Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is a prominent source of information that significantly influences consumer purchase decisions. Recent literature has extensively explored the impact of eWOM on consumers-generated reviews and purchase decisions. However, few studies have analyzed the role of culture on eWOM. We use a novel dataset of Airbnb eWOM messages in order to empirically extend the findings by Banerjee and Chai (2019). We find that the sentiment of individualistic customers is worse than that of their collectivistic counterparts when both groups experience the same level of negative disconfirmations. Furthermore, guests from a relatively more distant culture rely less on heuristics. In particular, quality signals, such as the "superhost" status, are more influential to consumers from a less distant cultural background.

翻译：电子口碑（eWOM）是显著影响消费者购买决策的重要信息来源。近期文献广泛探讨了电子口碑对消费者生成评价及购买决策的影响，但少有研究分析文化在电子口碑中的作用。我们利用Airbnb电子口碑信息的新数据集，对Banerjee和Chai（2019）的研究发现进行了实证扩展。研究发现，当个体主义文化背景的消费者与集体主义文化背景的消费者经历相同程度的负面失验时，前者的情感评分显著低于后者。此外，来自文化距离较远群体的消费者更少依赖启发式决策。具体而言，"超级房东"身份等质量信号对来自文化距离较近背景的消费者具有更强的影响力。