口碑追加形式对购买意向的影响:口碑方向的调节作用

Effects of different e WOM supplementary forms on purchase intention: The moderating role of e WOM valence

网络购物越来越成为大众钟爱的购物方式,而网络口碑在网络购物中发挥着重要的作用,是消费者作出决策需要参考的重要因素。本研究以151名大学生为研究对象,通过实验操纵产品网络口碑,探讨不同追加形式(不追加、追加一致和追加不一致)和口碑方向(正向、负向)对购买意向的影响。结果表明:口碑方向调节追加形式对消费者购买意向的影响。正向口碑组中,不追加和追加一致组购买意向显著高于追加不一致组;负向口碑组中,不追加组,追加一致组和追加不一致组没有显著性差异。研究还发现了有中介的调节作用模型,满意度存在部分中介作用。本文最后对商家如何管理追加口碑进行了讨论。

With the development of Internet, online shopping has become a trend and is preferred by more and more consumers. Electronic word of mouth（e WOM） plays an important role in online shopping, which helps consumer make an optimal and reasonable purchase decision. Results of previous studies are inconsistent： while the majority of prior research showed that negative e WOM had a stronger influence on purchase intention than positive e WOM, there was some evidence showing the reverse results. Further, studies have found that consumers were more likely to be persuaded by information with high credibility. We propose that supplementary e WOM may be more credible when shopping online in terms of the form. Based on the Cue Consistency Theory and the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, the present study examined how the forms of supplementary e WOM and e WOM valence affect purchase intention. Two pretests and a main laboratory experiment were conducted. First, we ran two pretests to select the specific materials to be used in the main experiment, which would be used to indicate essential attributes for Smartphones. One hundred undergraduate students（50 for each pretest） participated in the pretests. We then manipulated the e WOM of Smartphone in the main experiment to explore how different supplementary forms（no supplementary reviews vs. consistent supplementary reviews vs. inconsistent supplementary reviews） and e WOM valence（positive vs. negative） influence purchase intention. One hundred and fifty one undergraduates were randomly assigned to seven groups and read reviews with various supplementary forms and differentvalence. They were first asked to read instructions and imagine that they needed to buy a Smartphone. Then they were presented with some reviews about the Smartphone. Finally, they completed a series of questionnaires measuring perceive usefulness, purchase intention, recommendation intention, satisfaction, regulation focus, dispositional optimism, and demographic information. The results showed that e WOM valence moderated the effect of supplementary forms on purchase intention. Specifically, under positive e WOM, purchase intention in the inconsistent supplementary reviews condition was lower than that in the consistent supplementary reviews condition and that in the condition without supplementary reviews, while no difference was found between the latter two conditions. However, under negative e WOM, purchasing intention showed no significant differences across three conditions. The results also revealed a mediated moderation. First, a significant interaction between supplementary forms and valence on purchase intention（X→Y was moderated） was found. Second, a significant interaction between supplementary forms and valence on satisfaction was also shown, suggesting that the mediation model（X→Med） was moderated. Third, satisfaction had a significant effect on purchase intention（Med→Y）, and the direct effect of interaction between supplementary forms and valence was reduced, but still significant. A bootstrapping analysis also verified this mediated moderation. Comparing with prior studies on e WOM, our results suggested the different effects of supplementary reviews on purchase intention, which had received little attention. Furthermore, we also found a mediated moderation effect, verifying the mediating role of satisfaction. The findings provide effective suggestions for practitioners in E-commerce marketing on how to manage supplementary reviews practically.