Since the Internet has significantly changed the sources for delivery of information, seller-centric marketing messages are no longer as effective. Lee and Koo (2012) indicate that consumers trust peer consumers more than they trust corporations, and are likely to use information provided by fellow consumers to evaluate products/services before they make a purchase decision. Consumers can use Web 2.0 tools to share their purchase and experience information across different platforms; including retailer’s websites, online communities, independent websites, and personal blogs (Lee & Youn, 2009). When experience-based product information is provided by online consumers, others can read these consumer reviews to evaluate the attributes of products/services before purchasing. Therefore, product information and evaluations shared by online peer users, so-called ‘online consumer reviews’, are a useful and influential medium for delivering product/service information rather than marketing strategies made by corporations.
In order to make marketing communication more effective, sponsored recommendation posts, one type of online consumer reviews, have been operated by marketers. Sellers can provide compensation for specific online users in exchange for posting a consumer review on the online platform, such as personal blogs (Forrest and Cao, 2010, Zhu and Tan, 2007). Zhu and Tan (2007) further suggest that sponsored recommendation posts on personal blogs should be considered advertisements because this kind of consumer review is perceived as having bias or providing messages with specific purposes other than consumer experiences and recommendations. Thus, while sponsored recommendation blog posts are an acceptable information communication media for online users, which marketers may use, the credibility of such reviews in the blogosphere is often questionable.
Although the credibility of reviews and acceptance in exploring review quantity, valence, and attribute have been explored (Duan et al., 2008, Klein and Ford, 2003, Park and Kim, 2008), previous studies on sponsored recommendation posts are limited. The effects of product attributes and the role of marketer sponsorship on consumer attitudes toward sponsored recommendation posts have rarely been examined. For example, research indicates that there are differences in online product information search attitudes and behaviors when consumers look at different product types such as search goods or experience goods (Huang, Lurie, & Mitra, 2009). Smith and Wheeler (2002) suggest that high brand awareness improves trust in a brand and its advertisements. There is also an interest issue: are posts on a personal blog likely to be accepted by consumers when the writer is being compensated by marketers for the post? Therefore, since blogger recommendation posts are a useful marketing communication tool and a vital reference source in the process of consumer purchase decision making (Chen & Xie, 2008), understanding of how sponsorship type and product attributes (such as product type and brand awareness) influence consumer’s positive attitudes toward and trust of sponsored recommendation posts appears to be crucial in understanding the psychological processes of online review evaluation by consumers. This study also examines the effects of consumer attitudes toward sponsored recommendation posts on purchasing intention, even when consumers already know the blogger is being compensated by marketers for the post. If the relationship between consumer attitudes toward sponsored recommendation posts and purchasing intention is positive, bloggers’ sponsored recommendation posts would be an influential online medium and an important tool for marketers.
To address these questions, this study examines the influences of sponsorship type, product type, and brand awareness on online users’ attitude toward sponsored recommendation post. The relation between attitude and purchasing intention with regard to the promoted good in a sponsored recommendation post is also connected in the research model. Moreover, a 2(sponsorship type) × 2(product type) × 2(brand awareness) experimental design is presented to carry out the hypotheses testing. A covariate, propensity to trust, is also included in the stimulus in order to control unexpected variation between variables. Based on the findings of this study, we present theoretical and managerial implications for academics and marketers.