Differential effects of analytical versus emotional rhetorical style on review helpfulness

Masoud Moradi, Mayukh Dass and Piyush Kumar

Journal of Business Research, 2023, vol. 154, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines the interaction effect of analytical versus emotional rhetorical styles and overall ratings on the perceived helpfulness of product reviews on an e-commerce platform. Hypotheses derived from signaling theory regarding the nonlinear and interactive effects of these variables are tested using a zero-inflated negative binomial model with fixed effects. The results from the estimation of the model using a large sample of reviews from a hedonic and a utilitarian category suggest that analytical and emotional rhetorical devices have mutually opposing effects on helpfulness. While an analytical writing style increases the number of helpfulness votes a review receives, both positive and negative emotional tones reduce it. Further, readers perceive polarized ratings as more helpful, and an analytical style strengthens this effect while an emotional style weakens it. The results are consistent with signaling theory and suggest that an objective and analytical style serves as a strong signal about unobserved quality while an emotional style conflicts with the quality signal and reduces a review’s helpfulness.

Keywords: Review Helpfulness; Review Extremity; Review Rating; Sentiment Analysis; Text Mining; Emotions; Positive Tone; Negative Tone; Analytical Language Style; Negative Binomial Regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322008268

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113361

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