ANTECEDENTS OF PERCEIVED USEFULNESS OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS AND PURCHASE INTENTION BASED ON THE SEM AND FSQCA APPROACHES

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the factors influencing consumers' perceived usefulness of online reviews and their purchase intentions on hotel booking websites. Grounded on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM), a research model is proposed. An online questionnaire was administered to 334 inbound tourists who had booked hotels in Beijing between February and April 2022. The findings reveal that trust, perceived credibility and risk, and anticipatory emotions significantly influence the perceived usefulness of negative reviews. Interestingly, a negative relationship is observed between the perceived usefulness of negative reviews and purchase intention. Moreover, the study confirms the mediating effect of perceived usefulness of negative reviews. Further analysis using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) demonstrates that trust, perceived credibility, and anticipatory emotions play pivotal roles as antecedents that trigger the perceived usefulness of negative reviews. This research contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the substantial impact of negative reviews on consumer behaviours, an area that has been relatively under-researched. The study offers valuable insights for hoteliers, emphasizing the importance of mitigating the potential spread of negative reviews and taking corrective actions to bolster their reputation and gain a competitive advantage.