Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence

This article investigates the main and interactional effects of review valence and the presence of source identity on consumer perception of credibility of an online review and initial trust of travel services being reviewed. An experimental design is developed involving 639 travel consumers. Result...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kusumasondjaja, Sony, Shanka, Tekle, Marchegiani, Christopher
Format: Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6715
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author Kusumasondjaja, Sony
Shanka, Tekle
Marchegiani, Christopher
author_facet Kusumasondjaja, Sony
Shanka, Tekle
Marchegiani, Christopher
author_sort Kusumasondjaja, Sony
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This article investigates the main and interactional effects of review valence and the presence of source identity on consumer perception of credibility of an online review and initial trust of travel services being reviewed. An experimental design is developed involving 639 travel consumers. Results indicate that a negative online review is deemed more credible than a positive online review, while a positive online review leads to a greater initial trust than a negative review. These findings apply when the identity of the reviewer is disclosed. However, when the reviewer’s identity is not disclosed, there is no significant difference between positive and negative reviews either in terms of perceived credibility or impact on consumer trust. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future directions are also discussed.
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format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T06:12:54Z
publishDate 2012
publisher Sage Publications
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-67152023-05-23T01:00:03Z Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence Kusumasondjaja, Sony Shanka, Tekle Marchegiani, Christopher credibility Consumer-generated media trust source identity valence online review This article investigates the main and interactional effects of review valence and the presence of source identity on consumer perception of credibility of an online review and initial trust of travel services being reviewed. An experimental design is developed involving 639 travel consumers. Results indicate that a negative online review is deemed more credible than a positive online review, while a positive online review leads to a greater initial trust than a negative review. These findings apply when the identity of the reviewer is disclosed. However, when the reviewer’s identity is not disclosed, there is no significant difference between positive and negative reviews either in terms of perceived credibility or impact on consumer trust. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future directions are also discussed. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6715 10.1177/1356766712449365 Sage Publications restricted
spellingShingle credibility
Consumer-generated media
trust
source identity
valence
online review
Kusumasondjaja, Sony
Shanka, Tekle
Marchegiani, Christopher
Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title_full Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title_fullStr Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title_full_unstemmed Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title_short Credibility of online reviews and initial trust: The roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
title_sort credibility of online reviews and initial trust: the roles of reviewer's identity and review valence
topic credibility
Consumer-generated media
trust
source identity
valence
online review
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6715