Revealed! Is online booking driven by emotion and function?
Dan Ren et al.
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to examine how review targets and formats jointly influence consumers’ purchase intentions and the underlying mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach This study used three scenario-based experiments via Credamo, an online survey platform, to investigate the interaction between review targets (core features vs customer service) and formats (list-based vs narrative-based) on purchase intention, along with the mediating roles of perceived warmth and competence. Findings The results showed that core features in a list-based format significantly enhanced consumers’ purchase intention, with perceived competence mediating this relationship. Moreover, customer service presented in a narrative-based format was more effective, mediated by perceived warmth. Practical implications This study provides practical guidance for hotels to optimize the presentation of online reviews and the design of review-writing prompts and offers guidance on hotels’ marketing presentation. Originality/value This study integrates peripheral cues and content cues in online reviews, moving beyond a single-cue perspective and addressing a gap in the hotel review literature regarding the effective presentation of different review targets.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.