Seller reputation or product presentation? An empirical investigation from cue utilization perspective

Abstract

This study examines the interaction effects of two types of cues in different scopes (i.e., seller reputation as a high-scope cue and product presentation as a low-scope cue) on consumer product quality evaluation, under different involvement situations. Drawing on the cue utilization theory and involvement-related literature, we propose that cues used in people's decision making processes are contingent on product involvement. Through the conduction of behavioral experiments with eye-tracking technology, the findings show that, under high-involvement situations, both seller reputation and product presentation significantly and independently influence product quality evaluation while their interaction effect does not. While under low-involvement situations, seller reputation significantly influences the product evaluation and moderates the effect of product presentation on consumer product quality evaluation. The effect of product presentation on product evaluation is weakened by seller reputation. The findings, to some extent, are reinforced by the eye-tracking data through the trace and analysis of fixation count and fixation time. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.