Research on the Impact of Merchant Response Attribution on Consumer Purchase Intention and the Moderating Role of Review Page Valence

Online product reviews and merchant responses significantly influence consumer purchase behavior, particularly when negative reviews are involved. However, previous research has primarily focused on one specific review, ignoring the textual context in which the review and merchant's response appear. This study explores how the overall perception of consumers on a review page (whether negative or positive reviews dominate) and the merchant's response strategy (internal vs. external attribution) affect consumers' purchase intention. Using a 2×2 experimental design, the study found that, compared to external attribution, merchant's response with internal attribution significantly reduces consumer risk perception, which in turn lowers the negative impact on purchase intentions. Additionally, when consumer's overall perception to evaluation page is negative, compared with external attribution, the negative effect of the merchant's internal attribution response on the consumer's purchase intention will be weakened. This study enriches the theoretical framework on online reviews and offers practical guidance for merchants on how to respond to negative reviews.