University of Twente Student Theses
What you see is what you get: the effect of image style and typing errors of online hotel reviews on purchase intention, helpfulness and trust.
Boer, A.N. (2021) What you see is what you get: the effect of image style and typing errors of online hotel reviews on purchase intention, helpfulness and trust.
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| Abstract: | Aim: Because customers can only evaluate a hotel experience by visiting the hotel, customers are dependent on online reviews to determine whether a hotel experience is worth purchasing. As recent developments have allowed customers to, besides text, put images into their review, not only the way the review text is written, but also the kind of images that are included in the review can have an influence on the purchase decision process. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of image style (in terms of professional images (studio aesthetics) versus amateur images (snapshots) versus no image), as well as the effect of typing errors in online hotel reviews on helpfulness, transaction trust, review trust and purchase intention. Methods: In order to investigate the effect of image style and typing errors, a 3 (image style: snapshot versus studio aesthetics versus no image) by 2 (typing errors: no errors versus errors) between-subjects experiment in the form of an online questionnaire was conducted, in which 183 people participated. Results: The results of the experiment showed that typing errors had a negative effect on all dependent variables. However, for image style, only an effect on purchase intention was found, as images with studio aesthetics showed significant higher purchase intention than snapshots and no image. Discussion: Although the results on typing errors were in line with previous research and showed the important role typing errors in online reviews play in the purchase decision process, the effects of image style did not meet the expectations. However, because it was showed that image style has an effect on purchase intention, it is essential to consider image style as an important determinant of buying behavior with regards to the hotel business. Furthermore, practical recommendations and suggestions for future research are discussed. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/87794 |
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