Does consistency matter? The role of signal congruence in driving purchase on peer-to-peer platform

Facing information asymmetry, guests in the peer-to-peer market rely on multi-source signals from peer guests, sellers, and the platform to inform their purchase decisions. However, the influence of signal congruence across these sources is not fully understood. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and signaling theory, this study investigates how topic and sentiment consistency between marketer-generated content (MGC) and user-generated content (UGC) influences guest purchase intentions, and how this process is moderated by the platform qualification. This study further analyzes the mediating role of affective trust and cognitive trust to elucidate the underlying psychological mechanism. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this study conducted econometric analysis of large-scale Airbnb data combined with a randomized experiment. Key findings reveal that both topic and sentiment consistency between MGC and UGC significantly enhance purchase intention. Platform qualification attenuates the positive effect of sentiment consistency on guest purchase. Moreover, cognitive trust instead of affective trust, serves as the dominant mediator between signal congruence and guest purchase intention. These findings advance signal congruence theory and offer practical insights for content strategy and platform design in digital marketplaces.