Effects of conflicting aggregated rating on eWOM review credibility and diagnosticity: The moderating role of review valence

Most B2C websites provide consumers with two types of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) information, namely aggregated rating and individual review. The present research investigates the effects of a conflicting aggregated rating on the perceived credibility and diagnosticity of individual reviews. The results of our laboratory experiment demonstrate that the presence of a conflicting aggregated rating will decrease review credibility and diagnosticity via its negative effect on consumers' product-related attributions of the review. In addition, these effects are more salient for positive reviews than for negative ones. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between different types of eWOM information and provide practitioners with actionable suggestions on how to improve the design of their eWOM systems. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.