Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

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Computers in Human Behavior

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Perceived derived attributes of online customer reviews

Abdulaziz Elwalda, Kevin Lü*, Maged Ali
Brunel University London, Brunel Business School, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The influence of online customer reviews (OCRs) on customers' purchase intention has recently gained
Received 16 June 2015 considerable attention, in both academic and business communities. Technology allows customers to
Received in revised form freely and easily post their comments and opinions online about any product or service; this type of
22 November 2015
customer review can have a significant effect on customers' purchase decisions. Previous studies,
Accepted 26 November 2015
Available online 17 December 2015
however, have mainly focused on the influence of the virtual attributes of OCRs such as volume and
valence on consumers' intentions, while limited attention has been paid to understanding the effects of
the derived attributes. This study, thus, aims to understand the impact of the perceived derived attributes
Keywords:
Online customer reviews (OCRs)
of OCRs on customer trust and intention. This study develops a e Perceived Derived Attributes (PDA) -
Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) model, based on the inclusion of perceived control from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the
TAM Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), in order to investigate the effects of OCRs on customers’ pur-
Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) chasing intention. A total of 489 responses to a survey were collected from users of [Link]. The
Perceived enjoyment findings from this study suggest that customer trust in an e-vendor and their intention to shop online are
Perceived control significantly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment of OCRs.
Furthermore, the sense of control derived from OCRs significantly affects customer intention and
significantly affects customer trust in e-vendors, particularly for customers who frequently check OCRs
before making a purchase. Clearly, those attributes of OCRs are linked to the development of the
shopping environment, which consequently can affect sales.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction online. Previous studies (e.g. Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006; Flanagin &
Metzger, 2013; Huang et al., 2015; Lee & Koo, 2015; Olbrich &
Online customer reviews (OCRs) are a form of electronic word of Holsing, 2011; Pan & Zhang, 2011; Tirunillai & Tellis, 2012) have
mouth (eWOM) that refers to the user-generated contents that are mainly focused on the virtual attributes of OCRs such as volume,
posted on e-vendor websites or third-party websites (Mudambi & valence, variance and length (Elwalda & Lu, 2016; Moon, Park, &
Schuff, 2010). OCRs have become a key source of product infor- Seog Kim, 2014). However, there are also derived attributes
mation (Huang, Chen, Yen, & Tran, 2015). Chen and Xie (2008) resulting from OCRs as a support tool for customers to make the
suggest that OCRs are a new element of the marketing communi- purchasing decision.
cation mix. Firms have also started using them to understand What has not been adequately explained in the literature is the
customers’ attitudes (Dellarocas, Zhang, & Awad, 2007). derived attributes of OCRs, such as usefulness, understandability,
OCRs are a rich source of product information. Customers tend simplicity, enjoyment and sense of control (Liang, Ekinci,
to engage in reading online product information, as it assists cus- Occhiocupo, & Whyatt, 2013; Yang, 2013). Unlike traditional
tomers in making the purchase decision (Cheung, Lee, & Rabjohn, WOM, eWOM is mediated by Internet technology; suggesting the
2008). Given the trustworthiness and credibility of OCRs (Gruen, significance of perceived factors (Sun, Youn, Wu, & Kuntaraporn,
Osmonbekov, & Czaplewski, 2006; Hu, Liu, Bose, & Shen, 2010), a 2006). Perceived derived attributes from OCRs are suggested to
customer's adoption of the information provided by OCRs is likely be a key factor in affecting customers' intention. Such importance
to be a key factor affecting the customer's decision to purchase of perceived derived attributes raises the need for investigating
their effects on customer intention. Limited research has been re-
ported on how these factors contribute to explaining customers’
* Corresponding author. behavioural intention in the context of OCRs.
E-mail addresses: [Link]@[Link] (A. Elwalda), [Link]@ Hence, the present study aims to investigate and empirically test
[Link] (K. Lü), [Link]@[Link] (M. Ali).

[Link]
0747-5632/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319 307

the effects of OCRs’ derived attributes on customer trust and Drawn from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the
intention, as determined by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the present study introduces a
use, perceived enjoyment and perceived control. “Perceived Derived Attributes” model (PDA) for investigating the
The present study contributes to the understanding of eWOM behaviour of eWOM and OCRs. An integration of perceived use-
and OCRs' behaviour in several ways. Firstly, our study introduces a fulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and perceived
perceived derived attributes model (PDA) for understanding OCR control is applied to understand the effects of the derived attributes
behaviour, based on the inclusion of perceived control with the of OCRs on customer trust and purchase intentions.
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) model. The PDA model em-
ploys technology acceptance model (TAM), and theory of planned 2.1. Technology acceptance model (TAM)
behaviour (TPB) in order to investigate the role of the attribute
resulting from OCRs. This is the first time that such an approach has The growth in virtual communities has empowered businesses
been applied in the literature to understand the effects of the to widen their interaction space with Internet users (Lin, 2007). As
derived attributes of OCRs. The PDA model claims that the effects of much as this interaction is social, it is mediated and supported by
OCRs are not only limited to the virtual attributes, such as volume technology factors (Sun et al. 2006; Wang, Yu, & Fesenmaier, 2002).
and valance, but also that the perceived derived attributes of OCRs Recently, the TAM has been employed in explaining the effect of
have an impact on customers’ behaviour. We extend the TAM by information adoption in the context of eWOM (Ayeh, 2015; Casalo
,
arguing that the inclusion of perceived control from the Theory of
n, & Guinalíu, 2010; Hsu et al., 2013; Liang et al., 2013; Yang,
Flavia
Planned Behaviour (TPB) in the TAM is crucial when analysing the 2013). TAM has been accepted as a model to explain online
influence of eWOM. customer behaviour (Gefen et al., 2003), and is broadly used for
Secondly, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study examining information technology adoption (Venkatesh, 2000).
examining the impact of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of Additionally, previous studies have also indicated that eWOM has a
use, perceived enjoyment and perceived control derived from OCRs significant influence on customers’ intentions (Chen & Xie, 2008;
on customer trust and behavioural intention. The present study Clemons, Gao, & Hitt, 2006; Godes & Mayzlin, 2004).
finds that customer trust in an e-vendor and customer intention to TAM is a model developed to study the acceptance of the
shop online are significantly affected by these perceived derived technology by individuals that explains how individuals come to
factors. The third contribution is that perceived control was accept and use a technology, originating from the theory of
employed in order to understand the effects that sense of control, reasoned action. It is widely used to explain the adoption of new
derived from OCRs, has on customer trust and intention. The pre- technology, underpinned by two constructs: “perceived useful-
sent study indicates that perceived control has a significant effect ness” and “perceived ease of use”. Davis et al. (1992) in an attempt
on customer intention to shop online. Additionally, the results to address TAM limitations in regard to its explanatory power
reveal that for customers who frequently check OCRs before mak- (Bagozzi, 2007; Bhattacherjee & Premkumar, 2004). Davis et al.
ing a purchase, their trust in the e-vendor is significantly influenced (1992) report that perceived enjoyment has a significant impact
by perceived control resulting from OCRs. on behavioural intention.
A theoretical background on the concepts of the three constructs
2. Theoretical background of TAM Perceived Usefulness, Perceived ease of Use and Perceived
enjoyment is provided next.
Online customer reviews (OCRs) have become a primary source
of product information. This has resulted in them having a signif- 2.2. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use
icant impact on consumer purchase decision making. However,
previous investigations have mainly concerned with the virtual TAM suggests that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of
attributes of OCRs, such as, valance, volume, and variance. For use are the main determinants of system use and information
example, Moe and Trusov (2011) indicate that the valence of OCRs adoption. Perceived usefulness is defined as “the degree to which a
has a direct influence on sales. Similarly, Floh, Koller, and Zauner person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or
(2013) find the intensity of the valence of OCRs has a significant her job performance” (Davis, 1989, p. 320). Perceived ease of use is
effect on the sale of both books and hotels. Furthermore, Liu (2006) defined as “the degree to which a person believes that using a
reveals that the volume of OCRs positively affects box office returns. particularly system would be free of effort” (Davis, 1989, p. 320).
On the other hand, the influence of OCRs is not only limited to the Employing these two definitions, this study refers to the perceived
virtual attributes, but also to the derived attributes such as, usefulness as the degree to which a customer believes that using
perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, OCRs enhances their online shopping experience. Perceived ease of
and perceived control that might significantly affect customers’ use refers to the degree to which a customer believes that using
behavioural intentions (Liang et al., 2013; Yang, 2013). OCRs is simple, and straightforward.
Perceived derived attributes form OCRs are suggested to be a Drawing on TAM, Liang et al. (2013) studied international trav-
main key affecting customers’ intention. For example, perceived ellers’ eWOM communication. Their study reveals that both
usefulness and ease of use were found to be an important ante- perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a direct sig-
cedent in adopting eWOM (Hsu, Lin, & Chiang, 2013; Liang et al., nificant impact on overall attitude to adopting eWOM communi-
2013; Yang, 2013). Furthermore, Park, Lee, and Han (2007) report cation, while an indirect effect was observed for behavioural
that the quality of the OCRs positively impact product sales. Also intention to use eWOM. Their findings also indicate that overall
perceived ease of use was found to influence online trust (Aghdaie, attitude towards eWOM communication partially mediates the
Piraman, & Fathi, 2011; Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub, 2003). In relationship between the adoption of eWOM and the behavioural
addition, perceived enjoyment and perceived control have been intention to use it. Taken together, these results suggest that cus-
established to be significant derived attributes from online dis- tomers are likely to use eWOM if the online information presented
cussion that affect intention (Van Dolen, Dabholkar, & de Ruyter, is useful and easy. Similarly, Casalo
et al. (2010) indicate that
2007), and vital characteristics of Internet usage (Dabholkar, participating in online travel communities is positively affected by
1996; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992; Koufaris, 2002; their perceived usefulness. They also find that perceived ease of use
Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001). influences both perceived usefulness and attitude towards
308 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

participation in online travel communities. Furthermore, Lin (2007) Enjoyment is also found to be an important stimulus for engaging
surveyed the largest online communities in Taiwan and found that in eWOM (Cheung & Lee, 2012; Okazaki, 2009). Phelps, Lewis,
both technology acceptance factors have a positive significant in- Mobilio, Perry, and Raman (2004), employing both a qualitative
fluence on the sense of belonging to the virtual communities, and quantitative approach, reveals that enjoyment is an essential
leading to the purchase intention. driver for forwarding emails. Taking into account the significance of
Using the review site [Link], Yang (2013) finds that the perceived enjoyment of the online shopping experience and
eWOM intention is mainly affected by the perceived usefulness of online reviews, the present study attempts to explain the effect that
the website. Surprisingly, perceived ease of use, satisfaction and perceived enjoyment of OCRs has on customer trust and customer
egoistic needs were found to have no impact on the dispersion of intention to use online shopping.
eWOM. However, the results indicate that perceived usefulness
greatly moderates the relationship between satisfaction and 2.4. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB)
egoistic needs, and engagement with eWOM communication. Yang
(2013), on the other hand, attributes the non-significant effect of Theory of planned behaviour TPB was developed by Ajzen
perceived ease of use on eWOM intention to the less complicated (1988). TPB relates beliefs to behaviour to enhance the predictive
task that customers experience on the website [Link]. power of the theory of reasoned action by the inclusion of
Customers can conventionally evaluate and rate their experience perceived control. TPB as constructed by attitude, subjective norms,
on [Link]. Moreover, the development of technology has and perceived behavioural control, predicts deliberate behaviour,
eased the complex tasks of technology, weakening the effects of since behaviour can be deliberative and planned (Ajzen, 1991).
perceived ease of use. This is in line with the findings of Van Dolen According to the TPB, intentions can be only conveyed to the actual
et al. (2007), who establish that chat satisfaction in advisory group behaviour if that behaviour is only under an individual's perceived
chats is not significantly influenced by ease of use. This was due to control (Ajzen, 1985; Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992). This study,
the experience and familiarity that respondents possess in online thus, introduces the perceived derived attributes of OCRs by
chat (Van Dolen et al., 2007). incorporating perceived control from TPB to the TAM to address the
In a different but related context, Hsu et al. (2013) examine the TAM limitations regarding the gap between intention and actual
perceived usefulness of blogs for 327 blog readers. Perceived use- behaviour.
fulness was independently constructed, with results indicating that
the perceived usefulness of blogger recommendations has a great 2.5. Perceived control
impact on both customer attitude and purchase intention. Inter-
estingly, a recommendations’ perceived usefulness is found to be Perceived control refers to the level of control an individual has
influenced by trust in blogger recommendations; suggesting that over their environment and actions (Hui & Bateson, 1991; Koufaris,
the customer must first trust the recommendations in order for 2002). Perceived control has been examined in many different
them to be perceived as useful. theoretical frameworks, for instance, in the Theory of Planned
Behaviour (TPB) by Ajzen (1985, 1991), and Bandura's theory of self-
2.3. Perceived enjoyment efficacy (1982). The rationale behind the effect of perceived control
on behaviour is that perceived control has a motivational influence
Another major driver of new technology use and adoption is over behavioural intention. When the level of control over
enjoyment (Davis et al. 1992; Lee, Cheung, & Chen, 2005; accomplishing a specific behaviour is low, people's intention to
Venkatesh, 2000). Perceived enjoyment is defined as “the extent accomplish that behaviour is likely to be low, even if a positive
to which the activity of using a specific system is perceived to be attitude is gained (Madden et al., 1992).
enjoyable in its own right, aside from any performance conse- In the present study, perceived control refers to the amount of
quences resulting from system use” (Venkatesh, 2000, p. 351). This control that a customer feels that OCRs provide during the process
has led to the notion that enjoyment is an intrinsic driver (Lee et al. of online shopping. For online shopping, perceived control is not
2005). Previous studies on information systems have embraced only considered as an interaction with the product itself, but rather
perceived enjoyment as an intrinsic incentive to explain informa- as a consequence of the interaction behaviour with the website and
tion technology (IT) system usage and adoption. In this regard, its features (Koufaris, 2002). Unlike physical shopping, online
Davis et al. (1992) extend the original TAM by including perceived shopping provides more information, leading to a higher efficiency
enjoyment as one of the main drivers for acceptance. Building on and less effort; which ultimately results in demanding more control
Davis et al. (1992), other researches have reported that a relation- by customers (Jarvenpaa & Todd, 1996). Using a qualitative
ship exists between perceived enjoyment and behavioural inten- approach, Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2001) find that obtaining buying
tion; this relationship is a key aspect of online shopping. Indeed Ha information directly from a website, instead of having to go through
and Stoel (2009) indicate that the likelihood of customers engaging a salesperson, increases customer's sense of control. The level of
in online shopping is greatly influenced by their enjoyment of the control obtained in the online shopping experience is derived from
shopping process. Also, Li, Chua, and Lu (2005) find that the the lack of commitment that raises customers' efficiency, and di-
intention of using instant messaging is directly affected by the minishes the effort required for making a purchase (Wolfinbarger &
perceived enjoyment. Likewise, Koufaris (2002) reveals that Gilly, 2001).
perceived enjoyment has an impact on online customers’ intention Previous studies have established the importance of perceived
to return to the online shopping store. control for online shopping (Karjaluoto, Lehto, Leppa €niemi, &
Drawing on OCRs, perceived enjoyment refers to the extent to Jayewardene, 2008; Koufaris, 2002; Wang, 2014; Wolfinbarger &
which a customer feels that OCRs are fun and entertaining. Re- Gilly, 2001). Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2001) highlight that finding
searchers have highlighted the importance of enjoyment in the the desired information on a website and following a system that
context of OCRs and eWOM. A study by Schindler and Bickart allows information to be personalised, are likely to increase the
(2005) indicates that enjoyment is one of the top five reasons level of perceived control. Similarly, Koufaris (2002) reports that a
why individuals seek online messages. Similarly, Dholakia, Bagozzi, website's features, such as a recommendation system, help to in-
and Pearo (2004) note that individuals participate in virtual com- crease the sense of control. Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2001), however,
munities for three main reasons, one of which is enjoyment. point out the difficulty of locating such information; hence, OCRs
 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319 309

might be very helpful in this regard, as they are easily found and both intentions and behaviour (Ajzen, 1991; Madden et al., 1992).
also provide credible information based on previous customers' Our study, hence, introduces the Perceived Derived Attributes
evaluations and experiences. In turn, providing such a facility may (PDA) model by incorporating perceived control from TPB to the
increase the sense of control experienced by customers. Van Dolen TAM to addresses the TAM limitations regarding the gap between
et al. (2007) employ a structuration theory perspective to study intention and actual behaviour.
online group chat. Their study reveals that customer satisfaction of The PDA model is the first to explain the perceived derived at-
group chat that leads to buying intention is significantly influenced tributes of OCRs, and to investigate the role of perceived control in
by the perceived control acquired by customers in a group chat. eWOM communication. The PDA model shows that OCRs’ influence
is not only limited to the virtual attributes such as, volume and
3. Research model (PDA) valence, but also to the derived attributes that may significantly
affect customer behavioural intention. The PDA model delivers an
In this study we develop a new way of understanding the effects understanding of the perceived derived attributes of OCRs;
of OCRs on customers' behavioural intentions. Drawn from the including perceived usefulness, preserved ease of use, perceived
technology of the acceptance model (TAM) and the Theory of enjoyment, and perceived control. The PDA model is presented in
Planned Behaviour (TPB), the present study introduces a perceived Fig. 1.
derived attributes model (PDA) for explaining eWOM and OCRs'
behaviour. The PDA model is based on the inclusion of perceived 4. Hypotheses development
control from TPB with TAM to understand the effects of OCRs’
derived attributes on customer trust and intention. According to TAM, customer behaviour in an online context is
Although the TAM is a powerful model, it has been criticised for determined by two main drivers involving perceived usefulness,
its limited explanatory power (Bagozzi, 2007; Bhattacherjee & and perceived ease of use (Davis, 1989; Vijayasarathy, 2004). Cus-
Premkumar, 2004). Particularly in the context of eWOM, where tomers' intention of using a particular system is essentially caused
OCRs have a discrete nature, the TAM may not deliver satisfactory by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. When cus-
understanding of customer intentions (Ayeh, 2015). Moreover, tomers identify that a specific system can improve their perfor-
previous research has highlighted a difference in the effects of mance, they are more likely to adopt that system (Davis, 1989). In
perceived usefulness and ease of use between the pre-implantation other words, if the system is useful, customers will have a positive
stage and the post-implantation stage (Bhattacherjee & attitude towards it and ultimately, will intend to use it. Perceived
Premkumar, 2004). usefulness, thus, is related to the individual's intention. Consistence
Addressing these limitations, Davis et al. (1992) extend the TAM with this notion, findings from a Web survey of 932 Internet users
model by introducing perceived enjoyment as an intrinsic moti- indicates that there is a direct, positive relationship between
vation. Davis et al. (1992) find that perceived enjoyment has a perceived usefulness and behavioural intention (Ahn, Ryu, & Han,
significant impact on behavioural intention. Perceived enjoyment 2004). This positive association has been confirmed by many
has been employed in different contexts: with the theory of other studies (Chen, Gillenson, & Sherrell, 2002; Limayem, Khalifa,
reasoned action (Wu & Liu, 2007); in an online shopping context & Frini, 2000; Trivedi & Kumar, 2014).
(Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001); and in eWOM research (Van Dolen The generalisability of much of the published studies on the
et al., 2007). The present study overcomes the aforementioned effects of OCRs, have reported the significant impact of OCRs on
limitations as it integrates perceived enjoyment as a predictor of customers' purchase intentions and sales (Clemons et al., 2006; Lu,
intention with the original TAM. Secondly, the present study is only Chang, & Chang, 2014; Ye, Law, Gu, & Chen, 2011). Perceived use-
concerned with the perceived factors derived from OCRs. Further- fulness in virtual communities comes from the belief that obtaining
more, it studies the effect of OCRs on customer trust and intention and sharing information with other customers enhances one's
in the pre-purchase stage. In other words, it examines how likely performance of using the system (Lin, 2007). Additionally, previous
customers are to make a purchase after reading the reviews. studies have highlighted the significant role of perceived usefulness
Nonetheless, the original TAM and its extensions fail to deal in adopting eWOM and OCRs (Casalo
et al., 2010; Liang et al., 2013).
with the gap between intention and actual behaviour, as TAM Moreover, Chen, Dhanasobhon, and Smith (2007) state that a
particularly focuses on the usage, while neglecting the actual ac- relationship exists between helpful reviews on [Link] and
tions. Due to intentions being made prior to the actual behaviour, sales growth. Review quality was found to be an important
and as the time gap between the intention and behaviour poten- dimension of the review usefulness (Cheung et al., 2008). In this
tially can be large, while also involving many required actions and regard, Park et al. (2007) reveal that sales of portable multimedia
decisions, and as intentions are often adjusted over a period of players are positively influenced by the quality of reviews.
time, it is vital to consider the psychological and instrumental Furthermore, Hsu et al. (2013) highlight that the online shopping
procedures between the intention and the actual behaviour intentions of customers who read blogs are influenced by the
(Bagozzi, 2007; Bagozzi & Edwards, 1998). perceived usefulness of the bloggers' recommendations. Mudambi
According to the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), intentions and Schuff (2010) indicate that OCRs provide analytic value infor-
can be only transmitted to the actual behaviour if that behaviour is mation throughout the various stages involved in the purchase
solely under an individual's perceived control (Ajzen, 1985; decision. Building on these, the perceived usefulness of OCRs is
Madden et al., 1992). An individual may desire to accomplish likely to influence customers' intention to shop online. This study,
certain behaviour; however, they might not have the knowledge, therefore, proposes the following hypothesis:
opportunity or the necessary resources to actually perform it. TPB
Hypothesis 1. Perceived usefulness of OCRs has a positive impact on
argues that perceived control is an exogenous variable that has a
customers’ intention to shop online.
direct effect on behaviour and an indirect effect through behav-
ioural intentions. The indirect influence is assumed to reflect the Trust is a fundamental driver in participating in shopping in
motivational implications that perceived control has on intentions, general, and particularly so in the online context (Gefen et al.,
while the direct effect is based on the assumption that the indi- 2003). Mcknight and Chervany (2002) point out that trust in on-
vidual has an actual control over the behaviour (Ajzen, 1991; line shopping, is not just between customers and a website, but also
Madden et al., 1992). In other words, perceived control affects between the system and customers. In other words, institutional
310 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

trust is as important as interpersonal trust in the online setting, valuable part of a website and has an impact on customer intention;
highlighting the importance of perceived usefulness and ease of use review usefulness may also influence customer trust. Finally,
in such contexts. Even though some TAM studies have suggested perceived ease of use of OCRs, as determined by their under-
that trust is affected by perceived ease of use, and is an antecedent standability and clearness is suggested to impact customer trust in
of perceived usefulness (Gefen et al., 2003), others have concluded the e-vendor (Gefen et al., 2003; Koufaris & Hampton-Sosa, 2004).
that both perceived usefulness and ease of use are antecedents of On the basis of these previous studies, this study proposes the
ecommerce trust (Koufaris & Hampton-Sosa, 2004). Awad and following hypotheses:
Ragowsky (2008), for instance, find that both the technology at-
Hypothesis 2. Perceived usefulness of OCRs has a positive effect on
tributes of perceived usefulness and those of perceived ease of use
customer trust in e-vendors.
have an impact on ecommerce trust. The absence of physical
interaction in online shopping requires the e-vendor to provide the Hypothesis 3. Perceived ease of use of OCRs has a positive effect on
required cues to enhance customer trust (Ling, bin Daud, Piew, customer trust in e-vendors.
Keoy, & Hassan, 2011). Useful, clear and easily understood infor-
Davis et al. (1992) extend the original TAM model to include
mation on websites are likely to decrease the confusion caused by
perceived enjoyment. They argue that the acceptance of a system
asymmetric information and increase the trust in e-vendors (Lan &
increases with enhanced enjoyment of using the system. In other
Chen, 2014). Also, Gefen et al. (2003) state that perceived ease of
words, the more enjoyable a system is, the higher the probability of
use may increase customer trust, with the perception that an e-
accepting it will be. Their results indicate a significant impact of
vendor is exploiting on the buyereseller relationship; indicating a
perceived enjoyment on behavioural intention. Interestingly, they
relationship assurance.
observe a positive interaction between usefulness and enjoyment,
suggesting that when a system is perceived to be more useful,
perceived enjoyment has a greater impact on behavioural inten-
tion. The same outcome has also been reported by the studies that
followed Davis et al. (1992). For instance, Teo, Lim, and Lai (1999)
using data from 1370 Internet users, find that perceived enjoy-
ment strongly influences Internet usage. Perceived enjoyment is
also found to be a strong motivation in the use of mobile services
(Nysveen, Pedersen, & Thorbjørnsen, 2005), to have a significant
influence on intention to play online games (Wu & Liu, 2007), and
to greatly influence customers' engagement with online shopping
(Ha & Stoel, 2009). The enjoyment of blog usage, likewise, is found
to positively affect tourists’ behavioural intention to visit a desti-
nation (Chen, Shang, & Li, 2014).
Furthermore, Reynolds and Ruiz de Maya (2013) state that
perceived enjoyment has an impact on customers' revisit intention
Fig. 1. Perceived derived attributes model (PDA). to the e-vendor's website. Moreover, in another examination by
Koufaris (2002), enjoyment was found to significantly and directly
affect repurchase intentions. The same findings were also obtained
In relation to OCRs, prior researches have suggested that online by another study (Bauer, Falk, & Hammerschmidt, 2006) in which
review systems are generally employed to improve customer trust customers' intention to return is reported to be influenced by their
in e-vendors (Awad & Ragowsky, 2008). Similarly, Chen, Wu, and perception of enjoyment. In addition, Van Dolen et al. (2007)
Yoon (2004) argue that an increase in information sources may conclude that perceived enjoyment of an online chat group af-
improve customer trust. According to an eMarketer report (2007), fects users' satisfaction with the chat. Furthermore, enjoyment is
customers trust e-vendors that provide OCRs more than they trust reported to be one of the main key drivers for customers' partici-
other online sources. Firstly, OCRs are often provided voluntarily by pation in virtual communities and eWOM (Cheung & Lee, 2012;
customers; hence, creating a high level of trustworthiness and Schindler & Bickart, 2005). Accordingly, it can be argued that the
credibility (Hu et al., 2010). Moreover, Sen and Lerman (2007) enjoyable experience provided by OCRs will affect customers' in-
demonstrate that customers have a tendency to trust OCRs, irre- tentions to shop online. This study, thus, proposes the following:
spective of their nature of being negative or positive. As reported by Hypothesis 4: Perceived enjoyment resulting from OCRs has a
Zhao and Lavin (2012), trust is facilitated by knowledge transfer. positive effect on customers’ intentions to shop online.
OCRs as trusted sources of online information are likely to enhance Furthermore, enjoyment is considered to be a motivation that
customer trust in an e-vendor, by transferring customer knowledge affects customers' online transactions (Chen & Barnes, 2007). The
and experience. Likewise, Hajli and Khani (2013) find that online cognitive perception of integrity that leads to trust is associated
communication through sharing experience and knowledge can with the initial reaction of customers (Mattila & Wirtz, 2000).
build online trust. Secondly, review helpfulness was found to be Furthermore, flow theory proposes that a positive reaction such as
related to product sales (Chen, Chang, and Yung 2007; Sen & enjoyment might boost more resources to deal with the concerned
Lerman, 2007). It has been also reported that 97% of customers task (Agarwal & Karahanna, 2000), suggesting that enjoyment may
found online reviews to be accurate (Nunn, 2010). Jarvenpaa, be connected to the ability aspect of ecommerce trust (Hwang &
Tractinsky, and Saarinen (1999) indicate that the higher customer Kim, 2007). Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa (2002) conducted an
trust is, the more customers perceive the e-vendor's website to be experimental study that demonstrated that a positive enjoyable
useful. In this regard, Kumar and Benbasat (2006) established that experience with an e-vendor website enhances customer trust in
the perceived usefulness of an e-vendor increases when OCRs are the e-vendor through the perceived usefulness and ease of use of
available. Xiaorong, Bin, Qinghong, Liuli, and Yu (2011) also find the website. Likewise, perceived enjoyment is found to influence
that eWOM information has significant influence on customer website appeal, which significantly affects customer trust
trust. Given that the review system is deemed to be a useful and (Hampton-Sosa & Koufaris, 2005). Moreover, Chen and Barnes
 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319 311

(2007), using data from four online bookstores, reveal that enjoy- control over their actions, the level of insecurity and risk is likely to
ment of technology is positively associated with customers' initial be reduced (Hampton-Sosa & Koufaris, 2005). Bart, Shankar, Sultan,
trust. The three attributes of ecommerce trust of integrity, benev- and Urban (2005), using data from 25 different websites, point out
olence and ability, have shown a tendency to be influenced by that website characteristics that are concerned with perceived
customers’ perception of enjoyment (Chen & Barnes, 2007). It is control affect customer online trust. Hoffman, Novak, and Peralta
expected, therefore, that perceived enjoyment of OCRs impacts on (1999) highlight that customers’ perception of control directly in-
customer trust. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed: fluences their online shopping security. This suggests that a high
level of control over the online shopping process is likely to
Hypothesis 5. Perceived enjoyment resulting from OCRs has a pos-
generate online trust. Consistent with this, Collier and Sherrell
itive effect on customers’ trust in e-vendors.
(2010) reveal that perceived control positively influences
According to the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), perceived customer trust in service providers. Suh and Han (2003), collecting
control refers to the necessary resources and opportunities for data from Internet banking users, also establish that the level of
accomplishing a task (Ajzen, 1991). The greater the resources and perceived control has a positive impact on ecommerce trust. Taken
support customers believe they possess, the greater the control together, these results suggest that there is an association between
they have over their behaviour. When customers believe that they the sense of control resulting from OCRs and customer trust in
possess a high degree of control over accomplishing a behaviour, online shopping. Therefore, this study proposes the following:
because of the available resources, their ability to perform that
Hypothesis 7. Perceived control resulting from OCRs positively im-
behaviour increases (Madden et al., 1992). In this sense, OCRs as an
pacts customer trust in the e-vendors.
additional resource of reliable information will increase a cus-
tomer's sense of control over the online shopping process. Koufaris Trust is generally defined as a belief (Hampton-Sosa & Koufaris,
(2002), additionally, claims that the complex environment of online 2005). Trust plays an important role in influencing customers' ac-
shopping has resulted in demands for more control by customers. tions towards e-vendor websites (Hampton-Sosa & Koufaris, 2005).
Website features that would ease the customers' job of finding Failing to provide a certain level of trustworthiness is likely to
what they need, however, could overcome such issues. OCRs work prevent customers from participating in online shopping, since
in a way that helps customers to find what they are seeking by customers are often anxious of e-vendor opportunistic behaviour
providing trustworthy information based on other customers' ex- (Hoffman et al., 1999). Once trust in an e-vendor is built, customers
periences (Gruen et al., 2006). Based on Koufaris's (2002) sugges- will form a positive belief towards online shopping, resulting in a
tions, OCRs could play a significant role in increasing the sense of purchase intention (Gefen et al., 2003). According to the TPB, cus-
customer control. Customers' ability to accomplish a task is greatly tomers' beliefs are important drivers for intentions to purchase
associated with their confidence in performing the task (Bandura, (Ajzen, 1991). Thus, when customers believe that the e-vendor is
Adams, Hardy, & Howells, 1980). trustworthy, they are likely to use an e-vendor's website to perform
Moreover, prior research has revealed that perceived control has an online purchase (Hampton-Sosa & Koufaris, 2005).
a significant influence on customer behaviour. For example, Wang, Previous investigations have exposed that trust is a significant
Chen, Chang, and Yang (2007), using data from both online and off antecedent of participating in online shopping (Gefen et al., 2003;
online shoppers, find that the greater the customer's perception of Gefen & Straub, 2004; Pavlou, 2003). Kim, Ferrin, and Rao (2008)
control, the stronger the intention is to shop online will be. Their reveal that customers' behavioural intentions regarding online
findings, interestingly, also show that the effect of perceived control shopping are strongly affected by Internet trust. Likewise, in
is stronger than the effect of attitude on customer's intention to Taiwan, trust is found to positively affect nurses' intentions to use
shop online. Similarly Nysveen et al. (2005), find that behavioural an electronic logistics information system (Tung, Chang, & Chou,
control has a strong impact on the intention to use mobile services. 2008). Xiaorong et al. (2011) find that trust originating from
Wang (2010) also establishes that perceived control, in the E-tail eWOM information, has a significant positive effect on customers'
context, positively affects online customers' intentions. Addition- intentions. Ling et al. (2011) establish that customer trust signifi-
ally, the intention to participate in permission-based mobile com- cantly and positively affects customers’ engagement in online ac-
munications with a company appears to be influenced by tivities in Singapore. In addition, Shukla (2014) using a self-
individuals' perception of control (Karjaluoto, Lehto, Leppa€niemi, & administered structured questionnaire, finds that online trust
Jayawardhena, 2008). Furthermore, Chang (2008) reveals that positively influences customer purchase intentions. In another
satisfaction is related to perceived control, indicating that the examination by Hsu et al. (2013), trust is also found to have a
higher the sense of control that customers possess, the greater their positive significant impact on blog readers to shop online. It is
satisfaction will be. Besides, Wang (2014) finds that playing online therefore suggested that customers who trust e-vendors that pro-
games is positively and significantly influenced by the level of vide OCRs are more likely to make a purchase. Consequently, this
perceived control. Overall, these results suggest that perceived study, proposes the following:
control is associated with customers' behavioural intention. In this
Hypothesis 8. Trust in e-vendors who provide OCRs has a positive
study, thus, we propose the following hypothesis:
impact on customers’ intentions to shop online.
Hypothesis 6. Perceived control resulting from OCRs has a positive
influence on customers’ intention to shop online.
5. Methodology
As previously mentioned, OCRs facility could possibly increase
the sense of customer control as often they are easily found, are 5.1. Research design
additional resources and offer trustworthy evaluation information
(Koufaris, 2002; Van Dolen et al., 2007). Such a sense of control In order to understand the effects of OCRs’ derived factors on
resulting from OCRs, may lead to an increase in customer trust in customer trust and intention, a focus group and a paper-based
online shopping; as perceived control is considered to be an survey were conducted. According to Remenyi, Williams, and
influential factor in the online trust setting (Eastlick, Lotz, & Money (1998), using mixed methods is a suitable method in
Warrington, 2006). When the individuals have a high level of management and business studies. Similarly, Bryman (2003)
312 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

argues that using both qualitative and quantitative techniques of the questionnaire on a small sample, representing the main
enhances research reliability. Additionally, because of the study population. A total of 49 responses were collected. Coefficient
compatibility between qualitative and quantitative approaches, alpha (Cronbach's alpha) and item-to-total correlations were
employing tools from both approaches is considered to be appro- applied to test the reliability of the instrument (Churchill, 1979).
priate (Howe, 1988). Nunnally (1978) proposes that a score of 0.5e0.6 is acceptable to
A focus group was first formed to examine the rationality and ensure the item's reliability. All the constructs, however, achieved a
suitability of the research model. The research model was discussed Cronbach's alpha score of greater than 0.7. In addition, item-to-total
in great detail, which resulted in a better and deeper understanding correlations were used to test the relationship between particular
of the individuals' views of OCRs’ derived attributes. The feedback items in the same set.
and suggestions from the focus group were merged into the pro- Based on the participants’ feedback from the pre-test and pilot
posed model and were used to form the design of the survey. test, several questions were modified. The final questionnaire
Secondly, the initial questionnaire was constructed based on the consisted of 24 questions, representing demographic information
research model with consideration of the related literature. The and the six variables previously mentioned.
questionnaire asked participants to answer sets of questions based
on a five-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). The
5.3. Sample
questionnaire consists of six variables: perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, perceived control,
Date was collected from users of [Link] in London.
customer trust, and purchase intention. In addition, four de-
Amazon was chosen as it is a leading and successful online retailer,
mographic questions (age, gender, education, and profession) and
in which, arguably, its OCRs facility are regarded as its most
three questions on online behaviour (Internet use, online shopping
powerful features (Chen & Xie, 2008). The data collection process
use, and posting behaviour) were asked.
took eight weeks, in which 515 responses were received, creating a
To fulfil the study's aim, a measurement scale was adopted and
response rate of 41.2%, 489 of which were deemed to be useable.
modified to the context of this study. Measurements for perceived
Descriptive statistics show that 52.8% of the respondents were male
usefulness and perceived ease of use were adopted from Gefen et al.
and 47.2% were female, and they were aged 19e46 years. More than
(2003) and Koufaris (2002). Perceived enjoyment and perceived
83% of the participants have a university degree or higher. The
control were assessed by adopting the scale used by Van Dolen et al.
majority of the respondents (i.e. 82.8%) have more than six years’
(2007). Measurements for trust were adopted from Lee and Turban
experience with using the Internet and possess an acceptable fa-
(2001). Finally, purchase intention was measured by adopting
miliarity with posting and reading OCRs.
measurements from Gefen et al. (2003) and Hsu et al. (2013).
Summary of measurement scales is presented in Table 1.
6. Data analysis and results
5.2. Pre-test and pilot test
6.1. Descriptive statistics
Both a pre-test and a pilot test were employed to test whether
the items of the questionnaire actually measure the study’ con- The descriptive statistics show generally positive responses by
structs. The pre-test involved eight participants, who frequently the participants to the constructs of the framework, as all means
post and read online reviews and shop online at least four times a were greater than 3.0. The descriptive statistics also illustrate that
month, being asked to provide feedback on the questionnaire. The all constructs have a small standard deviation score, suggesting that
following areas of the questionnaire were evaluated: content, the data are clustered around the mean, signifying that the data is
format, wording and length. reliable. Means and standard deviations of the constructs are
A pilot test was then conducted in order to check the suitability illustrated in Table 2.

Table 1
Summary of measurement scales.

Construct Item Source

Perceived Online customer reviews enhance my online shopping effectiveness Gefen et al. (2003) and Koufaris
usefulness Online customer reviews increase my effectiveness when shopping online (2002)
I find using online customer reviews useful
Perceived ease of Online customer reviews services are not confusing Gefen et al. (2003) and Koufaris
use Online customer reviews services do not take a lot of time as a customer (2002)
My interaction with online customer reviews is manageable and understandable
Perceived I find the experience of reading online customer reviews is enjoyable Van Dolen et al. (2007)
enjoyment I find the experience of reading online customer reviews is pleasant
Online customer reviews are interesting
Perceived control I feel more in control of online shopping when using online customer reviews Van Dolen et al. (2007)
Through online customer reviews, I have a direct influence on finding the information I need
Online customer reviews enable me to obtain on the necessary information
Trust Shopping from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews is unreliable Lee and Turban (2001)
Shopping from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews cannot be trusted; there are just too many
uncertainties
In general, I cannot rely on an Internet vendor that provides online customer reviews to keep the promises they
make
Purchase I strongly recommend others should shop from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews Gefen et al. (2003) and Hsu et al.
intention I would be willing to provide my credit card details when purchasing from an online retailer that provides online (2013)
customer reviews
I would be willing to provide information to an online retailer that provides online customer reviews
 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319 313

Table 2
Descriptive statistics.

Construct N Mean Median SD Cronbach's a Skewness Kurtosis

Perceived usefulness 489 3.68 3.67 0.71 0.752 0.404 0.949

Perceived ease of use 489 3.44 3.33 0.71 0.789 0.315 0.006
Perceived enjoyment 489 3.30 3.33 0.80 0.846 0.476 0.33
Perceived control 489 3.45 3.33 0.71 0.799 0.068 0.029
Trust in e-vendor 489 3.42 3.67 0.76 0.730 0.223 0.011
Purchase intention 489 3.29 3.33 0.70 0.822 0.616 0.659

6.2. Normality, reliability and validity 6.3. Measurement model

6.2.1. First, the data was checked for normality Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess mea-
Skewness and kurtosis tests were employed. Results show that surement properties of scales. A standardised loading of at least
the data is in the acceptable range for skewness and kurtosis 0.62 was recorded for all items, with a significant loading on their
(i.e.
2.58) (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). Moreover, the particular variable (Hair et al., 2010). Composite reliability (CR) was
graphical analysis shows similar scores among the mean and me- employed to measure the internal consistency reliability of the
dian, suggesting that the data is normally distributed. survey. Consistent with Hair et al. (2010) and Nunnally (1994), all
Following the normality check, the KaisereMeyereOlkin (KMO) variable scored a composite reliability of greater than 0.7. Average
and principal component factor analysis were employed to assess variance expected (AVE), that is the explained average variance of
sample adequacy and scale validity. A KMO value of 0.787 was an item's loading (Hair et al., 2010), results showed that the six
obtained, indicating that the sample is appropriate for conducting variables were 0.5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Item loading, Com-
principal component factor analysis. The principal component posite reliability (CR) and Average variance expected (AVE) are
factor analysis was applied to all six constructs, using the rotation shown in Table 4.
method of Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Convergent validity Table 5 shows that the square root of the AVE is greater than any
reflecting the items' association with the variables was first other correlations among the variables, suggesting that the vari-
assessed. The intra-correlations among theoretically comparable ables are different and discriminant validity is met. Such results
items were strong. Discriminant validity, on the other hand, reconfirm the convergent and discriminant validity of the mea-
showed each variable's items to be unique and that they do not surement scales.
interfere with other variables. Moreover, taking into account the
large sample and the low correlation between different variables, 6.4. Model fit and hypothesis testing
multicollinearity issues are removed (Field, 2005). Six components
were extracted, each with an absolute value greater than 0.4. All Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS 20.0.0 was
items were loaded onto each specific variable, explaining 71.9% of employed to assess the hypothesised theoretical model. Firstly, the
the total variance. In addition, as can be seen from Table 3, all items structural model fit was evaluated. Chi-square results (x2 (144
showed high factor loadings between 7.30 and 8.70, and each item df) ¼ 381.789) (p < 0.0001) suggest that the model fit is unsatis-
presented a higher loading on its equivalent variable than other factory. Chi-square statistics, however, are very sensitive to the
variables, suggesting that satisfactory validity of convergent and sample size (Hair et al., 2010); therefore, it is an inadequate index in
discriminant validity were met. this study to reject the model. Thus, the following statistics were
Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the scales' reliability. All of selected to determine the structural model's fit: Goodness-of-Fit
the scales achieved a score of greater than 0.7, which meets Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI), Normed Fit
Nunnally's (1978) suggestions for acceptable reliability. The reli- Index (NFI), TuckereLewis Index (TLI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI),
ability scores are shown in Table 2. Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and Root

Table 3
Rotated component matrix.

Items Components

1 2 3 4 5 6

Online customer reviews enhance my online shopping effectiveness 0.831

Online customer reviews increase my effectiveness when shopping online 0.777
I find using online customer reviews useful 0.729
Online customer reviews services are not confusing 0.792
Online customer reviews services do not take a lot of time as a customer 0.827
My interaction with online customer reviews is manageable and understandable 0.789
I find the experience of reading online customer reviews is enjoyable 0.870
I find the experience of reading online customer reviews is pleasant 0.864
Online customer reviews are interesting 0.797
I feel more in control of online shopping when using online customer reviews 0.784
Through online customer reviews, I have a direct influence on finding the information I need 0.791
Online customer reviews enable me to obtain the necessary information 0.720
Shopping from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews is unreliable 0.877
Shopping from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews cannot be trusted; there are just too many uncertainties 0.842
In general, I cannot rely on an Internet vendor that provides online customer reviews to keep the promises they make 0.787
I strongly recommend others should shop from e-vendors that provide online customer reviews 0.745
I would be willing to provide my credit card details when purchasing from an online retailer that provides online customer reviews 0.818
I would be willing to provide information to an online retailer that provides online customer reviews 0.731
314 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

Table 4
Item loading, composite reliability (CR) and average variance expected (AVE).

Construct Item Loadings CR AVE

Perceived usefulness PU1 0.84 0.754 0.510

PU2 0.64
PU3 0.65
Perceived ease of use PEOU1 0.69 0.803 0.578
PEOU2 0.73
PEOU3 0.84
Perceived enjoyment PE1 0.79 0.788 0.553
PE2 0.73
PE3 0.79
Perceived control PC1 0.74 0.814 0.594
PC2 0.75
PC3 0.74 *
Fig. 2. PDA model: results of structural modelling analysis. Significant.
Trust T1 0.95 0.867 0.687
T2 0.75
T3 0.73 Furthermore, perceived control derived from OCRs has a sig-
Purchase intention PI1 0.74 0.730 0.500 nificant impact on customers' intention to shop online, supporting
PI2 0.62 H6 (b ¼ 0.14, p < 0.05). Perceived control resulting from OCRs had a
PI3 0.70
positive effect on customer trust in the e-vendor. Unexpectedly, this
effect was insignificant; however, when the sample was further
categorised according to the participants' review reading behav-
Table 5
iour, it was found that customers' trust is affected by the perceived
A factor correlation matrix with the square root of the AVE.
control of OCRs for those customers who frequently read OCRs
PU PEOU PE PC T PI before making a purchase (b ¼ 0.352, p < 0.001). On the other hand,
PU 0.714 perceived control had no significant impact on customer trust for
PEOU 0.211 0.760 customers who “sometimes or never” check the OCRs before
PE 0.344 0.304 0.771
making a purchase. Finally, supporting H8, trust in the e-vendor,
PC 0.558 0.460 0.485 0.744
T 0.271 0.406 0.280 0.284 0.829 unsurprisingly was found to have a significant influence on cus-
PI 0.537 0.275 0.466 0.444 0.305 0.690 tomers’ intention to shop online (b ¼ 0.11, p < 0.009). Table 7 shows
a summary of hypothesis assessment.

Means Square Residual (RMR) (Hair et al., 2010). GFI, CFI, NFI, AGFI
7. Discussion
and TLI values of between 0.8 and 0.89 are considered to be a
reasonable fit, while values between 0.9 and 1.0 are considered to
This study investigates the influence of the usefulness, ease of
be a good fit. RMSEA values less than 0.05 are considered to be a
use, enjoyment and control factors of OCRs on customer trust and
good fit, and values between 0.06 and 0.08 are considered as an
purchasing intention. Understanding the effects of such influencing
acceptable fit. RMR values of less than 0.08 are preferred (Hair et al.,
factors is of importance for both theoretical development and
2010; MacCallum, Browne, & Sugawara, 1996). Indices results show
business practices. The present study introduces the perceived
that GFI ¼ 0.922, AGFI ¼ 0.884, CFI ¼ 0.924, NFI ¼ 0.90, TLI ¼ 0.90,
derived attributes model (PDA) in order to provide greater insight
RMSEA ¼ 0.069, and RM ¼ 0.032, which suggests that the model fit
on the impact of OCRs on customer behaviour. This study extends
is acceptable (Hair et al., 2010). Model fit indices are presented in
the TAM by the inclusion of perceived control from the Theory of
Table 6.
Planned Behaviour (TPB), and applies the research of TAM to the
The results of the PDA model are presented in Fig. 2. As expected
OCRs context. In addition, the findings show that the perceived
in H1, the perceived usefulness of OCRs has a positive significant
derived attributes of OCRs significantly influence customers’ trust
effect on customers' intention to shop online. The results support
in the e-vendor and their intentions to shop online.
H1 (b ¼ 0.35, p < 0.001) suggesting that customer intention to shop
The study indicates that the perceived usefulness of OCRs has a
with e-vendors is affected by the usefulness of customer reviews
significant direct influence on customer purchase intention. Pre-
provided. The findings also support H2 (b ¼ 0.17, p < 0.009) indi-
vious work such as Davis (1989), Gefen et al. (2003), Limayem et al.
cating that perceived usefulness of OCRs significantly impacts
(2000), and Pavlou (2003), reports that perceived usefulness
customers' trust in the e-vendor. Moreover, perceived ease of use of
strongly affects customers' intention to shop online. The present
OCRs has a significant influence on customers’ trust in the e-vendor
study expands these works to establish that customers' purchase
(b ¼ 0.35, p < 0.001); hence, supporting H3.
intention is significantly affected by the perceived usefulness
H4 regards that the enjoyment resulting from OCRs has a pos-
derived from OCRs. Furthermore, while Liang et al. (2013)
itive significant impact on customers' intentions to shop online. The
demonstrate that the adoption of eWOM, as determined by its
results support H4 (b ¼ 0.22, p < 0.001), suggesting that enjoyment
usefulness, positively affects customer behavioural intention, our
plays an important role in affecting customers' decision to shop
study demonstrates that perceived usefulness derived from OCRs is
online. Likewise, the effects of perceived enjoyment of OCRs on
a main vital element that directly affects customers' intentions to
customers’ trust in the e-vendor was significant (b ¼ 0.14,
shop online. Similar to OCRs, a study of recommendations provided
p < 0.020); therefore, H5 is supported.
by blogs, shows that their perceived usefulness significantly affects
customers' intention to purchase (Hsu et al., 2013). The results of
Table 6 our study, therefore, confirm previous studies and highlight the
Model fit indices. potential importance of the perceived usefulness of OCRs in
Index x2 DF GFI AGFI CFI NFI TLI RMSEA RMR
affecting customers’ intentions to purchase online, signifying that
e-vendors should allow customers to post reviews on their
Score 381.789 144 0.922 0.884 0.924 0.90 0.90 0.069 0.032
websites.
 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319 315

Table 7
Hypothesis assessment.

No. Research hypothesis S. Estimate P Value Results Effect significance

H1 Perceived usefulness of OCRs has a significant impact on customers' intention to shop online 0.35 0.001 Supported Significant
H2 Perceived usefulness of OCRs has a significant impact on customer trust in e-vendors 0.17 0.009 Supported Significant
H3 Perceived ease of use of OCRs has a significant impact on customer trust in e-vendors 0.35 0.001 Supported Significant
H4 Perceived enjoyment, resulting from OCRs, has a significant impact on customers' intentions to shop online 0.22 0.001 Supported Significant
H5 Perceived enjoyment, resulting from OCRs, has a significant impact on customers' trust in an e-vendor 0.14 0.020 Supported Significant
H6 Perceived control, resulting from OCRs, has a significant impact on customers' intention to shop online 0.14 0.050 Supported Significant
H7 Perceived control, resulting from OCRs, has a significant impact on customer trust in the e-vendor. 0.049 0.070 Rejected Insignificant
…
… …people who always read the review before making a purchase 0.35 0.001 Supported Significant
…
… …people who “sometimes, never” read the review before making a purchase 0.05 0.060 Rejected Insignificant
H8 Trust in e-vendors who provide OCRs has a significant impact on customers' intentions to shop online 0.11 0.009 Supported Significant

The findings also show that the perceived usefulness and particularly highlight the importance of the control perception in
perceived ease of use of OCRs are important antecedents of trust in the context of eWOM. Studies by Wang et al. (2007) and Nysveen
the online context. Whereas Awad and Ragowsky (2008) find that et al. (2005) show that the perception of control has a strong ef-
perceived usefulness and ease of use of an online retailer's website fect on customer intention. The results of our study, however,
have a positive influence on online trust in general, our findings strongly suggest that the presence of perceived control in a TAM
establish that perceived usefulness and ease of use derived from model helps to provide a better understanding of customer
OCRs significantly affect trust in the e-vender itself. The usefulness behavioural intention online.
of OCRs as determined by enhancing a customer's online shopping Contrary to expectations, this study did not find a significant
effectiveness and increasing their shopping efficiency, boosts the effect of perceived control derived from OCRs on customer trust in
level of trust in the e-vendor. Interestingly, this suggests that e- the e-vendor. Previous studies have reported that perceived control
vendors who provide OCRs seem to be trustworthy, regardless of has an impact on trust (Collier & Sherrell, 2010). A possible expla-
whether the reviews are positive or negative. In contrast to some nation for the lack of support for this hypothesised relationship
eWOM research that has argued that some positive or negative between control and trust may be due to the level of control pro-
reviews might be harmful for sales (Schindler & Bickart, 2005; vided by OCRs being insufficient to influence customers' trust in the
Standifird, 2001), our study reveals that OCRs, irrespective of e-vendor. As trust leads to intention (Gefen et al., 2003; Pavlou,
their content, could still be useful and may possibly increase cus- 2003), it seems possible that the level of perception of control
tomers' trust in an e-vendor. Moreover, the significant effect of the required to influence trust is greater than the level required to in-
perceived ease of use of OCRs on customer trust proposes that any fluence intention to purchase. This might explain why perceived
easily understandable interaction between a customer and an e- control resulting from OCRs influences customers’ intentions but
vendor's website created by OCRs could build trust in the e-vendor. not their trust. However, categorising the sample into further
Additionally, the findings support previous studies in the online groups according to their behaviour in relation to reading reviews
shopping context, where Gefen et al. (2003) and Tung et al. (2008) surprisingly generated interesting results. The findings reveal that
find that ecommerce trust is affected by perceived usefulness and perceived control derived from OCRs, for customers who frequently
ease of use. read OCRs before making an online purchase, has a significant ef-
This study also indicates that perceived enjoyment resulting fect on their trust in the online vendors. On the other hand, for
from OCRs significantly affects customers' intention to shop online. customers who do not often read OCRs before making a purchase,
Enjoyment was found to be a key driver impacting customer pur- their trust is not influenced by their perception of control. One
chase intentions (Davis et al., 1992; Ha & Stoel, 2009; Koufaris, possible explanation of the observed associations might be related
2002; Teo et al., 1999). Our findings, however, expands the exist- to the possession of information. The more information customers
ing work (Davis et al., 1992; Ha & Stoel, 2009; Koufaris, 2002; Teo have the more control they possess over their online shopping
et al., 1999) to suggest that the element of enjoyment in OCRs is process (Madden et al., 1992). Hence, this could lead to greater trust
an important motive for customers to shop online. The more for those who always read OCRs as they have more information.
enjoyable the OCRs are, the more likely the customer will engage in Also, as OCRs are usually perceived to provide trustworthy infor-
online shopping. Interestingly, this study also shows that perceived mation (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001) customers who always read
enjoyment resulting from OCRs boosts customers’ trust in an e- OCRs should have more trust in an e-vendors that allow OCRs on
vendor. The relationship between enjoyment and customer trust is their website.
significant. Customers seem to trust e-vendors who provide OCRs Finally, the study found that trust significantly impacts cus-
that have the element of enjoyment. This result matches those tomers’ intention to shop online. This finding mirrors those of
observed in an earlier study by Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa (2002), previous studies that examined the effect of trust on behavioural
who notice that an enjoyable experience with the e-vendor im- intention (Gefen et al., 2003; Lan & Chen, 2014; Ling et al., 2011;
proves customer trust. Such an enjoyable experience could be Pavlou, 2003; Pavlou & Gefen, 2004; Zhou, 2012). Our outcomes
derived by reading OCRs (Van Dolen et al., 2007), which is likely to clearly confirm that trust is a key antecedent of customer intention
result in increasing trust in the e-vendor. in online shopping. When the e-vendor is perceived to be trust-
In addition, perceived control resulting from OCRs was con- worthy, customers are more likely to perform an online purchase.
ceptualised as affecting customer's behavioural intention and trust.
A major theoretical result of this study relates to perceived control, 8. Conclusions
as it was proposed that perceived control was part of a TAM model.
The findings reveal that the sense of control resulting from OCRs This study proposed a research model called Perceived Derived
can influence customers' intention to shop online. In other words, Attributes (PDA), which addresses the issues of the perceived
the higher the sense of control provided by the OCRs, the more derived attributes of OCRs. The focus of the PDA model was to
likely a customer is to make an online purchase. The results address the research question, which is ‘What are the effects of the
316 A. Elwalda et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 306e319

perceived derived attributes of OCRs on customer trust and pur- encourage customers to post reviews on their websites and to
chase intention?’ The PDA model argues that the perceived derived participate more in eWOM. E-vendors, through OCRs, can influence
attributes of OCRs have an impact on customer trust and intentions. customer's decisions and intentions.
Principally, the PDA model claims that the perceived usefulness, Furthermore, trust in e-vendors can be built by providing OCRs.
perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and perceived control The attributes of OCRs as being useful, clear, understandable,
positively affect customer trust in the e-vendor and customer in- pleasant and enjoyable, are key drivers for developing customer
tentions to shop online. The PDA model was validated through a trust. Therefore, posting reviews that hold such attributes should
survey of 489 users of [Link]. be encouraged. Even though some of these reviews might be
The results revealed that perceived derived attributes from negative, the results show that regardless of the nature of the re-
OCRs play an important role in affecting customer behaviour. This views, OCRs can still be beneficial for e-vendors. For instance,
study established that customer purchase intentions are signifi- previous research on eWOM proposes that e-vendors should
cantly affected by the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease embrace online reviews rather than fear them (Burton &
of use derived from OCRs. Additionally, the perceived usefulness Khammash, 2010). The experience of reading the reviews on an
and the perceived ease of use derived from OCRs are important e-vendor's website seems to have a great impact on customers;
antecedents of trust in an online context. The study's results also hence, this could be considered by e-vendors in their marketing
revealed that the perceived enjoyment resulting from OCRs strategies. To stimulate such attributes in OCRs, certain tools may
significantly affects customer trust and customer intentions to shop be installed within the review system.
online. Interestingly, the results also show that customers seem to Moreover, results indicate that the element of enjoyment in
trust e-vendors who provide OCRs that have the element of OCRs is very important in building trust and influencing customers'
enjoyment, suggesting enjoyment as a key factor affecting intention to shop online. It appears that online shoppers are
customer trust. interested in enjoyment factors while online shopping. As OCRs
The perceived control resulting from OCRs was hypothesised to might provide an enjoyable experience (Van Dolen et al., 2007), e-
influence customers' behavioural intentions and customer trust. vendors should work in a way that improves the online shopping
The results indicated that the sense of control resulting from OCRs experience. In the context of OCRs, this can be achieved, for
affects customers' intentions to shop online. Surprisingly, the re- example, by creating an enjoyable atmosphere for the OCR service
sults showed no significant effect of perceived control derived from or by interacting more often with customer's reviews.
OCRs on customer trust in the e-vendor. However, when the sample The results of this study also highlight the role of perceived
was further grouped according to customers’ behaviour in relation control in influencing customers' trust in e-vendors. OCRs provide a
to reading reviews surprisingly generated interesting results. The sense of control that results in increased trust in e-vendors, espe-
results showed that perceived control derived from OCRs, for cus- cially for customers who frequently read OCRs before purchasing.
tomers who frequently read OCRs before making an online pur- Thus, e-vendors might develop a tool to stimulate customers to
chase, has a significant effect on their trust in the online vendors. frequently read the online reviews on their websites. E-vendors
On the other hand, for customers who do not often read OCRs also could hire communication advisors who may improve cus-
before making a purchase, their trust is not affected by their tomers’ interaction with the reviews.
perception of control resulting from OCRs. Finally, the findings reveal that online shoppers tend to trust e-
The results of this study offer several theoretical implications vendors who provide OCRs, which in turn affects customers’ deci-
that add to the literature in many influential ways. First, this study sion to purchase. It is vital, therefore, for e-vendors to benefit from
introduces the Perceived Derived Attributes (PDA) model, which the communication provided by OCRs and enhance it in a way that
integrates perceived control from TPB with TAM for understanding ensures the above-mentioned attributes are included.
the effects of OCRs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first
attempt to introduce and investigate the effects of the attributes 9. Limitations and future research
resulting from OCRs. It extends the TAM by arguing that the in-
clusion of perceived control from the TPB in the TAM is vital when The study offers an understanding of the effects of OCRs on
analysing the effects of OCRs and eWOM. The PDA model claims customer trust and intention; however, the generalisability of the
that the effects of OCRs are not only limited to the virtual attributes, study's results is subject to certain limitations. Firstly, the sample
such as volume and valance, but also that the perceived derived was self-selected from users of [Link]. In addition, 52.8% of
attributes of OCRs have an impact on customers’ behaviour. the sample were aged 18e25 years and 83% were well educated.
Moreover, to the extent of our knowledge, there is no study Hence, future study could use a larger data set with different de-
investigating the influence of perceived usefulness, perceived ease mographic groups. Secondly, the framework was tested on those
of use, perceived enjoyment and perceived control derived from customers who shop online at [Link], therefore, applying
OCRs on customer trust and behavioural intention. This study this framework to other e-vendors who specialise in similar prod-
found that these four functional attributes resulting from OCRs ucts such as clothes and electronics, is recommended. Furthermore,
have an impact on customer trust and intentions to shop online. the study was conducted in the UK. Shopping lifestyle and culture
Additionally, the findings from this study suggest several might vary among countries; hence, it is suggested to test the
meaningful implications for managers that could possibly enhance framework in different countries. Moreover, a questionnaire
the relationship and communication between e-vendors and cus- method was deemed to be suitable for this study. A controlled
tomers, build trust and ultimately boost sales for e-vendors. experiment might further be used in the future research to test the
Firstly, with regard to the general implications, this study shows proposed model. Finally, the inclusion of other variables, for
that OCRs play an important role, affecting customer trust and instance, OCRs' credibility, similarity and social support into the
intention, suggesting that e-vendors need to allow customers to study framework might verify the model's validity.
post reviews on their websites. Additionally, the perceived useful-
ness, ease of use, enjoyment, and control of OCRs have been
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