Ulterior motives in peer and expert supplementary online reviews and consumers' perceived deception

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to examine the effects of ulterior motives in peer and expert supplementary online hotel reviews on consumers' perceived deception, dissatisfaction, and its downstream effects on altruistic response and repurchase intentions. The research also examines the moderating role of hotel attribute performance on perceived deception and its consequents.Design/methodology/approachThis study used convenient non-probability sampling and collected data from 448 inbound tourists in China. It used partial least square structural equation modeling technique and SmartPLS 3.0 for analyzing the main and moderating effects of the variables.FindingsThe ulterior motives in peer and expert supplementary reviews significantly affect perceived deception, further leading to consumers' dissatisfaction and engagement in altruistic response. Noticeably, consumers' dissatisfaction is positively associated with repeat purchase intentions. Hotel attribute performance significantly moderates the relationship between the ulterior motives in supplementary reviews and consumers' perceived deception.Originality/valueThe study examines the key issue in online hotel reviews using the expectancy disconfirmation theory and identifies consumers' altruistic behavior because of their dissatisfaction, contributing to ethics and consumer behavior literature. Moreover, the research offers prolific implications for hotel and travel websites and hoteliers in the study context.

Consumers’ untrust and behavioral intentions in the backdrop of hotel booking attributes

“…This research is the first to examine the opposite, such as altruistic behavior, which enhances our knowledge of consumer behavior. Our findings align with the arguments of Magno et al (2018), Siddiqi et al (2020), Stukas and Clary (2012), which illuminate that consumers who spread adverse experiences aim to protect, save, help and warn others to decrease their risks in decision choices. In addition, this research indicated that despite customers’ intentions to purchase, they had trusting intentions.…”

“…family, peers and firms). Our findings aligned with scholars (Magno et al , 2018; Siddiqi et al , 2020; Stukas and Clary, 2012), highlighting that consumers save, protect, warn and help others by spreading adverse practices to attenuate their threats in decision choices.…”

“…The study used five items from Kim and Kim (2011) to measure trusting intentions, which anchored consumers’ registration, booking, additional information and comfortability to provide information to the hotel website. Finally, we used a five-item scale of altruistic behavior from Siddiqi et al (2020) and measured satisfactory experience, better decisions, negative experience, help from hotels and hotel satisfaction.…”

Effects of service encounter barriers on situational abnormality and consumers' behavioral intentions at food and beverage restaurants

“…Fourth, we investigated intended behavior of potential foreign consumers who engaged in incongruent communication during service encounters at food and beverage restaurants in China. According to Siddiqi et al (2020), inbound tourists have brand connection and they are more likely to prefer the international brands. Therefore, it would be interesting to separately investigate consumers who visit Western restaurants (e.g.…”

The impact of online reviews on product returns

“…Expectation disconfirmation theory has been used to frame consumer (dis)satisfaction and post–purchase behaviours (Qazi et al , 2017; Yi and Ahn, 2017; Siddiqi et al , 2020). In the context of online purchases, both the research of Krishnamurthy and Kumar (2018) and of Qazi et al (2017) show that consumer expectations can be influenced by electronic word-of-mouth (Yi and Ahn, 2017).…”