Effects of attribute and valence of e-WOM on message adoption: Moderating roles of subjective knowledge and regulatory focus

► Previous studies of e-WOM such as review valence result in inconsistent conclusions. ► Research for effects produced by different review attributes is under-researched. ► An experiment shows that objective and negative online reviews have an impact on credibility. ► Subjective knowledge has a moderating effect. The current study proposes a model to test whether online review valence and attributes have an effect on credibility, and whether regulatory focus and subjective knowledge have moderating effects. Three hundred nineteen university students participated in online experiments with a 2 (positive vs. negative review valence) by 2 (objective vs. subjective review attributes) between subject design. The experiment demonstrated that objective and negative online reviews have a significant positive and negative impact, respectively, on message credibility, which affects review adoption. The results also showed that the moderating effect produced by objective information and a consumer’s subjective knowledge is supported. This study contributes to explaining the inconsistent results between review valence/attribute and credibility found in previous studies.