“HARD TO READ, HARD TO BELIEVE”: (DIS)FLUENCY EFFECTS ON EWOM CREDIBILITY AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS

Abstract

Purpose: to investigate the impact of Perceptual (physical-visual characteristics) and Conceptual (content/meanings) Fluency (ease) and Disfluency (difficulty) on eWOM (Electronic Word-of-Mouth) credibility and purchase intentions. Design/methodology: in two online experiments, we manipulated eWOM valence (negative vs positive) and (dis)fluency for fictional and real online stores, testing the direct effects of positive eWOMs on purchase intentions (H3) and the mediational effects of eWOM credibility (H1) from disfluent negative eWOMs (H2). Originality/Value: to our knowledge, it is the first study to directly evaluate eWOMs' (both positive and negative) (Dis)Fluency on purchase intentions, and its eWOM credibility mediational effects. Findings: although prior studies indicated overall (Dis)fluency symmetric effects on positive and negative evaluations (i.e., perceived truth and attitudes), here we demonstrate that only negative eWOM credibility was affected by Disfluency, resulting in an indirect effect on purchase intentions. Indeed, Positive eWOMs did not suffer credibility reduction from Disfluency, maintaining a direct bias effect. We also observed that these effects hold even with consensus and multiple eWOM evidence. Theoretical contribution: We demonstrate here that (Dis)Fluency effects on eWOM credibility (and later purchase intentions) depend on eWOM valence. Specifically, while negative eWOM perception can be altered by Disfluency, positive eWOM effects cannot be suppressed by readability, or even difficulty to remember in the short run, maintaining its credibility and faster deliberations. Social/Management contributions: Furthermore, the (Dis)Fluency manipulations tested are similar to what occurs daily (i.e., the smartphones' “dark theme/mode” and font color and type variations) with or without managers' intentions, increasing purchase intentions.