“I Love It” Versus “I Recommend It”: The Impact of Implicit and Explicit Endorsement Styles on Electronic Word-of-Mouth Persuasiveness
研究比较了显性背书（如“我推荐”）和隐性背书（如“我爱”）在电子口碑中的说服力差异，发现显性背书因触发更强的说服知识而说服力较弱，但来源可信度可缩小这一差距。
Consumers usually endorse tourism products differently when sharing positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This research examines the relative persuasiveness of two endorsement styles, that is, explicit endorsement (e.g., “I recommend it”) and implicit endorsement (e.g., “I love it”). Drawing on the persuasion knowledge model, we propose that explicit endorsements are less persuasive than implicit endorsements because the former trigger stronger persuasion knowledge. We further argue that source trustworthiness mitigates the persuasion effect difference between the two endorsement styles. This article assesses these hypotheses across different sources (anonymous reviewers, friends, influencers), channels (online community, social commerce platform, social networking app), and products (hotels, restaurants) using secondary data analysis and two experiments. Three studies provide support for our hypotheses. By revealing the relationship between endorsement styles and eWOM persuasiveness, this article provides important implications for implementing effective product endorsement.