The Influence of Reviewer and Consumer Congruence in Online Word-of-Mouth Transactions

Online review platforms compete to attract and retain consumers and facilitate purchases. They invest in sophisticated algorithms that prioritize the order in which product reviews are presented, seeking to provide consumers with easy access to useful information about the ability of a product to meet a need. These algorithms collect and use review and consumer characteristics to provide different consumers with different sets of reviews, seeking to increase purchase intention and reduce returns. This study proposes a new type of factor: the congruence between the consumer and the reviewer. The authors develop a simulation-based experiment in which 281 subjects are categorized based on their travel style and socioeconomic status, then read two reviews: one that appears to be written by someone similar to them and one that appears written by someone different from them. Findings demonstrate relationships between purchase intention and both of the congruence variables, as well as disposition to trust and an interaction between uncertainty avoidance and socioeconomic status.