Does Impulsive Posting Hurt or Help? The Effects of Conflicting Online Information on Attitude Uncertainty and Behavioural Consequences: The Moderating Role of Peer Social Network Support

Abstract

Prior research suggests that consumers may find prematurely written online information trivial, nondiagnostic, and most likely to be neglected. This article examines the effects of impulsive posting caused by the incentive algorithm of e-commerce on attitude uncertainty and behavioural consequences. Impulsive posting comprises two perspectives: consumer-generated reviews (i.e., perceived tentativeness and irrelevance of conflicting online reviews) and corporate-generated responses (i.e., perceived depersonalisation of incongruent managerial responses). Our central premise is that facilitating the processing of conflicting information by a systematic route induced by accountability warrants more cognitive resources and amplifies the use of nonoptimal information during attitude formation. Thus, confidence decreases when the information that underlies the attitude is difficult to determine, leading to attitude uncertainty and reverse intentions (i.e., site stickiness and purchase intention).