Information adoption from online review sites for decision-making

摘要

This study explored the common phenomenon of using online review sites to acquire information for decision-making. Nowadays, online review sites such as Yelp in the US and OpenRice in Hong Kong are gaining popularity for consumers to share their post-purchase experiences. Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and social influence theory (SIT), we investigate how participating in online review sites influences consumers' purchase decisions. Our population comprises consumers who are users of OpenRice. To test our model, we collected 316 valid questionnaires with a response rate of 30%. We find that the source credibility and argument quality of a review, and the reader's perceived informational social influence and normative social influence have significant effects on in formation adoption for decision-making.