Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is a prominent source of information that
significantly influences consumer purchase decisions. Recent literature has
extensively explored the impact of eWOM on consumers-generated reviews and
purchase decisions. However, few studies have analyzed the role of culture on
eWOM. We use a novel dataset of Airbnb eWOM messages in order to empirically
extend the findings by Banerjee and Chai (2019). We find that the sentiment of
individualistic customers is worse than that of their collectivistic
counterparts when both groups experience the same level of negative
disconfirmations. Furthermore, guests from a relatively more distant culture
rely less on heuristics. In particular, quality signals, such as the
"superhost" status, are more influential to consumers from a less distant
cultural background.Comment: 35 pages, 4 tables, 2 figure