Presentation
An empirical study investigating the effect of anecdotal information on an online consumer’s choice of a home improvement service
SessionvSF1: Student Forum
Event Type
Lecture
Virtual
Student Forum
TimeWednesday, October 27th11:00am - 11:16am EDT
LocationVirtual 5
DescriptionThe home improvement service industry is growing rapidly, and the advancement in technology has led to information about service providers being accessible with a few clicks. Studies in other domains have shown these reviews play an important role in a consumer’s perception of a product; however, anecdotal information has not been studied extensively in the home improvement service industry, a critical need given the importance of customer satisfaction in this competitive field. Using the Data Frame Theory of Sensemaking, this study investigated the effect of valence of reviews and service provider’s response on an online consumer’s decision. We recruited 360 participants through Qualtrics Research Services to participate in a 4*3 between-subjects study. The findings suggest that when all reviews were either entirely positive or negative, i.e., consistent information, the service provider’s response did not influence the customer’s decision. However, when the reviews were inconsistent, the service provider’s response was influential.
