On-Line Reviews’ Impact on Trust Building

Abstract

An on-line consumer review, which is a popular form of consumer created information, is provided by previous consumers. It often includes information and recommendation. This novel type of the electronic word-of-mouth communication has recently been emerging as a crucial factor in trust building during on-line shopping. Our research investigates the influences of on-line consumer reviews impact on trust-building process with regard to quality, quantity, proportion of negative/positive on-line consumer reviews as well as consumers' purchasing intentions. On-line questionnaire has been implemented to a convenience sample of 73 respondents. Our findings provide important managerial implications for better-informed e-tailing marketing strategy design.

Keywords: on-line consumer review, trust building, e-retailing, on-line shopping

JEL Classification: M30, M31