Abstract

BEVAN-DYE, Ayesha Lian. Determinants of the purchase influence of online consumer-generated reviews amongst Generation Y students in South Africa: Application of the information adoption theory. JCMAN [online]. 2022, vol.19, n.2, pp.298-318. ISSN 1815-7440.  http://dx.doi.org/10.35683/jcman211014.168.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Online consumer reviews have significantly enhanced consumer decision-making and are a particularly popular purchasing decision-making aid amongst the young adult consumer segment, currently classified as members of Generation Y. Despite the significance of such reviews in Generation Y consumer behaviour, there is a dearth of studies on the purchase influence of online consumer reviews amongst this segment, especially in the context of emerging economies such as South Africa. In addressing this limitation in the literature, this study applied an adapted version of the information adoption model to test the influence of perceived information quality, trustworthiness and usefulness on the purchase influence of such reviews amongst Generation Y university students in South Africa DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Following a single cross-sectional descriptive research design, data were collected from a sample of 538 university students from the campuses of three South African public universities. Data analysis included structural equation modelling FINDINGS: The results infer that Generation Y students in South Africa perceive online consumer-generated reviews and the information contained therein as being trustworthy, of a high quality, as useful and they have adopted such reviews into their consumption-related decision-making in that those reviews influence their purchase decisions. Furthermore, information trustworthiness and quality explain 51 percent of the variance in their perceived usefulness of online consumer reviews and perceived usefulness, together with its predictors, explain 32 percent of the variance in their adoption of such reviews into their purchase decision-making processes RECOMMENDATIONS/VALUE: These findings augment managerial understanding of the role of online consumer reviews in South African Generation Y consumers' purchasing decision-making MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the degree to which Generation Y consumers have integrated consumer-generated online reviews into their consumption-related decision-making and the extent to which those reviews exert an influence their purchase behaviour, thereby highlighting the necessity of incorporating such reviews into managerial strategies targeting Generation Y consumers in South Africa JEL CLASSIFICATION: M31

Keywords : Information adoption model; online consumer reviews; Generation Y consumers; model validation; path analysis; South Africa.

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