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The effect of online reviews on restaurant visit intentions: applying signaling and involvement theories

The effect of online reviews on restaurant visit intentions: applying signaling and involvement... The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of online reviews on consumers’ intention to visit restaurants, with the moderating role of involvement.Design/methodology/approachThe research framework was built on signaling theory, message appeals and involvement theory. To test the proposed framework, three experiments were conducted online with real customer samples. T-tests, ANOVA and SPSS PROCESS macro were used for data analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that online reviews with higher online ratings and emotional appeal led to higher restaurant visit intention. Review appeal significantly moderated the effect of online ratings on restaurant visit intention. Customers with low restaurant involvement were more impacted by emotional comments than by functional comments.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study extends our knowledge on the effects of online reviews moderated by levels of customer involvement. By combining signaling theory with involvement theory, it adds value to the literature on customer online behavior, especially in the foodservice context. The present study has limitations that might provide opportunities for future research. It used evaluations (TripAdvisor scores) and only positive reviews (texts), so customers’ intentions considering negative reviews could not be examined. The level of hedonism concerning consumption in restaurants and prior knowledge regarding restaurant reviews was not controlled for. It is possible that the level of hedonism perceived and prior review knowledge may moderate the customers’ intention to visit the restaurant.Practical implicationsThe present study shows the importance of online comments for the promotion of restaurants that have low evaluation scores. It is essential that restaurant owners and managers encourage potential customers by using comments to elaborate on their marketing strategies and promotion. At the same time, they should invite customers to share their emotional experiences, and not just their views on service efficiency (a functional aspect). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the internet and mobile devices has become more prominent. Managers could therefore use emotional messages on the restaurant’s website or apps to attract customers with low restaurant involvement. Also, a system to identify the involvement of customers with restaurants could be implemented online or on mobile devices to present specific messages. The present study also recommends the use of online tools as virtual tours, photographs taken from different angles, smiling faces, floor plans and sittings and pre-determined emotional expressions. Also, the restaurant could promote lives on cooking different dishes to motive customer’s interaction and comments. These would help to increase customers’ visit intentions.Originality/valueThis study extends knowledge about the effect of restaurant online reviews (both ratings and appeals) moderated by the level of customer involvement. The present study also adds value to the customer online behavior literature showing that customers with low involvement are more sensitive to emotional content as they use the affective route to process information rather than the central route. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology Emerald Publishing

The effect of online reviews on restaurant visit intentions: applying signaling and involvement theories

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1757-9880
DOI
10.1108/jhtt-06-2020-0143
Publisher site
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of online reviews on consumers’ intention to visit restaurants, with the moderating role of involvement.Design/methodology/approachThe research framework was built on signaling theory, message appeals and involvement theory. To test the proposed framework, three experiments were conducted online with real customer samples. T-tests, ANOVA and SPSS PROCESS macro were used for data analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that online reviews with higher online ratings and emotional appeal led to higher restaurant visit intention. Review appeal significantly moderated the effect of online ratings on restaurant visit intention. Customers with low restaurant involvement were more impacted by emotional comments than by functional comments.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study extends our knowledge on the effects of online reviews moderated by levels of customer involvement. By combining signaling theory with involvement theory, it adds value to the literature on customer online behavior, especially in the foodservice context. The present study has limitations that might provide opportunities for future research. It used evaluations (TripAdvisor scores) and only positive reviews (texts), so customers’ intentions considering negative reviews could not be examined. The level of hedonism concerning consumption in restaurants and prior knowledge regarding restaurant reviews was not controlled for. It is possible that the level of hedonism perceived and prior review knowledge may moderate the customers’ intention to visit the restaurant.Practical implicationsThe present study shows the importance of online comments for the promotion of restaurants that have low evaluation scores. It is essential that restaurant owners and managers encourage potential customers by using comments to elaborate on their marketing strategies and promotion. At the same time, they should invite customers to share their emotional experiences, and not just their views on service efficiency (a functional aspect). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the internet and mobile devices has become more prominent. Managers could therefore use emotional messages on the restaurant’s website or apps to attract customers with low restaurant involvement. Also, a system to identify the involvement of customers with restaurants could be implemented online or on mobile devices to present specific messages. The present study also recommends the use of online tools as virtual tours, photographs taken from different angles, smiling faces, floor plans and sittings and pre-determined emotional expressions. Also, the restaurant could promote lives on cooking different dishes to motive customer’s interaction and comments. These would help to increase customers’ visit intentions.Originality/valueThis study extends knowledge about the effect of restaurant online reviews (both ratings and appeals) moderated by the level of customer involvement. The present study also adds value to the customer online behavior literature showing that customers with low involvement are more sensitive to emotional content as they use the affective route to process information rather than the central route.

Journal

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Dec 1, 2021

Keywords: Online review; Message appeal; Restaurants; Signaling theory; Involvement theory; Experiment; 关键词： 在线评论; 信息诉求; 餐厅; 信号理论; 参与理论; 实验法

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