The Effect Of Time Interval On The Extreme Of Review

With the development and popularity of e-commerce,online consumer reviews are increasingly becoming an important factor influencing other consumers' attitude towards products and purchase intention.Prior researches in the field of online word-of-mouth have mainly explored the effects of review valence,review volume and review inconsistency on consumers' perceived review usefulness and purchase intention,and has demonstrated extreme reviews are more diagnostic than moderate ones.Given the importance of extreme reviews,understanding of how consumers make such reviews have theoretical as well practical implications.Since there is usually a time interval between buying and writing reviews,and people's emotion and cognition may change with the passage of time,we proposed that the time interval is an important factor influencing consumers to make extreme reviews.Considering the types of products may lead to different information processing path,we explore the interaction of time interval and product categories on the extreme of reviews valance.We collected a set of online data and conducted three laboratory studies to further examine our hypothesis.Online data was captured from online reviews of the two goods(hedonic vs.utilitarian)on Jingdong mall,fetching 150 each,which initially indicates that time interval and product categories have an effect on the extreme of reviews valance.160 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2(time interval:long vs.short)x2(product category:hedonic vs.utilitarian)between-subjects design in experiment 2,where the interaction effects of time interval and product categories on the extreme of reviews valance was further supported.Besides,attitude certainty was found playing an intermediary role.In experiment 3,we ensured that the participants are the same group of people under two time intervals during study to exclude the inconsistency.A total of 80 participants completed the study with a 2(time interval:long vs.short)×2(product category:hedonic vs.utilitarian)within-subjects design.Experiment 4 explore extreme reviews is more useful for utilitarian products or hedonic products.160 participants completed the study with a 2(extreme reviews:positive vs.negative)x2(product category:hedonic vs.utilitarian)between-subjects design.The results of these three studies provided supports for our theorizing:(1)For hedonic products,participants were more likely to give extreme reviews in short time interval than in long time interval;(2)While for utilitarian products,participants were more likely to give extreme reviews in long time interval than in short time interval;(3)The level of participants'attitude certainty mediated the relationship between time interval and product categories with the extreme of reviews valance.Specifically,for hedonic products,the short time interval could improve attitude certainty,then promote extreme of reviews valance;while the utilitarian products were in contrast.(4)Extreme reviews are more useful for utilitarian products than hedonic products.The research concluded by discussing the theoretical contributions of our findings and managerial implications for practice.Firstly,previous researches are mainly from the view of review receivers,focusing on the relationship between online review and purchase intention.This study explores the factors that influence review behavior,which enriches the relevant research on online WOM.Secondly,by showing the relation between time interval and the extreme of reviews valance and that attitude certainty plays a mediating role in this effect,our research offers a new explanation to understand extreme review.Last but not the least,we emphasize the extreme of review valance but not positive or negative review,providing a new perspective for further research.Beyond the theoretical implications,this article offers critical insights for marketers.