The Influence of Opinion Leaders’ eWOM on Online Consumer Decisions: A Study on Social Influence

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I have no further major comments. But, the authors should include the questionnaire in the Appendix. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1

Thank you very much for appreciating the research done and for the recommendations made to improve it.

We have added the participant registration questionnaire to the online store in Appendix II. You can find the modification made marked in blue font. The rest of the measurements were carried out as detailed in the methodology.

Best regards

Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of opinion leaders' eWOM on online consumer decisions. However, the hypothesis presented by the researchers is difficult to achieve the research objectives. In addition, several serious problems were not solved in the experiment. The research model and hypothesis are too simple and the results cannot provide important implications.

As a result of hypotheses 1 and 2, no meaningful implications can be found. Hypothesis 1 shows the difference between having and not having a review. However, many discussions have already been made about the results of this in previous studies.
Hypothesis 2 is the hypothesis that positive reviews are more effective than negative reviews. This is a predictable result for anyone.
Hypotheses 2 and 3 focus only on review balance and product types, and have never considered the impact of reviews.

It is not clear what is written in the experimental design section. For example, a detailed description of the type of review, the number of reviews, reviews related to the product or service is required.

This study used Cristiano Ronaldo as an opinion reader. However, researchers failed to control the participants' attitude toward Ronaldo. Even though Ronaldo could have more influence than any other variable, the authors did not properly control it. In that respect, these findings have many biases.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2

Thank you very much for the opportunity to allow us to clarify and make the respective corrections to improve the presentation of the results of our research. We attach a table with a point-by-point response to your valuable comments.

Best regards

Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper The Influence of Opinion Leaders’ eWOM on Online Consumer Decisions: A study on social influence deals with a real and important topic that is in line with the journal aim. 

As a recommandation, I think it was more useful for the scientific and managerial approach to study what characteristics of the opinion leader influence the consumer behavior for the chosen sample, given the literature studied (for example source 28).
The choice of a single opinion leader is not very relevant for research, especially since Cristiano Ronaldo is not a consensual personality for the chosen sample.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 3

Thank you very much for appreciating the research carried out and for the insightful comments and corrections that have contributed to its presentation and dissemination.

In the attached table, we respond, point by point, to the comments you have made about our work. The changes introduced in the document have been marked with blue letters for better monitoring.

Best regards

Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report