Psychological pathways from fake reviews to consumer switching in e-tailing: a cross-cultural analysis

Fake online reviews have become a threat to responsible retail consumption because they distort how consumers evaluate and switch from this brand to another. This study examines the psychological pathways through this process and compares such behaviour across China and Vietnam. Backed by the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, the model treats consumer distrust, cognitive dissonance and negative affectivity as mediators that connect exposure to fake reviews with subsequent switching behaviour. Survey data from 329 Chinese and 234 Vietnamese online shoppers were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling with multi-group analysis. Results show that fake reviews directly and indirectly increase switching intentions. The direct effect is stronger among Vietnamese consumers, whereas the distrust and dissonance pathways are more pronounced among Chinese consumers. Negative affectivity is the most powerful mediator overall but does not differ by culture. These findings indicate that Chinese consumers tend to process fake reviews through stronger distrust and dissonance pathways, whereas Vietnamese consumers exhibit a more direct switching response. For cross-border e-commerce, retailers should emphasise trust restoration and expectation alignment in China and rapid transparency in Vietnam. The study contributes to the fake review literature by validating a multi-pathway cross-cultural model that integrates psychological and cultural mechanisms shaping consumer switching in e-tailing.