Absolutely Lovin' It Vs. Liking It: Test Ofinformation Processing Theory And Language Expectancy Theory

Abstract

This study investigates how different levels of language intensity and source credibility in online reviews influence online consumers' purchase intensions for the reviewed product. A 2 (language intensity) x 2 (reviewer credibility) experiment was conducted with 125 undergraduate students in order to test the competing predictions of two language intensity theories -- Information Processing Theory (IPT) and Language Expectancy Theory (LET) -- in the domain of online consumer reviews. The results indicate that the intensity of the reviewers' emotional expressions and their credibility levels matter. In line with the predictions of IPT and contrary to those of LET, online consumers were more likely to show interest in purchasing the reviewed product when the reviewers used high language intensity and were of high credibility rather than when the reviewers used the language intensity level that matched their credibility level. In addition, online consumers were more likely to identify with highly credible reviewers than low credibility reviewers. Theoretical implications of these findings and their applicability to online consumer behavior research settings are provided.