Table 6.
Measurement items
| Item | Wording | Scale | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product preference | I like the product. | 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) | (Xiao & Benbasat, 2011) |
| I would buy the product. | |||
| I would recommend the product. | |||
| Title length | Critical value: Less than 25 characters | (Banerjee & Chua, 2017) | |
| Text length | Critical value: Less than 164 words | (Yoo & Gretzel, 2009) | |
| Syntax | Critical value: Less than 7 words per Sentence | (Büschken & Allenby, 2016) | |
| Temporal | Critical value: Less than 1 temporal word | (Banerjee & Chua, 2017) | |
| Brand reference | Critical value: Less than 1 brand reference | (Yoo & Gretzel, 2009) | |
| Emotion | Critical value: More than 5% of the content are emotional | (Yoo & Gretzel, 2009) | |
| Exclamation marks | Critical value: At least one exclamation mark is used. | (Li & Zhan, 2011) | |
| Self-referencing | Critical value: More than 4% of the content are self-references. | (Yoo & Gretzel, 2009) | |
| Exclusion words | Critical value: At least one exclusion word is used in the review | (Banerjee & Chua, 2017) | |
| Suspicion | The product reviews are not factual. | 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) | (Cheung et al., 2012) |
| The product reviews are not credible. | |||
| Purchase intention | The information from the product reviews contributed to my knowledge of the product and helped to make a purchase decision. | 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) | (Cheung et al., 2009) |
| The product review motivated me to purchase the product. | |||
| The product review has enhanced my effectiveness in making purchase decisions. | |||
| The product review made it easier for me to make a purchase decision. | |||
| Age group | Please indicate your age: | ≤ 20 years, 21–30 years, 31–40 years, 41–50 years, ≥ 50 years | |
| Gender | Please indicate your gender: | Female/ male/ diverse | |
| Internet shopping behavior | How often do you shop on the Internet? | Daily, Several times a week, Weekly, Monthly, Seldom, Never | |
| Product review expertise | How often do you write product reviews yourself? | Daily, Several times a week, Weekly, Monthly, Seldom, Never | |
| Deception experience | Have you had any experience with Internet deception in the past? | Yes/no | |
| Perceived realism |
I was able to put myself in the hypothetical setting in the described scenario. The situation in the described scenario was realistic. |
5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree) | |