PurposeThis paper aims to present a cross‐national study that investigates changes in purchase intentions of UK versus Chinese consumers following exposure to successive e‐WOM comments in the form of positive and negative user reviews for experience versus search products.Design/methodology/approachA 2(e‐WOM valence and order: negative versus positive most recent)×2(product type: experience versus search)×3(purchase intentions at t1, t2, t3) repeated‐measures factorial design is used to test a set of hypotheses developed from the literature.FindingsChinese consumers are susceptible to recent e‐WOM comments regardless of their valence, while UK consumers anchor on negative information regardless of the order in which it is acquired. This holds particularly for experience products.Originality/valueThis cross‐national study contributes to the scarce literature on the impact of e‐WOM on consumer purchase decisions by comparing UK and Chinese consumers. The authors suggest that culture moderates the development of product evaluations following exposure to e‐WOM.

Few concepts in the marketing literature have proliferated like the concept of attitude. However, a closer look at studies investigating attitudes as consumers' responses to marketing efforts reveals a considerable diversity in perspectives about the concept of attitude and its formation. Attitudes are considered either relatively stable objectassociations, or temporarily constructed evaluations, which are formed through memory (cognitive)-based information processing or contextual and affect-based information processing. The current paper discusses and organizes these different theoretical viewpoints on what attitudes are and how they are formed. By approaching the topic through an integrative lens, the paper provides a solid conceptual foundation and roadmap for marketing researchers.

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