IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/prg/jnlcbr/v2025y2025i3id386p21-44.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating Effects of Infodemic on Store Visit Intention

Author

Listed:
  • Esra Türk
  • Ünsalan Mustafa

Abstract

This study aims to statistically investigate the effects of an infodemic as an external stimulus on consumer decision processes based on the stimulus-organism-response theory (SOR). An infodemic is known as an epidemic of misinformation, and the literature on infodemics in marketing is quite limited. With the research model created for this purpose, the mediating role of brand trust (organism) in the relationship between both infodemic and positive word-of-mouth marketing (stimulus) and consumers' store visit intentions (response) is examined. The findings suggest that infodemic news and positive word-of-mouth marketing influence consumers' shopping behaviour. Being influenced by infodemic news does not have a significant effect on store visit intention directly, but it has a positive effect through the mediation of brand trust. In addition, both direct and indirect effects of positive word-of-mouth marketing on store visit intention are positive. This suggests that brand trust functions as a coping mechanism for consumers to deal with the uncertainty or negative impact of infodemic news and that consumers' store visit intentions can be increased by enhancing their trust in the brand. As a result, it emphasises the importance of brands developing various communication strategies to increase their credibility and influence consumer decision-making mechanisms. Implications for Central European audience: The study aims to investigate the effects of infodemic posts and positive word-of-mouth marketing on consumers' trust in a brand and their intention to visit a store. By doing so, it seeks to provide strategic recommendations that companies can apply in their communications with customers. Data analyses show that being influenced by an infodemic does not have a significant direct effect on store visit intention, but it does have a positive impact through brand trust. Additionally, positive word-of-mouth marketing has both direct and indirect positive effects on store visit intention. The study highlights brand trust as a critical element that can mitigate the negative effects of infodemic news. It is recommended that businesses focus on sustainability projects, ethical practices and the principle of transparency to enhance brand trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Esra Türk & Ünsalan Mustafa, 2025. "Investigating Effects of Infodemic on Store Visit Intention," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2025(3), pages 21-44.
    • Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlcbr:v:2025:y:2025:i:3:id:386:p:21-44
    DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.386
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://cebr.vse.cz/doi/10.18267/j.cebr.386.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: http://cebr.vse.cz/doi/10.18267/j.cebr.386.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.18267/j.cebr.386?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Milad Farzin & Majid Fattahi, 2018. "eWOM through social networking sites and impact on purchase intention and brand image in Iran," Journal of Advances in Management Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(2), pages 161-183, March.
    2. Hair, Joe F. & Howard, Matt C. & Nitzl, Christian, 2020. "Assessing measurement model quality in PLS-SEM using confirmatory composite analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 101-110.
    3. Jung, Jihye & Mittal, Vikas, 2020. "Political Identity and the Consumer Journey: A Research Review," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 55-73.
    4. Duan, Wenjing & Gu, Bin & Whinston, Andrew B., 2008. "The dynamics of online word-of-mouth and product sales—An empirical investigation of the movie industry," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 233-242.
    5. Milad Farzin & Majid Fattahi, 2018. "eWOM through social networking sites and impact on purchase intention and brand image in Iran," Journal of Advances in Management Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(2), pages 161-183, March.
    6. Hansen, Nele & Kupfer, Ann-Kristin & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, 2018. "Brand crises in the digital age: The short- and long-term effects of social media firestorms on consumers and brands," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 557-574.
    7. Matzler, Kurt & Strobl, Andreas & Stokburger-Sauer, Nicola & Bobovnicky, Artur & Bauer, Florian, 2016. "Brand personality and culture: The role of cultural differences on the impact of brand personality perceptions on tourists' visit intentions," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 507-520.
    8. David Godes & Dina Mayzlin, 2004. "Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 545-560, June.
    9. Visentin, Marco & Pizzi, Gabriele & Pichierri, Marco, 2019. "Fake News, Real Problems for Brands: The Impact of Content Truthfulness and Source Credibility on consumers' Behavioral Intentions toward the Advertised Brands," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 99-112.
    10. Hatice AYDIN, 2017. "Marka Guveni, Farkindaligi ve Benlik Imaj Uyumunun Marka Bagliligina Etkisinde Marka Askinin Aracilik Rolu," Ege Academic Review, Ege University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 17(2), pages 281-294.
    11. Kumar, Sushant & Talwar, Shalini & Krishnan, Satish & Kaur, Puneet & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "Purchasing natural personal care products in the era of fake news? The moderation effect of brand trust," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Blend Ibrahim & Ahmad Aljarah & Dima Sawaftah, 2021. "Linking Social Media Marketing Activities to Revisit Intention through Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty on the Coffee Shop Facebook Pages: Exploring Sequential Mediation Mechanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohd Azhar & Rehan Husain & Sheeba Hamid & Mohd Nayyer Rahman, 2023. "Effect of social media marketing on online travel purchase behavior post-COVID-19: mediating role of brand trust and brand loyalty," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Diwanji, Vaibhav S. & Cortese, Juliann, 2020. "Contrasting user generated videos versus brand generated videos in ecommerce," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Yucheng Zhang & Zhiling Wang & Lin Xiao & Lijun Wang & Pei Huang, 2023. "Discovering the evolution of online reviews: A bibliometric review," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Duan, Yongrui & Liu, Tonghui & Mao, Zhixin, 2022. "How online reviews and coupons affect sales and pricing: An empirical study based on e-commerce platform," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Amin Ansary & Nik M. Hazrul Nik Hashim, 2018. "Brand image and equity: the mediating role of brand equity drivers and moderating effects of product type and word of mouth," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 969-1002, October.
    6. Yabing Jiang & Hong Guo, 2012. "Design of Consumer Review Systems and Product Pricing," Working Papers 12-10, NET Institute.
    7. Haoyan Sun & Ming Fan & Yong Tan, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis of Seller Advertising Strategies in an Online Marketplace," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 37-56, March.
    8. Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Muhammad Tahir Jan, 2025. "Causal analysis of social media on environmental and health concerns, attitudes, and social influence that leads to green purchase behavior," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(3), pages 713-749, September.
    9. Wang, Feng & Liu, Xuefeng & Fang, Eric (Er), 2015. "User Reviews Variance, Critic Reviews Variance, and Product Sales: An Exploration of Customer Breadth and Depth Effects," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 372-389.
    10. Rohit Aggarwal & Ram Gopal & Alok Gupta & Harpreet Singh, 2012. "Putting Money Where the Mouths Are: The Relation Between Venture Financing and Electronic Word-of-Mouth," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(3-part-2), pages 976-992, September.
    11. Chakravarty, Anindita & Liu, Yong & Mazumdar, Tridib, 2010. "The Differential Effects of Online Word-of-Mouth and Critics' Reviews on Pre-release Movie Evaluation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 185-197.
    12. Kim, Jikyung (Jeanne) & Kim, Sanghwa & Choi, Jeonghye, 2020. "Purchase now and consume later: Do online and offline environments drive online social interactions and sales?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 274-285.
    13. Vasu Unnava & Ashwin Aravindakshan, 2021. "How does consumer engagement evolve when brands post across multiple social media?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(5), pages 864-881, September.
    14. Thaís L. D. Souza & Marislei Nishijima & Ana C. P. Fava, 2019. "Do consumer and expert reviews affect the length of time a film is kept on screens in the USA?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 43(1), pages 145-171, March.
    15. Hsu, Liwu & Lawrence, Benjamin, 2016. "The role of social media and brand equity during a product recall crisis: A shareholder value perspective," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 59-77.
    16. Anatoli Colicev & Ashwin Malshe & Koen Pauwels, 2018. "Social Media and Customer-Based Brand Equity: An Empirical Investigation in Retail Industry," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, September.
    17. Cheng Zhao & Chong Alex Wang, 2023. "A cross-site comparison of online review manipulation using Benford’s law," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 365-406, March.
    18. Khare, Adwait & Labrecque, Lauren I. & Asare, Anthony K., 2011. "The Assimilative and Contrastive Effects of Word-of-Mouth Volume: An Experimental Examination of Online Consumer Ratings," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 111-126.
    19. Marchand, André & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten & Wiertz, Caroline, 2017. "Not all digital word of mouth is created equal: Understanding the respective impact of consumer reviews and microblogs on new product success," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 336-354.
    20. Yuchi Zhang & David Godes, 2018. "Learning from Online Social Ties," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 37(3), pages 425-444, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M37 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Advertising

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:prg:jnlcbr:v:2025:y:2025:i:3:id:386:p:21-44. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Stanislav Vojir (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/uevsecz.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.