The Impact of Online Reviews on Consumers’ Purchase Intentions: Examining the Social Influence of Online Reviews, Group Similarity, and Self-Construal

Abstract

Consumers often rely on evaluations such as online reviews shared by other consumers when making purchasing decisions. Online reviews have emerged as a crucial marketing tool that offers a distinct advantage over traditional methods by fostering trust among consumers. Previous studies have identified group similarity between consumers and reviewers as a key variable with a potential impact on consumer responses and purchase intention. However, the results remain inconclusive. In this study, we identify self-construal and group similarity as key factors in the influence of online review ratings on consumers’ purchase intentions. We further investigate the role of consumers’ self-construal in shaping consumers’ perceptions of online reviews in terms of belongingness and diagnosticity. To test the hypothesis, we conducted a 2 (online review rating) × 2 (group similarity) × 2 (self-construal) ANOVA on 276 subjects collected through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and contrast analysis and PROCESS macro model 12 were used for the interaction effect analysis and moderated mediation analysis. Our findings reveal that consumers with an interdependent self-construal are sensitive to both review ratings and group similarity with regards to their purchase intentions. They demonstrate a positive purchase intention when both group similarity and online review ratings are high. However, their purchase intention is not influenced by review ratings when group similarity is low. Conversely, consumers with an independent self-construal exhibit a more positive purchase intention when the online review rating is high, irrespective of group similarity. Additionally, our study highlights the mediating roles of perceived diagnosticity and belongingness in the relationship between online review ratings, group similarity, self-construal, and purchase intentions. Results show significant indirect effects for perceived diagnosticity and belongingness, meaning that the impact of online review ratings on purchase intention is mediated by these two variables. The outcomes of our research offer theoretical and practical implications concerning online reviews and suggest new avenues for future research in the area of online consumer behavior.