Food Delivery Now or Later: The Match-up Effect of Purchase Timeframe and Review Recency

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2022

Publication Title

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Volume

102

Abstract

This research investigates the effects of information obtained from online reviews on purchase decisions made on online food delivery platforms. Drawing on construal level theory, this research examines the interplay of review recency and review valance on perceived review helpfulness and order intention, varying across purchase timeframes. Using an experiment with 311 participants, this research showed that review recency was positively associated with perceived review helpfulness only when the review valence was negative. This positive recency effect was more prominent in near- versus distant-future decisions. Review recency was also found to influence consumers’ intention to accept negative reviews, but not positive reviews. After reading a recent negative review (versus outdated one), order intention significantly decreased, and more so, for the near rather than distant-future purchase conditions.

Keywords

Match-up effect; Online food delivery; Purchase timeframe; Review recency; Review valence

Disciplines

Food and Beverage Management | Transportation

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