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Negative online reviews of popular products: understanding the effects of review proportion and quality on consumers’ attitude and intention to buy

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  • Muhammad Rifki Shihab

    (Universitas Indonesia)

  • Audry Pragita Putri

    (Universitas Indonesia)

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of negative online reviews on consumers’ attitude and purchase intention, more specifically in relation to popular products. The investigation took into account the proportion of negative online reviews (low and high) and their quality (low and high), as well as comparing their impact in relation to popular and unpopular products. As a control variable, a website was purposely developed to suit eight different experimental treatments and their manipulations. This study involved 382 participants, who were exposed to the specially created website and asked to perform a specific task. Their responses were captured via questionnaires. The results showed that consumers’ positive attitude to popular products decreased as the proportion of negative online reviews increased. The quality of reviews was found to have a less significant influence on consumer responses. Furthermore, this research revealed that unpopular products were more affected by negative online reviews than popular ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Rifki Shihab & Audry Pragita Putri, 2019. "Negative online reviews of popular products: understanding the effects of review proportion and quality on consumers’ attitude and intention to buy," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 159-187, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:elcore:v:19:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10660-018-9294-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10660-018-9294-y
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