136 Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 37, No.

1, 2019

The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth

reviews on purchasing intention

Joana Torres
Faculty of Economics,
University of Coimbra,
Av. Dias da Silva, 165,
3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal
Email: joana.torres93@gmail.com

Pedro Torres*
CeBER,
Faculty of Economics,
University of Coimbra,
Av. Dias da Silva, 165,
3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal
Email: pedro.torres@uc.pt
*Corresponding author

Mário Augusto
Institute of Systems and Robotics,
CeBER,
Faculty of Economics,
University of Coimbra,
Av. Dias da Silva, 165,
3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal
Email: maugusto@fe.uc.pt

Abstract: This paper analyses the causal relationships among trust, general
attitude toward electronic word-of-mouth reviews, electronic word-of-mouth
review rank, and purchase intention. A conceptual model was tested using a
sample of 201 social-network-site users and an application of structural
equation modelling was also applied. The main findings show that: 1) trust and
general attitude toward electronic word-of-mouth reviews have a significant
impact on both purchase intention and on electronic word-of-mouth review
rank; 2) trust does not have a significant effect on electronic word-of-mouth
review attitude; 3) electronic word-of-mouth review rank does not have a
significant influence on purchase intention. Thus, marketing managers should
focus on building trust and promoting a positive general attitude toward
electronic word-of-mouth reviews in order to increase purchase intention.

Keywords: e-WOM; general attitude toward electronic word-of-mouth

reviews; electronic word-of-mouth review rank; trust; purchase intention;
digital marketing.

Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews 137

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Torres, J., Torres, P. and
Augusto, M. (2019) ‘The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews
on purchasing intention’, Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 37,
No. 1, pp.136–151.

Biographical notes: Joana Torres graduated in International Relations and

received her Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Coimbra. She
works in the digital marketing area.

Pedro Torres is a Professor at the University of Coimbra and a research

member at the Center for Business and Economics Research (CeBER). He
holds a PhD in Business Administration from the School of Economics of the
same university and a MBA from the Católica Lisbon University. His research
has been presented at international conferences and has been published in
refereed journals.

Mário Augusto is a Professor at the University of Coimbra and research

member at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) and at the Center for
Business and Economics Research (CeBER). He received his PhD in Business
Administration from the School of Economics of the same university. His
research has been presented at national as well as international conferences and
has been published in refereed journals.

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘The impact of
trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews on purchasing intention’ presented
at Jornadas Hispano-Lusas de Gestión Científica, Alicante, Spain, 1–4 February
2017.

1 Introduction

The exponential growth of the internet has significantly increased the number of online
consumers in recent years. Consequently, the electronic commerce (e-commerce) market
has expanded accordingly. This market has great potential, but has not yet been fully
exploited because of one serious drawback: the lack of trust that consumers have
regarding online shopping. Consumers are concerned about privacy protection and
security online and so are increasingly reluctant to provide personal information such as
credit card numbers (European Commission, 2004; Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006) and it is,
therefore, important to understand how this can affect consumer purchase
decision-making.
Furthermore, the emergence of social platforms has completely changed the way
consumers interact with each other and with organisations. Companies use different
methods to attract and retain potential customers, and consumers choose, share and
evaluate information in a different way. In fact, the new sources of knowledge and
information have opened new ways of sharing experiences and have given increased
access to opinions, advice and recommendations regarding products or services through
consumer reviews. Online consumer reviews are the electronic version of word-of-mouth,
hereafter designated by either general attitude toward electronic word-of-mouth reviews
(e-WOM attitude) or electronic word-of-mouth review rank (e-WOM rank) and these
reviews are becoming increasingly prominent among online consumers. Past research has
shown that they actually rely more on electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) than on
138 J. Torres et al.

traditional marketing tools and make purchase decisions based on information collected
from other consumers (e.g., Anderson, 1998; Harrison-Walker, 2001; Engel et al., 1969;
Cheung et al., 2008; Herr et al., 1991).
Unlike previous studies that focus mainly on the effects of either trust or e-WOM on
purchase intentions, this paper adopts an integrative perspective and analyses the direct
effects of trust on e-WOM attitude and e-WOM rank, the effect of e-WOM attitude on
e-WOM rank, and the direct and indirect effects of trust on purchase intentions.
The rest of paper is organised as follows: In the next section, the background to the
study is presented; Section 3 includes the conceptual model and the research hypothesis;
Section 4 describes the methodology; Section 5 gives and considers the results; and
finally, in Section 6, the main conclusions, implications and limitations of the research
are given.

2 Background

2.1 Trust
There have been disagreements regarding the conceptual definition of trust (McKnight
and Chervany, 2001), resulting from a lack of consensus regarding its definition,
characteristics and antecedents (Rousseau et al., 1998). In spite of this controversy,
researchers agree that the concept of trust is related to three other concepts: risk (Mayer
et al., 1995), vulnerability (Mayer et al., 1995), and expectation (Baier, 1986). These
factors are grouped together in the most usual definition of trust, which was presented by
Mayer as: “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party
based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the
truster, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party” [Mayer et al.,
(1995), p.711].
Even though trust is a main principle of relations and transactions in the business
world (Moorman et al., 1993; Sultan and Moorai, 2001; Warrington et al., 2000), it is
even more critical in e-commerce (Grewal et al., 2004; Reichheld and Schefter, 2000).
Nowadays, there is a huge number of companies represented on the internet and this has
created a crisis of faith with people not knowing what, or who, to believe in when making
decisions regarding business or purchases (Ramadani et al., 2014).
According to Lee and Turban (2001, p.78) in the context of internet shopping, risk is
a relevant situational parameter in that:
1 there is uncertainty about the outcome of an internet shopping transaction
2 the outcome depends on the behaviour of the internet merchant, which is not within
the consumer’s purview and control
3 the harm of an undesirable outcome may be greater than the benefits of a successful
outcome.
Unlike traditional commercial transactions, consumers cannot physically visit the store
and are unable to see, touch or check the desired product directly in real time before
making a purchase (Aldiri et al., 2008). In addition, consumers cannot verify the identity
of the vendor, due to the absence of personal and physical interactions. Furthermore,
payment is usually made by a credit card prior to the delivery of goods, which could
 The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews 139

result in the fraudulent use of the personal and financial data of users (Flavián and
Guinalíu, 2006). Recurring problems have also been experienced with spam and hackers
(Consumers Union, 2002). Moreover, consumers are aware that organisations have
increased the use of new technologies in order to obtain and process data regarding their
behaviour and characteristics, resulting in a growing concern with the treatment and
potential transfer of their personal data, as well as the security of information systems
(European Commission, 2004; Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006).
As a result of these difficulties, the increase in transactions on the internet, which has
had a significant effect on most commercial markets, is limited in e-commerce
(Gunasekaran and Love, 1999; Van der Smagt, 2000; So et al., 2005). The perceived lack
of trust means that consumers are more reluctant to adopt online shopping (Gefen, 2000;
Jarvenpaa et al., 2000; So and Sculli, 2002; Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006). The inability to
control the actions of others or to even understand their motivations increases trust
complexity significantly and can actually inhibit consumer intention to carry out online
transactions (Gefen, 2000).
In summary, it is fair to say that the risks of using the internet are extremely high and
consumers see online purchases as risky operations. The development of trust in
e-commerce is much more difficult than in traditional channels (Bitting and Ghorbani,
2004; Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006), but it is a central issue that firms have to consider
regarding the behaviour of their consumers, particularly in reducing uncertainty and risk
(Pavlou, 2003; Suh and Han, 2002) and creating a sense of security (Gefen and Straub,
2004).

2.2. e-WOM
Word-of-mouth (WOM) has been one of the most important sources of transmission of
information since the beginning of human society (Godes and Mayzlin, 2004; Maxham
and Netemeyer, 2002; Reynolds and Beatty, 1999). Arndt (1967, p.190) was the first to
define WOM as “... oral person-to-person communication between a receiver and a
communicator whom the receiver perceives as non-commercial, regarding a brand,
product or service.” Thus, WOM occurs when there is an exchange of information
between consumers regarding their experiences with particular products or services
(Dichter, 1966). The added dimension arising from social media has transformed the
world of communication and has revolutionised WOM. The reach of communication has
expanded so much that nowadays millions of individuals are involved, sharing
information, experiences and opinions (Dellarocas, 2003). People do not connect to the
internet simply to find the information they need: They also interact with each other
through social media platforms (Ramadani et al., 2014). This new dynamic form of
communication is designated as electronic word-of-mouth, i.e., e-WOM, which is defined
by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004, p.39) as “any positive or negative statement made by
potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made
available to a multitude of people and institutions via the internet.”
The main difference between electronic and traditional WOM is the ability that the
internet offers to keep comments, opinions and recommendations visible in the networks
for a long period of time, resulting in increased diffusion, which is spread more easily
and widely (Park and Lee, 2008; Lee et al., 2007; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). e-WOM is
characterised by the use of electronic platforms and technologies, such as discussion
forums, blogs and social network sites where consumers can obtain information about
140 J. Torres et al.

brands and products, through recommendations, ratings or reviews (Cheung et al., 2008;
Cheung and Thadani, 2010; Bickart and Schindler, 2001; Dellarocas, 2003; Chen et al.,
2016). Thus, e-WOM occurs essentially through social media (Walsh and Mitchell, 2010;
Levy and Gvili, 2015) and it has received special attention from researchers in recent
years because of its impact on consumer behaviour, (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Senecal
and Nantel, 2004; Goldsmith and Horowitz, 2006; Muntinga et al., 2011; Chatterjee,
2011; Chu and Kim, 2011; De Bruyn and Lilien, 2008).
Online consumer reviews are the most usual and popular form of e-WOM. They refer
to customer-generated information and recommendations posted online by customers
regarding a product, service or brand. This information is generally made up of customer
experiences, evaluations and opinions (Senecal and Nantel, 2004). If online reviews are
persuasive and logical, consumers are more likely to have a favourable attitude toward
them. Kotler (2000) refers to attitude as an expression of individual personal evolution,
an action tendency, and an emotional feeling towards some objects or ideas. This action
tendency may be strengthened, weakened or replaced by new ones (Fishbein and Ajzen,
1975). In this study, e-WOM attitude refers to emotional feelings toward reviews and
according to Lee et al. (2007), it includes the components of usefulness and trust.
Reviews are so powerful that a lot of companies are developing their own platform
reviews to facilitate the e-WOM communication (De Bruyn and Lilien, 2008;
McWilliam, 2000; Filieri, 2015). In these platforms, firms also provide e-WOM rank
values to help consumers assess product quality. The e-WOM rank is ‘a type of statistic
that summarises the proportion of positive, negative, and neutral reviews for a
product/service posted by all customers who have reviewed the product/service’ [Filieri,
(2015), p.1262]. This is not a star-like rating, but a ranking that shows which brands have
the more positive reviews. There is evidence that e-WOM rank values are used by
consumers who are in search of information regarding products because such rankings
indicate the average evaluation that many customers have given regarding the quality of a
product or service. This facilitates the comparison with other similar products (Filieri,
2015).
The desire of any organisation is to have true brand ambassadors, who support the
brand because they love it and enjoy to use it (Miloch et al., 2012). Those ambassadors
can become agents for the marketer by actively spreading their messages to their friends.
Firms can enhance the impact of their social media activities by identifying these active
users (Zauner et al., 2012).
Some studies have focused on the ranking behaviour of reviewers (e.g., Godes and
Silva, 2012; Moe and Schweidel, 2012; Schlosser, 2005) or on how ratings change over
time (e.g., Godes and Silva, 2012), while others have investigated the importance of
ratings on the perceived trustworthiness of retailers (e.g, Aiken and Boush, 2006;
Benedicktus, 2011) or the influence of ratings given to a review on the credibility of
information (e.g., Cheung et al., 2009; Filieri, 2015).

2.3 Online purchase intention

The concept of online purchasing corresponds to the purchase of goods and services on
the Internet and online purchase intention has been regarded as the behavioural intention
to conduct online transactions (Pavlou and Chai, 2002). The intention to purchase is a
combination of interested consumers with the possibility of buying a product. Various
studies have shown that it is strongly related to attitude and preference towards a brand or
 The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews 141

product (Kim et al., 2010; Kim and Ko, 2010; Lloyd and Luk, 2010). Purchase intention
is an attitudinal variable used to measure the future contributions of consumers to a brand
(Kim and Ko, 2012). In Figure 1, the conceptual framework and research hypotheses
based on the key literature are presented.

Figure 1 Conceptual framework

e-WOM
attitude
H5
H1

H3 Purchase
Trust
intention
H4

H2 H6
e-WOM
rank

3 Research hypotheses

The extant research finds that there are a large number of factors that drive consumers to
seek e-WOM, one of them being risk reduction. The findings show that in online
communities trust might be strengthened through the sharing of knowledge and
experience (e.g., Flavián and Guinalíu, 2005; Utz et al., 2012; Awad and Ragowsky,
2008; Gauri et al., 2008; Hajli, 2014). However, trust may also impact e-WOM. On the
one hand, trust can encourage people to look at reviews as a positive tool, affecting the
attitude of the users. On the other hand, customers who trust e-commerce are more likely
to contribute and rely on ranks. The present study proposes to analyse the causal
relationships between trust, e-WOM attitude and e-WOM rank, as follows:
H1 Trust has a positive effect on general attitude toward reviews.
H2 Trust has a positive effect on e-WOM rank.
Security is one of the most worrisome issues faced by customers who wish to engage in
the e-commerce world. The vulnerabilities of the internet may inhibit customers from
participating in e-commerce if they feel that the level of risk is unacceptable. There is
concern about the possible lack of privacy involved with online transactions, making
consumers feel increasingly uncomfortable about providing personal information over the
internet, such as credit card numbers, since they cannot control the safety of such
financial transactions (Hoffman and Novak, 1997; Hajli, 2014). The lack of trust is one of
the most cited reasons for individuals not purchasing on the internet, creating a huge
limitation on e-commerce (Lee and Turban, 2001; Hajli, 2014). Therefore, many
researchers have pointed out that consumer trust in online shopping has an important role
in determining the online purchase intention (e.g., Hong and Cho, 2011; Kim et al., 2008;
McCole et al., 2010; Hajli, 2014). Thus, we formulate the following hypothesis:
142 J. Torres et al.

H3 Trust has a positive effect on purchasing intention.

In general, attitude can be defined as all the favourable or unfavourable evaluations
present in a given behaviour (Wu and Chen, 2005; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Attitude
has special relevance in the study of consumer behaviour (Hernández et al., 2009; Vallejo
et al., 2015). Attitude has also been used to analyse the final intention to follow, or not
follow, online reviews (Casaló et al., 2011). Some authors suggest that the publication of
a greater amount of reviews can generate attitudes generally more favourable to
consumers (Wang et al., 2007). Therefore, the more favourable the attitude toward a
particular behaviour is, the greater the intention to carry it out. Building on this idea, we
formulate the following hypothesis:
H4 General attitude toward reviews has a positive effect on e-WOM rank.
The e-WOM effect on consumer purchasing decisions is a topic that is attracting ever
more researchers. In fact, e-WOM is widely recognised as having more persuasive effects
on consumers than traditional marketing tools, such as sales teams, sales promotions and
public relations, as they assume that the message transmitted by other users does not have
any commercial nature (Anderson, 1998; Harrison-Walker, 2001; Engel et al. 1969;
Cheung et al., 2008; Herr et al., 1991). Thus, a large and growing body of research has
shown that consumers are likely to follow others when making purchasing decisions,
confirming the link between e-WOM and consumers purchase intention (e.g., Berger and
Schwartz, 2011; Bickart and Schindler, 2001; Gruen et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2005;
Arndt, 1967; Gilly et al., 1998).
Regarding the case of online consumer reviews, it is also widely accepted that they
have an impact on purchase intention (e.g., Stephen and Galak, 2012; Tirunillai and
Tellis, 2012; Zhu and Zhang, 2010; Filieri and McLeay, 2014; Senecal and Nantel, 2004).
As for e-WOM ranking, previous research suggests that consumers tend to under-use
rankings and prefer more individual information, when they make judgments (e.g.,
Bar-Hillel, 1980; Nisbett and Ross, 1980). Thus, the following hypotheses have been
made:
H5 e-WOM general attitude toward reviews has a positive effect on purchasing
intention.
H6 e-WOM rank has a positive effect on purchasing intention.

4 Methodology

This study uses data from an electronic survey that users received through social network
sites. During a period of one month (April 2016), a total of 201 complete responses were
received. Ho and Dempsey (2010) report young adults are the demographic group with
the highest rate of internet and social network site usage. Moreover, 85% of generation z
uses social media to learn about new products (Deloitte, 2017).
The majority of the respondents (158 respondents, 79%) fell into the age group of 16
to 25 years, which matches the target user group and was a convenient sample that
provided important information regarding the online shopping attitudes studied. The
distribution of gender was quite balanced, with 118 of the participants (58,7%) being
women.
 The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews 143

Table 1 Standardised parameter estimates, critical ratio, and R2 for the measurement model

Construct Items Stand. loads. t-value R2

Trust Internet shopping is unreliable. (Inv.) .89 10.65 .79
Internet shopping cannot be trusted, there .90 10.74 .81
are just too many uncertainties. (Inv.)
In general, I cannot rely on internet .82 10.05 .68
vendors to keep the promises that they
make. (Inv.)
Anyone trusting internet shopping is .66 --- .43
asking for trouble. (Inv.)
e-WOM attitude When I buy a product online, I always .80 8.39 .64
read reviews that are presented on the
website.
When I buy a product online, the reviews .88 8,80 .78
presented on the website are helpful for
my decision making.
When I buy a product online, the reviews .77 8.20 .59
presented on the website make me
confident in purchasing the product.
If I do not read the reviews presented on .59 --- .35
the website when I buy a product online, I
worry about my decision.
e-WOM rank Has helped me to rapidly identify the best .75 11.28 .56
(and the worst) products/services.
Has guided my purchase decision to a .74 11.13 .55
specific product/service.
Has facilitated my purchase decision. .89 13.68 .79
Has enabled me to identify the .80 --- .65
product/service that could satisfy my
needs.
Purchase I would intend to buy the brand. .89 --- .79
intention I would consider buying the brand. .75 13.42 .56
I would expect to buy the brand. .90 18.94 .80
I would plan to buy the brand. .96 21.80 .91
Notes: Stand. loads = standardised loads.
Model fit: Chi-square (χ2) = 173.34; df = 98; goodness of fit index (GFI) = .91;
incremental fit index (IFI) = .97; Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = .96; comparative fit
index (CFI) = .97, and root mean square error approximation (RMSEA) = .06.
To measure the constructs outlined in the conceptual model (see Figure 1), previously
validated scales were used. The scale proposed by Lee and Turban (2001) was applied to
trust with four items. The items of e-WOM attitude and e-WOM rank were adapted from
the scale used by Lee et al. (2007) and Fillieri (2015), respectively. Finally, the scale
recently employed by Chen et al. (2016) was employed for purchase intention.
Accordingly, an initial measurement instrument was prepared and the items were
translated to Portuguese with minor adaptations. Then, a pilot-tested questionnaire was
prepared and a final version applied to the sample. The respondents were asked to rate all
144 J. Torres et al.

items on a multiple-item five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (‘strongly disagree’) to 5

(‘strongly agree’).
The unidimensionality of the constructs was tested and the results show that all the
scales used to measure a particular construct were in one factor. Table 1 provides an
overview of the theoretical constructs, the final item measures, and the estimated results
of the measurement model.
AMOS 22.0 software was used to specify and estimate the proposed model. The
maximum likelihood estimation method was applied. The measurement model performed
well considering the acceptable thresholds referred to in the literature. Although the Chi-
square is statistically significant (χ2 =173.34 with df = 98), considering the conventional
significance level, the remaining global fit indexes show a good fit for the measurement
model (goodness of fit index = .91; incremental fit index = .97; Tucker-Lewis
index = .96; comparative fit index = .97; root mean square error approximation = .06).
Regarding the particular aspects of the global model, it can be concluded that all
standardised loadings exceed the .5 threshold and are highly significant (p < .01). The R2
were all above the .20 threshold (Hooper et al., 2008) indicating that individual-item
reliabilities were acceptable, thus supporting the convergent validity of the measures.
The correlation coefficients, Cronbach alpha coefficients, composite reliabilities
(CR), and average variances extracted (AVE) are presented in Table 2. The Cronbach α
values were all above .70 and the CR of each scale exceeded the .70 threshold.
Additionally, the AVE for each construct presented in the proposed model, exceeded the
.50 level and is larger than the square of the correlation coefficients for each pair of latent
variables. These results show that the scales are internally consistent and support the
discriminant validity (Fornell and Larker, 1981). In summary, the constructs are
unidimensional and show acceptable levels of reliability, convergent validity, and
discriminant validity.
Table 2 Descriptive statistics, correlation matrix of constructs, reliability estimates, and
variance extracted estimates

Construct Mean X1 X2 X3 X4 CR AVE

Trust (X1) 3.58 .89 .89 .68
e-WOM attitude (X2) 3.86 .07 .83 .85 .59
e-WOM rank (X3) 3.71 .27 .61 .87 .87 .64
Purchase intention (X4) 3.97 .63 .33 .36 .93 .93 .77
Notes: Diagonal entries (highlighted) are Cronbach’s alpha coefficients; CR, composite
reliability; AVE, average variance extracted.

5 Results and discussion

To test the hypothesis formulated in the conceptual model we estimated a structural

model. Table 3 shows the standardised structural coefficient estimates and the overall-fit
of the model.
The different goodness-of-fit statistics show that the model has an adequate fit to the
data collected in our sample. Although the chi-square is statistically significant
(χ2=173.34, df = 98, p < .01), the remaining global fit indexes respect the acceptable
 The impact of trust and electronic word-of-mouth reviews 145

thresholds (goodness of fit index = .91; incremental fit index = .97; Tucker-Lewis
index = .96; comparative fit index = .97; root mean square error approximation = .06).
Most of the paths estimated have the anticipated sign and are statistically significant
(4 out of 6). In addition, the modification indices reveal that no other path related to the
constructs presented in the model are significant, and this also shows the robustness of
the hypothesised model.
Table 3 Results of the structural model

Path Stand. coeff. t-value p-value Hypotheses

Trust → e-WOM attitude .07 .85 .393 H1(+): NS
Trust → e-WOM rank .23 3.41 ≈0 H2(+): S
Trust → Purchase intention .61 7.39 ≈0 H3(+): S
e-WOM attitude → e-WOM rank .60 6.38 ≈0 H4(+): S
e-WOM attitude → purchase intention .27 3.17 .002 H5(+): S
e-WOM rank → purchase intention .03 .36 .718 H6(+): NS
Notes: Stand. coeff. = standardised coefficient.; S = supported; NS = not significant.
Model fit: Chi-square (χ2) = 173.34, df = 98; goodness of fit index (GFI) = .91,
incremental fit index (IFI) = .97, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = .96, comparative fit
index (CFI) = .97, and root mean square error approximation (RMSEA) = .06.
Our findings show that trust is not related positively to e-WOM attitude (Hypothesis 1
was not supported). Previous research suggested that trust might be built through reviews
(e.g., Flavián and Guinalíu, 2005; Utz et al., 2012; Awad and Ragowsky, 2008; Gauri
et al., 2008; Hajli, 2014). In this study, we analysed the relation the other way around,
i.e., we tested whether the construct trust had a positive impact on reviews, or to be more
specific, on e-WOM attitude and e-WOM rank. As for the relationship between trust and
e-WOM rank (Hypothesis 2), the results support it, showing that trust has a positive
impact on e-WOM rank, and suggesting that a community with a high level of trust in e-
commerce will contribute positively to e-WOM rank.
As previous research has shown (e.g., Hong and Cho, 2011; Kim et al., 2008; McCole
et al., 2010; Hajli, 2014) our findings corroborate the existence of a positive and
significant relationship between trust and purchase intention. Therefore hypothesis 3 is
supported, meaning that a person with a strong trust in e-commerce will have a more
significant intent to purchase.
This study has also indicated a causal relationship between e-WOM attitude and
e-WOM rank. Our results support this (Hypothesis 4). The findings also show that e-
WOM attitude has a positive effect on purchase intention (Hypothesis 5 is supported).
Thus, as in previous studies, we suggest that reviews have a positive effect on consumer
purchasing intention (e.g., Stephen and Galak 2012; Tirunillai and Tellis 2012; Zhu and
Zhang, 2010; Filieri and McLeay, 2014; Senecal and Nantel, 2004).
There is also evidence that there is no positive correlation between e-WOM rank and
purchase intention (Hypothesis 6 is not significant). This result is in accordance with
previous research (e.g., Bar-Hillel, 1980; Nisbett and Ross, 1980) that suggests that
consumers tend to under-use rankings.
146 J. Torres et al.

6 Conclusions

Trust and e-WOM reviews are focal research topics. The increase in use of social
platforms has facilitated the sharing of experiences and opinions between consumers.
This relatively new tendency has been playing an important role in the development of e-
commerce. In this study, we wanted to understand the direct effects of trust on e-WOM
attitude and e-WOM rank, the effect of e-WOM attitude on e-WOM rank, and the direct
and indirect effects of trust on purchase intentions. We found that purchase intention is
positively influenced by trust, suggesting that firms should do more than simply advertise
their products. They also need to prove they have the technical, human and financial
resources to complete online transactions successfully to promote a sense of trust with
their customers. We also find that trust is positively related to e-WOM rank. Thus,
building a sense of trust among online consumers improves the conditions under which
they are able to engage in e-WOM behaviour. Furthermore, our findings show that both
e-WOM attitude and trust have a positive impact on consumer purchasing intention,
which enables marketers to understand the importance of building trust and creating
specific platforms for consumers to share their experiences with others in order to
provide the optimum conditions for increasing purchase intention.
In summary, our study shows that firms can benefit from online trust and online
consumer reviews. Managers should be encouraged to take an active role in cultivating
trust and creating a real environment for e-WOM engagement, in order to enhance
purchase intention.
This study does have its limitations. First, the sample was primarily composed of
respondents who fell into the 16–25 age group. Although this demographic group is
regarded as the one with the highest rate of internet activity, it could be useful to analyse
an older demographic group more thoroughly in order to compare the results with those
of this study. Furthermore, additional research is needed to find out why customers read
and post online reviews. The antecedents of trust and how they are related to the motives
to engage in e-WOM reviews could also be studied further.

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