ABSTRACT

Online reviews are an integral destination in the contemporary consumer decision journey as consumers systematically employ them in their decision making processes. Despite burgeoning online review literature, questions remain regarding how specific content types affect consumer judgments and decisions. This research uses Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasions (ethos, pathos, logos) as a theoretical foundation and examines trustworthiness and usefulness perceptions of these rhetorical appeals in conjunction with online review valence (positive vs. negative). Two studies employ a full-factorial between-subjects design to evaluate the 14 distinct review stimuli on trustworthiness and usefulness perceptions. Though some deviations occurred, results generally indicate that reviews featuring logos (including reviews with other modes types) lead to greater perceptions of trustworthiness and usefulness, particularly for negative reviews. Findings implications and future research directions are subsequently discussed.

摘要

在线评论是当代消费者决策过程中不可或缺的目的地，因为消费者在决策过程中系统地使用它们。尽管在线评论文献蓬勃发展，但关于特定内容类型如何影响消费者判断和决定的问题仍然存在。本研究使用亚里士多德的说服模式（精神、情感、徽标）作为理论基础，并结合在线评论效价（正面与负面）检验这些修辞诉求的可信度和有用性感知。两项研究采用全因子受试者间设计来评估 14 种不同的审查刺激对可信度和有用性的感知。虽然出现了一些偏差，结果通常表明，带有徽标的评论（包括具有其他模式类型的评论）会导致对可信度和有用性的更大认知，尤其是对于负面评论。随后讨论了研究结果的含义和未来的研究方向。