Impact of information usefulness and credibility on green product purchases with product type as moderator

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) attributes on green purchase attitudes and purchases. The research also examines the moderating effect of product types. The authors conducted three studies: a survey (n = 882), two experiments (n = 400 each). Data for all studies were collected in various cities in India. Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were used to explore direct and moderate effects. Experiments 1 and 2 were both 2*2*2 factorial designs, considering high/low information usefulness, high/low information credibility, and product type (hedonic/utilitarian or search/experience products). The research findings indicate that the effect of information usefulness on green attitudes and purchases is greater for utilitarian and search products. The effect of information credibility is greater on green attitudes and purchases for hedonic and experience products. E-commerce’s players and policymakers can enhance consumer attitudes and purchases by highlighting useful (credible) reviews for green utilitarian/search (green hedonic/experience) products. This paper is the first to propose a comprehensive model to investigate the impact of eWOM attributes on green attitudes and actual purchases of different product types.