Helpfulness of Online Consumer Reviews: Readers' Objectives and Review Cues

What makes a useful online review? Implication for travel product websites

“…The website requires providing background information during the registration process, including name, address, and a photo. The researchers of this study manually checked if members indicate their full names or just provide initials (e.g., M. T.) (see Baek et al, 2013;Forman et al, 2008;Racherla & Friske, 2012). To determine whether the user has a real photo, we checked if the reviewers use real photos clear enough to identify their faces or provide no animations and screen shots (e.g., a scene and status).…”

Essential Functionalities for Commercial Internet Presence

“…As web browsers make it relatively simple to find product alternatives, allowing an easier catalog and price comparison, online users have gained more control over the buying process (Donthu & Garcia, 1999;Otim & Grover, 2010). In addition, online product reviews help consumers to make informed decisions about purchasing new products and has become a major driving force in new product sales (Baek, Ahn, & Choi, 2012;Cui, Lui, & Guo, 2012).…”

Persuasiveness of eWOM Communications: Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research

“…Researchers suggest that consumers rely on eWOM communications if they perceive them persuasive [6]. Studies on the persuasiveness of eWOM mostly use the Elaboration Likelihood Model [7][8][9][10][11][12]. In order to be persuasive, message should be considered as helpful and credible.…”

“…A number of studies investigate factors which influence persuasiveness of eWOM communications [7,11,13]. Studies propose that message, source of information and reviewer characteristics affect perceived eWOM helpfulness and credibility [5,13].…”

“…Most of the studies have considered just written eWOM [6,7,17,20]. As a result, persuasiveness of visual eWOM is an under-researched area.…”