Author(s)

Yan Liu, Qian Li and Qizhi Yang

Corresponding Author

Qizhi Yang

Abstract

Online review serves as an important referential basis for consumers to make purchase decisions. Guided by the theories of product attributes, the paper divides online review into vertical attribute review and horizontal attribute review. With the experiment method, it explores how these two types of product attribute reviews affect a consumer’s perceived usefulness. It first divides a consumer’s perception into perceived quality and unique perception, whose mediating effects are then tested respectively. According to research findings, three conclusions can be drawn: (1) Both horizontal attribute review and vertical attribute review have significantly positive impact on a consumer’s perceived usefulness; (2) Compared with vertical attribute review, horizontal attribute review affects a consumer’s perceived usefulness more significantly; (3) Perceived quality exerts partial mediating effect in the relations between vertical attribute review and perceived usefulness; unique perception exerts partial mediating effect in horizontal attribute review and perceived usefulness. The study has substantially enriched the perspectives of studying online reviews.

Keywords

Online review, Product attribute review, Perceived usefulness