| Summary: | 碩士 === 元智大學 === 企業管理學系 === 92 === Word of mouth has been found to be influential on consumer purchase decision. As more consumers are relying on electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) to search for information, the trustworthiness of the E-WOM remains unknown. The current study aims to explore the characteristics affecting the trustworthiness of E-WOM, namely third-party evaluation, justice of complaint handling, and online placement. It is predicted that third-party evaluation, justice of complaint handling, and brand popularity have a positive impact on the trustworthiness of E-WOM and purchase intention, while the impacts will be moderated by the online placement. The predictions were examined in a 2 x 2 x 3 experimental study with a total of 356 valid cases. The results illustrated that third’s party evaluation and justice of complaint handling had positive and significant impacts on the trustworthiness of messages. The relationship varied by different online placements. The positive impacts of favorable positive third-party evaluation and justice are stronger for independent website and unpopular business website, and does not affect trustworthiness of popular business website. Implications for academic and business practices were further discussed.
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