Online reviews as a pacifying decision-making assistant

Drawing on uses and gratification theory, this article elucidates how consumers capitalize on online reviews for purchase decisions in three markets (Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam). Three studies demonstrate this objective. Study 1 considers online reviews as a one-dimensional construct consisting of three behavioral components, including textual comments, contextual images, and star ratings, that had been validated by using reliability and validity analyses. Study 2 employs an ANOVA to analyze how these components relate to different consumer groups in terms of gender, age, and location. Study 3 explores the mediating role of online trust in the online reviews and purchase decision relationship under the moderating effect of the perceived effectiveness of social media platforms. Using a cross-national survey and a two-stage partial least squares analysis, the authors substantiate the proposed relationships and discuss the theoretical and managerial contributions of this research. •A valid measure of online reviews consists of textual comments, contextual images, and star ratings.•Three studies investigate how online reviews and online trust engage in affecting purchase decision.•The IPMA and MGA results detail the mediating and moderating effects for improving managerial effectiveness.•At high levels of PESMP, online reviews affect online trust in brand more strongly.