Start Date
16-8-2018 12:00 AM
Description
As customers increasingly share their experiences about services and products they have used by posting online reviews, the concern becomes information overload for subsequent readers. Platforms such as Yelp and TripAdvisor have therefore an incentive to differentiate those reviews through, among others, usefulness votes and solicit readers to cast those votes. Our study therefore aims to analyze the impact of displaying reviewer related information and layering that information on the cumulative usefulness of the reviewer. The current research studies two platforms (Yelp and TripAdvisor) and focuses on reviewer characteristics. Our study finds that while reviewer characteristics are significant predictors of usefulness status, they become less significant as reviewers gain more status in the platform. Furthermore, the platform’s choice of layering information in multiple levels, accessible only after reader’s clicks, seems to affect the impact of this information, though at varying levels that depend on the reviewer status.
Recommended Citation
Jabr, Wael; Qi, Zirun; Lohtia, Ritu; and Guillory, Monica D., "The Influence of Information Display and Availability on Reviewer Usefulness Status" (2018). AMCIS 2018 Proceedings. 14.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2018/eBusiness/Presentations/14
The Influence of Information Display and Availability on Reviewer Usefulness Status
As customers increasingly share their experiences about services and products they have used by posting online reviews, the concern becomes information overload for subsequent readers. Platforms such as Yelp and TripAdvisor have therefore an incentive to differentiate those reviews through, among others, usefulness votes and solicit readers to cast those votes. Our study therefore aims to analyze the impact of displaying reviewer related information and layering that information on the cumulative usefulness of the reviewer. The current research studies two platforms (Yelp and TripAdvisor) and focuses on reviewer characteristics. Our study finds that while reviewer characteristics are significant predictors of usefulness status, they become less significant as reviewers gain more status in the platform. Furthermore, the platform’s choice of layering information in multiple levels, accessible only after reader’s clicks, seems to affect the impact of this information, though at varying levels that depend on the reviewer status.