Information Elaboration in the Context of Online Consumer Reviews

This research addresses the theoretical development of information elaboration in the context of online consumer reviews. These reviews contain consumers' opinions or evaluations on a wide range of products. They have been distributed on the Internet in a large amount. Previous studies suggest that online consumer reviews can produce significant impacts on individuals' decision-making. The influence of these reviews will largely depend on the process individuals elaborate information within them. However, it is rarely investigated when individuals will elaborate online consumer reviews in the prior literature. To fill this gap, this study attempts to propose a research model based on the sufficiency principle of the heuristic-systematic model. The research model indicates that review elaboration is determined by information inconsistency, expertise, involvement, and susceptibility to informational social influence. An empirical survey method will be used to validate the research model. Discussions on the potential implications of this research are further provided.