Examining the Effect of Company-Owned Versus Third-Party Website Reviews in An Emerging Market
(A2019-8981)

AUTHORS

Lin Yang, University of Tasmania; Sanjeev Kumar, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University); Rajesh Rajaguru, University of Tasmania

KEYWORDS

eWOM; Brand; Purchase Intention

ABSTRACT

eWOM facilitates the consumers decision making process and enables the companies to understand the consumers view and opinion of their brand, product and services offered. Company-owned and third-party controlled review websites create a platform for the consumers to share their experience. The study predicts company-owned and third-party reviewer websites to have the varied effect of consumers perception of the brand image, brand attitude and purchase intention. The study was conducted with the consumers who recently bought a mobile phone and have searched online review websites before making the decision. Attribution theory was employed and SEM using AMOS was used for analysis. The results indicated a mediating effect of brand image and brand attitude on the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention for both types of review websites. While the results indicated a significant effect of eWOM on brand attitude for third-party owned reviews, the effect was non-significant for the company-owned reviews. The study encourages the companies to develop trust among the consumers on the company owned review website.