How Firm Strategies Affect Consumer Biases in Online Reviews

Frances Xinhua Wang () and Chris Anderson ()
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Frances Xinhua Wang: SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Chris Anderson: SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

Service Science, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 172-187

Abstract: Online reviews have become increasingly important to both consumers and businesses and, as a result, have attracted considerable research attention. However, all reviews are not created equal as consumers may differ in their propensities to leave reviews, often as a function of their satisfaction. To ensure a more representative customer voice, companies often utilize different strategies to moderate the biases in online reviews. The strategies deployed by many hospitality firms differ dramatically in both how reviews are collected and where they are posted. This study investigates four review-collection strategies of major hospitality companies and analyzes how each strategy affects review ratings and length. We find that the effort required to post a review impacts review characteristics. We show that reviews collected through self-motivation methods tend to be lower rated and longer, whereas reviews solicited from companies through poststay emails tend to exhibit different characteristics.

Keywords: reviews; online word of mouth; consumer bias; hospitality strategy; rating behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:orserv:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:172-187

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