Do cultural orientations moderate the effect of online review features on review helpfulness? A case study of online movie reviews

The perceived helpfulness of online product reviews plays a critical role in consumers’ decisions in e-commerce. In this context, based on the literature on information processing and cultural effects, this study explored the role of review features in the perceived helpfulness of online movie revie...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kong, Juan, Lou, Chen
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172216
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:The perceived helpfulness of online product reviews plays a critical role in consumers’ decisions in e-commerce. In this context, based on the literature on information processing and cultural effects, this study explored the role of review features in the perceived helpfulness of online movie reviews. A cross-cultural investigation (i.e., China cf. the United States (US)) was employed to identify high-vs. low-context cultural orientation and uncertain avoidance orientation as moderators. The results reveal that review length, timeliness, title sentiment, and emotional expressions are significant predictors of helpfulness for consumer reviews in China and the US. In addition, cultural differences between the two countries, that is, high-vs. low-context culture and uncertainty avoidance, moderated the relationships between review length, timeliness, title sentiments, and review helpfulness.