The impact of e-word-of-mouth on the online popularity of restaurants: A comparison of consumer reviews and editor reviews

Ziqiong Zhang, Qiang Ye, Chun Hung Roberts Law, Yijun Li

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

578 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

With the growing availability and popularity of web-based opinion platforms, online product reviews are now an emerging market phenomenon that is playing an increasingly important role in consumer purchase decisions. Generally speaking, there are two types of online reviews: consumer-generated reviews that are based on personal experiences, and reviews that are written by professional editors. However, little prior research efforts have been devoted to evaluate whether these two types of reviews have different influences on the behavior of online users. This study shows that consumer-generated ratings about the quality of food, environment and service of restaurants, and the volume of online consumer reviews are positively associated with the online popularity of restaurants; whereas editor reviews have a negative relationship with consumers' intention to visit a restaurant's webpage. The findings will help hospitality researchers and practitioners better understand the impact of electronic word-of-mouth on purchase decisions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)694-700
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Hospitality Management
Volume29
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2010

Keywords

  • Consumer reviews
  • Editor reviews
  • Online popularity
  • Restaurant

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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