IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/elmark/v32y2022i3d10.1007_s12525-022-00543-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cultural differences in processing online customer reviews: holistic versus analytic thinkers

Author

Listed:
  • Benedikt M. Brand

    (University of Bayreuth)

  • Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin

    (University of Bayreuth)

  • Theresa Maria Rausch

    (University of Bayreuth)

Abstract

While the majority of studies exploring online customer reviews in the light of intercultural comparisons draw on the theoretical framework of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, which faced justifiable criticism, we make use of Socio-Cognitive Systems Theory to illustrate how consumers from different cultures are cognitively processing information. By employing this alternative theory, it is shown that the (heretofore established) Elaboration Likelihood Model for examining online customer reviews does not serve as an applicable framework in intercultural contexts. Reviewing extant literature, we uncover incidents questioning the generalizability of previous studies on review credibility conducted among East Asians. Building upon a research model established at a national level, we interviewed Western (German; n=552) and East Asian (Chinese; n=585) consumers to analyze the intercultural appropriateness of the model. The results empirically validate the assumptions of the Socio-Cognitive Systems Theory, and thus, finds Chinese to perceive review credibility holistically, whereas Germans tend to categorize its antecedents for evaluating them separately.

Suggested Citation

  • Benedikt M. Brand & Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin & Theresa Maria Rausch, 2022. "Cultural differences in processing online customer reviews: holistic versus analytic thinkers," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1039-1060, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:elmark:v:32:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s12525-022-00543-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s12525-022-00543-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12525-022-00543-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12525-022-00543-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. King, Robert Allen & Racherla, Pradeep & Bush, Victoria D., 2014. "What We Know and Don't Know About Online Word-of-Mouth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 167-183.
    2. Kim, Jong Min & Jun, Mina & Kim, Chung K., 2018. "The Effects of Culture on Consumers' Consumption and Generation of Online Reviews," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 134-150.
    3. Umair Akram & Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Peng Hui & Yasir Tanveer & Zubair Akram, 2018. "Development of E-Commerce: Factors Influencing Online Impulse Shopping in China," Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO), IGI Global, vol. 16(2), pages 29-47, April.
    4. Zhuang, Mengzhou & Cui, Geng & Peng, Ling, 2018. "Manufactured opinions: The effect of manipulating online product reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 24-35.
    5. Zablocki, Agnieszka & Makri, Katerina & Houston, Michael J., 2019. "Emotions Within Online Reviews and their Influence on Product Attitudes in Austria, USA and Thailand," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 20-39.
    6. Christopher P. Furner & Robert A. Zinko, 2017. "The influence of information overload on the development of trust and purchase intention based on online product reviews in a mobile vs. web environment: an empirical investigation," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(3), pages 211-224, August.
    7. Kostyra, Daniel S. & Reiner, Jochen & Natter, Martin & Klapper, Daniel, 2016. "Decomposing the effects of online customer reviews on brand, price, and product attributes," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 11-26.
    8. Luo, Chuan & Wu, Jing & Shi, Yani & Xu, Yun, 2014. "The effects of individualism–collectivism cultural orientation on eWOM information," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 446-456.
    9. Bin Gu & Jaehong Park & Prabhudev Konana, 2012. "Research Note ---The Impact of External Word-of-Mouth Sources on Retailer Sales of High-Involvement Products," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 182-196, March.
    10. Wang, Yichuan & Herrando, Carolina, 2019. "Does privacy assurance on social commerce sites matter to millennials?," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 164-177.
    11. Kaushik, Kapil & Mishra, Rajhans & Rana, Nripendra P. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2018. "Exploring reviews and review sequences on e-commerce platform: A study of helpful reviews on Amazon.in," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 21-32.
    12. Cheng, Yi-Hsiu & Ho, Hui-Yi, 2015. "Social influence's impact on reader perceptions of online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 883-887.
    13. Obal, Michael & Kunz, Werner, 2016. "Cross-cultural differences in uses of online experts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1148-1156.
    14. Sarstedt, Marko & Hair, Joseph F. & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Becker, Jan-Michael & Ringle, Christian M., 2019. "How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order constructs in PLS-SEM," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 197-211.
    15. Filieri, Raffaele, 2015. "What makes online reviews helpful? A diagnosticity-adoption framework to explain informational and normative influences in e-WOM," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1261-1270.
    16. Robert Zinko & Paul Stolk & Zhan Furner & Brad Almond, 2020. "A picture is worth a thousand words: how images influence information quality and information load in online reviews," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(4), pages 775-789, December.
    17. M. Awais Shakir Goraya & Zhu Jing & Mahmud Akhter Shareef & Muhammad Imran & Aneela Malik & M. Shakaib Akram, 2021. "An investigation of the drivers of social commerce and e-word-of-mouth intentions: Elucidating the role of social commerce in E-business," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(1), pages 181-195, March.
    18. Streukens, Sandra & Leroi-Werelds, Sara, 2016. "Bootstrapping and PLS-SEM: A step-by-step guide to get more out of your bootstrap results," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 618-632.
    19. Fong, John & Burton, Suzan, 2008. "A cross-cultural comparison of electronic word-of-mouth and country-of-origin effects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 233-242, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rainer Alt, 2022. "Electronic Markets on platform culture," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1019-1031, September.
    2. Hoa Le Thai Nguyen & Thi Thi Cam Tang, 2025. "The impact of online review on fresh food purchase intention via mobile applications: An approach of ELM theory," HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE - ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY, vol. 15(2), pages 128-151.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Verma, Deepak & Prakash Dewani, Prem & Behl, Abhishek & Pereira, Vijay & Dwivedi, Yogesh & Del Giudice, Manilo, 2023. "A meta-analysis of antecedents and consequences of eWOM credibility: Investigation of moderating role of culture and platform type," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Guha Majumder, Madhumita & Dutta Gupta, Sangita & Paul, Justin, 2022. "Perceived usefulness of online customer reviews: A review mining approach using machine learning & exploratory data analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 147-164.
    3. Janina Seutter & Kristin Kutzner & Maren Stadtländer & Dennis Kundisch & Ralf Knackstedt, 2023. "“Sorry, too much information”—Designing online review systems that support information search and processing," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Azer, Jaylan & Anker, Thomas & Taheri, Babak & Tinsley, Ross, 2023. "Consumer-Driven racial stigmatization: The moderating role of race in online consumer-to-consumer reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Moradi, Masoud & Dass, Mayukh & Kumar, Piyush, 2023. "Differential effects of analytical versus emotional rhetorical style on review helpfulness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    6. Shahzad, Khuram & Zhang, Qingyu & Zafar, Abaid Ullah & Ashfaq, Muhammad & Rehman, Shafique Ur, 2023. "The role of blockchain-enabled traceability, task technology fit, and user self-efficacy in mobile food delivery applications," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    7. Ismagilova, Elvira & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Slade, Emma, 2020. "Perceived helpfulness of eWOM: Emotions, fairness and rationality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    8. Yi, Jisu & Oh, Yun Kyung, 2022. "The informational value of multi-attribute online consumer reviews: A text mining approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Ana Babić Rosario & Kristine Valck & Francesca Sotgiu, 2020. "Conceptualizing the electronic word-of-mouth process: What we know and need to know about eWOM creation, exposure, and evaluation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 422-448, May.
    10. Muhammad Umair Wattoo & Syed Muhammad Javed Iqbal, 2022. "Unhiding Nexus Between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Complaints, and Loyalty in Online Shopping Environment in Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    11. Pyle, Martin A. & Smith, Andrew N. & Chevtchouk, Yanina, 2021. "In eWOM we trust: Using naïve theories to understand consumer trust in a complex eWOM marketspace," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 145-158.
    12. Zhu, Yongmin & Liu, Miaomiao & Zeng, Xiaohua & Huang, Pei, 2020. "The effects of prior reviews on perceived review helpfulness: A configuration perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 484-494.
    13. Ina Garnefeld & Sabrina Helm & Ann-Kathrin Grötschel, 2020. "May we buy your love? psychological effects of incentives on writing likelihood and valence of online product reviews," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(4), pages 805-820, December.
    14. Román, Sergio & Riquelme, Isabel P. & Iacobucci, Dawn, 2023. "Fake or credible? Antecedents and consequences of perceived credibility in exaggerated online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    15. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Lim, Xin-Jean & Ting, Hiram & Liu, Yide & Quach, Sara, 2022. "Are privacy concerns still relevant? Revisiting consumer behaviour in omnichannel retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Raoofpanah, Iman & Zamudio, César & Groening, Christopher, 2023. "Review reader segmentation based on the heterogeneous impacts of review and reviewer attributes on review helpfulness: A study involving ZIP code data," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    17. Jian Wang & Fakhar Shahzad & Zeeshan Ahmad & Muhammad Abdullah & Nadir Munir Hassan, 2022. "Trust and Consumers’ Purchase Intention in a Social Commerce Platform: A Meta-Analytic Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    18. Fakhar Shahzad & Jianguo Du & Imran Khan & Adnan Fateh & Muhammad Shahbaz & Adnan Abbas & Muhammad Umair Wattoo, 2020. "Perceived Threat of COVID-19 Contagion and Frontline Paramedics’ Agonistic Behaviour: Employing a Stressor–Strain–Outcome Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-22, July.
    19. Sheng, Jie, 2019. "Being Active in Online Communications: Firm Responsiveness and Customer Engagement Behaviour," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 40-51.
    20. Roberto Pico-Saltos & David Sabando-Vera & Marcela Yonfa-Medranda & Javier Garzás & Andrés Redchuk, 2022. "Hierarchical Component Model (HCM) of Career Success and the Moderating Effect of Gender, from the Perspective of University Alumni: Multigroup Analysis and Empirical Evidence from Quevedo, Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-25, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Online customer reviews; Socio-Cognitive Systems Theory; Intercultural comparison; Elaboration Likelihood Model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:elmark:v:32:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s12525-022-00543-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.