“Why do you find similar reviews helpful?”: Psychological mechanisms of the effect of linguistic style matching on review helpfulness

Although previous studies have examined the relationship between Language Style Matching (LSM) and review helpfulness, little research has been devoted to exploring the underlying psychological mechanism of the effect. The current research was conducted to investigate the effect of LSM on review helpfulness, and to introduce perceived credibility as the psychological mechanism that explains the effect. The findings from three experimental studies have shown that perceived credibility explains the positive effect of LSM on review helpfulness. Moreover, consumers find that reviews with high LSM are more helpful and credible when experts rather than peers provide the reviews. This research contributes to the literature on LSM and the helpfulness of reviews by showing how congruency in the language of the review provided by experts increases the reviews' appeal and offers practical suggestions for managers and marketers to better manage their product and service reviews. • One of the first research to understand the psychological mechanism behind the positive relationship of Linguistic Style Matching (LSM) on review helpfulness. • Perceived credibility mediates the relationship between LSM and review helpfulness. • The relationship between LSM and review helpfulness is moderated by the level of expertise, such that high similarity (or LSM) reviews are more (or less) helpful and credible when provided by experts (or peers).