How consumers process two-sided opinions and make judgments about tourist products? A theoretical model

Abstract

In the tourism sector, services cannot be evaluated before consumption and consumers look for unbiased information to choice providers and destinations. However, when searching for advice on tourism services online, consumers frequently encounter multiple reviews that are contradictory and presented in different orders in terms of valence of the opinions. Therefore, a question arises on how consumers process two-sided opinions and make judgments about tourist products. We propose a research model that explains how individuals integrate opinions from contradictory reviews in the online context. Drawing on the Heuristic-Systematic model, we analyze: (1) the impact of valence sequence (the order of positive and negative online reviews) of eWom generated by consumers on consumers’ intentions to use tourist products; (2) the moderating role of heuristic information cues (consensus, source expertise and proximity of the reviews) and visual content on the impact of valence sequence on consumer behavioural intentions.