Document Type

Article

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the quality of product recommendations on buying intentions. An online experiment was conducted testing both the effect of the two dimensions of review quality (perceived valence and perceived information credibility) and the influence of valence intensity of the review content on purchase intentions. Both dimensions of the review quality were found to have a significant impact on purchase intentions. This effect holds for books and hotels, which were chosen to serve as research objects to provide information for both search and experience goods. In a subsequent analysis, we compared the effect of moderate and strong valence intensity of the review content. Interestingly, we found no significant difference of the effects of positive versus negative product reviews on purchase intentions in the two groups with moderate valence intensity. Although the present study is rather exploratory in nature, these findings are novel and crucial for both marketing research and practice.

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