Warmth or competence: understanding the effect of brand perception on purchase intention via online reviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the main effect of brand perception (brand warmth vs brand competence) on purchase intention, the mediating effect of brand love and the moderating effects of the emotional polarity of online reviews. Design/methodology/approach This paper utilizes experimental design and machine learning to collect and clean data. The ANOVA, t -test and bootstrap analysis methods are used to verify the assumed hypotheses. Findings Findings demonstrate that brand perception influences purchase intention with the mediating effect of brand love and the moderating effect of the emotional polarity of online reviews. In particular, brand perception can promote brand love and further enhance purchase intention. When consumers browse positive online reviews, brand warmth (vs brand competence) will lead to higher purchase intention. However, when consumers browse negative online reviews, brand competence (vs brand warmth) will weaken purchase intention more. Originality/value The findings of the current research contribute to purchase intention in the context of online reviews by highlighting the importance of brand love and the key role of brand perception, to which prior studies have paid little attention. The authors' research also provides some suggestions for enterprises about how to strengthen brand love by investigating consumers' perceptions of brand warmth and brand competence and further increasing purchase intention while consumers face positive or negative online reviews.