posting speed; and (3) the effect of disconfirmation on review posting speed is substantial for consumers who have strongly dissatisfying or satisfying experiences, while it is weaker for consumers who have moderate experience.     

The chain of effects from authenticity cues to purchase intention: The role of emotions and restaurant image

The current study aimed to address the lack of studies on consumers’ perceived authenticity of traditional restaurants. Specifically, this study examined the antecedents of perceived authenticity by focusing on three restaurant attributes (i.e., authenticator, ownership type, and history). Additionally, by utilizing cognitive appraisal theory, the current study developed an authenticity model to enhance our understanding of the effect of perceived authenticity on consumer behavior. The results show that authentication by local people and chain ownership significantly enhance consumers’ perceived authenticity. Moreover, consumers’ perceived authenticity influences their purchase intention both directly and indirectly through restaurant image and positive emotion. This study’s findings provide traditional restaurateurs with insights into how to enhance perceived authenticity and purchase intention.     

从民宿到“名宿”——网红民宿红在哪?

“网红民宿”是近年来旅游住宿业在社会生活网络化趋势中诞生的新现象,“名宿”的网红气质有哪些构成要素,其如何影响游客的购买意愿是本文的研究内容。首先基于网络社区“小红书”上关键意见领袖有关网红民宿的笔记,采用扎根理论的研究方法探索民宿构成网红气质的要素,其次是开展了问卷调查,以收集的556份问卷调查数据来验证这些要素对网络口碑和游客购买意愿的影响。研究发现：（1）民宿配置、风格设计、周边环境、直观印象、心理感受和出游形式是民宿构成网红气质的要素;（2）民宿网红气质要素积极影响游客对民宿的购买意愿;（3）“网络口碑”在民宿网红气质要素积极影响游客购买意愿中起完全中介或部分中介作用。研究结果丰富了民宿领域的网络口碑研究相关理论和实践。     

Impact of online reviews on hotel booking intention: The moderating role of brand image,star category,and price

This paper analyses the impact of online reviews on hotel booking intention. The moderating effect of brand image, star category, and price on this relationship was also tested. A quantitative approach has been followed by collecting questionnaires from a convenience sample of 432 customers who have previous experience with online booking. Results of the research revealed that reviews with positive valence do not affect booking intention, while reviews with negative valence have a strong impact. In addition, it was found that several moderators made this impact more or less severe. Brand image demonstrated a slight moderating effect due to the factor's inherent subjective nature. A moderating effect was also observed for both price importance and star category on the relationship. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the need for hotel managers to address online customer reviews, and specifically negative ones, to take advantage of promotional opportunities.     

Mechanisms of consumers' trust development in reviewers' supplementary reviews: A reviewer-reader similarity perspective

The literature on online reviews tends to focus on initial consumer postings and reviews, but supplementary online reviews posted by the same reviewer remain an unexplored area in marketing in general and hospitality in particular. To address this gap in the research, this study offers a research model that examines the effects of reviewers' attributes on consumer trust and positive behavioral outcomes, using hotel attributes performance as a moderator. Using responses from 414 hospitality consumers in China, our findings reveal that reviewers whose supplementary reviews use similar identities to those of their initial review, review similar firms, and use similar websites gain consumers' trust. Hotel attributes performance has a strong positive moderating effect on the relationship between reviewers' attributes and consumers' trust, and the trust engendered in this way creates the psychological comfort that leads to positive behavioral outcomes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed along with suggestions for future research.