The Effects of Online WOM Information on Consumer Purchase Decision:An Experimental Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of online word of mouth information on consumer purchase decision with a between-subjects factorial design.Particularly,this study examines how information type(factual vs.evaluative),direction(negative vs.positive)and product involvement(high vs.low)differences moderate the effects.The results show that the effects on the purchase decision were stronger when the information was negative and evaluative rather than positive and factual respectively.The purchase decision was more influenced by online word of mouth for the high involvement consumers rather than for the low involvement consumers.Finally,the effect powers on purchase decision was influenced by interaction between information type and direction as well as the interactions between information type and involvement,and interactions between information direction and involvement too.