Han Xi, Lin Yongxi, Han Wenting, Liao Ke, Mei Kefu
School of Business Administration, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou, China.
School of Management Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, China.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 Mar 12;26:e46713. doi: 10.2196/46713.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of online medical services. Although some researchers have investigated how numerical ratings affect consumer choice, limited studies have focused on the effect of negative reviews that most concern physicians.
This study aimed to investigate how negative review features, including proportion (low/high), claim type (evaluative/factual), and physician response (absence/presence), influence consumers' physician evaluation process under conditions in which a physician's overall rating is high.
Using a 2×2×2 between-subject decision-controlled experiment, this study examined participants' judgment on physicians with different textual reviews. Collected data were analyzed using the t test and partial least squares-structural equation modeling.
Negative reviews decreased consumers' physician selection intention. The negative review proportion (β=-0.371, P<.001) and claim type (β=-0.343, P<.001) had a greater effect on consumers' physician selection intention compared to the physician response (β=0.194, P<.001). A high negative review proportion, factual negative reviews, and the absence of a physician response significantly reduced consumers' physician selection intention compared to their counterparts. Consumers' locus attributions on the negative reviews affected their evaluation process. Physician attribution mediated the effects of review proportion (β=-0.150, P<.001), review claim type (β=-0.068, P=.01), and physician response (β=0.167, P<.001) on consumer choice. Reviewer attribution also mediated the effects of review proportion (β=-0.071, P<.001), review claim type (β=-0.025, P=.01), and physician response (β=0.096, P<.001) on consumer choice. The moderating effects of the physician response on the relationship between review proportion and physician attribution (β=-0.185, P<.001), review proportion and reviewer attribution (β=-0.110, P<.001), claim type and physician attribution (β=-0.123, P=.003), and claim type and reviewer attribution (β=-0.074, P=.04) were all significant.
Negative review features and the physician response significantly influence consumer choice through the causal attribution to physicians and reviewers. Physician attribution has a greater effect on consumers' physician selection intention than reviewer attribution does. The presence of a physician response decreases the influence of negative reviews through direct and moderating effects. We propose some practical implications for physicians, health care providers, and online medical service platforms.
新冠疫情凸显了在线医疗服务的重要性。尽管一些研究人员调查了数字评分如何影响消费者选择，但很少有研究关注最令医生担忧的负面评价的影响。
本研究旨在调查负面评价特征，包括比例（低/高）、评价类型（评价性/事实性）和医生回复（无/有），在医生总体评分较高的情况下如何影响消费者对医生的评价过程。
本研究采用2×2×2组间决策控制实验，考察参与者对具有不同文本评价的医生的判断。使用t检验和偏最小二乘结构方程模型对收集的数据进行分析。
负面评价降低了消费者选择医生的意愿。与医生回复（β=0.194，P<0.001）相比，负面评价比例（β=-0.371，P<0.001）和评价类型（β=-0.343，P<0.001）对消费者选择医生的意愿影响更大。与相应情况相比，高负面评价比例、事实性负面评价以及医生无回复显著降低了消费者选择医生的意愿。消费者对负面评价的归因影响了他们的评价过程。医生归因介导了评价比例（β=-0.150，P<0.001）、评价类型（β=-0.068，P=0.01）和医生回复（β=0.167，P<0.001）对消费者选择的影响。评论者归因也介导了评价比例（β=-0.071，P<0.001）、评价类型（β=-0.025，P=0.01）和医生回复（β=0.096，P<0.001）对消费者选择的影响。医生回复对评价比例与医生归因之间的关系（β=-0.185，P<0.001）、评价比例与评论者归因之间的关系（β=-0.110，P<0.001）、评价类型与医生归因之间的关系（β=-0.123，P=0.003）以及评价类型与评论者归因之间的关系（β=-0.074，P=0.04）的调节作用均显著。
负面评价特征和医生回复通过对医生和评论者的因果归因显著影响消费者选择。医生归因对消费者选择医生意愿的影响大于评论者归因。医生回复的存在通过直接和调节作用降低了负面评价的影响。我们为医生、医疗服务提供者和在线医疗服务平台提出了一些实际建议。
