How Consumer Reviews Persuade Through Narratives

Consumers often read online consumer reviews before making a purchase decision. The format of these reviews (i.e., more information-based vs. more story-based) varies. The current research examines how story-based online consumer reviews influence attitudes toward the reviewed product through a framework of narrative persuasion. The current work features an additional proposed process beyond what is captured by current conceptualizations of narrative engagement. Two studies demonstrate that reviews with a more story-like format lead to higher levels of transportation into the review, which lead to higher levels of reflection on the message, and ultimately influence behavioral intent. The present work also examines how product type and review valence influence transportation and reflection in distinct ways, providing additional evidence for the role of both mechanisms as distinct processes in narrative persuasion.

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