The impact of online reviews on renters’ perceived trust in property information

Using cognitive consistency theory, we explored the mechanisms of prospective renters’ cognitive processing and cognitive outcomes of reviewing rental listing information on the Internet. We conducted an eye-movement experiment with 102 prospective renters to investigate the mechanisms influencing their cognitive processing and outcomes, via a 2 (comment form: subjective, objective) × 2 (risk preference: risk avoider, risk preference) factorial design. The results show that (a) subjective reviews required more cognitive processing effort than did objective reviews, but the perceived trust level of subjective reviews was lower; (b) risk-averse (vs. risk-inclined) participants put more cognitive effort into processing listing information, but their perceived trust in the listing information was lower; and (c) participants’ perceived trust in listing information was mainly influenced by the display attributes of the webpage, rather than the review information. Our results will help Internet rental companies understand tenants’ information concerns and enhance their online display pages in a targeted manner.