THE INFLUENCE OF THE WORD-OF-MOUTH OF ONLINE REVIEWS ON BUILDING PATIENT TRUST IN THE PHYSICIAN

Objective: The research seeks to analyze how the characteristics of online reviews have an influence on building patient trust in the physician being reviewed. Method: Two factorial experiments were performed using Yelp website reviews with the number of stars, the number of reviews, the message content, and the number of reviews written by the reviewer being manipulated to represent the variables: valence, volume, warmth, and the competence of the physician, and the experience of the reviewer. Originality/Relevance: With the popularity of social media, an increasing number of patients are looking to online reviews for recommended treatment before they consult a doctor. Online word-of-mouth recommendations are considered a valuable element in building trust, and this variable is recognized as fundamental in the doctor-patient relationship. Results: In the first experiment, the interaction between valence and volume had a significant effect on trust, demonstrating that volume strengthened or weakened the impact of valence on trust, which corresponds to the moderating effect proposed in the hypothesis. In the second experiment, main effects were observed between the variables "warmth", "competence", and the "experience of the reviewer" on trust, but there was no significant three-way interaction as proposed, which raised interesting questions and led to possible explanations. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The research provides support for the scientific community by deepening knowledge on the topic of online reviews in the medical context, considering the popularity of this tool and the trend towards the growth of physician review websites. Social/Management Contributions: The research findings can help review sites and users better manage and use such online platforms through the characteristics investigated. Keywords: Online word-of-mouth. Online reviews. Doctor-patient relationship. Trust.