Start Date
14-12-2012 12:00 AM
Description
The concept of “product type” (experience versus search product) is increasingly important in business research and practice. However, it is not defined or measured precisely in the Internet age due to significantly lower search cost and changes in consumer information search behavior resulting from reliance on information and communications technology. We take advantage of the greatly available micro level online word-of-mouth data and infer product type based on statistical properties of online word of mouth (specifically, online product reviews). We draw on the theories from statistics and literature on informational content of online product reviews to analytically propose a mechanism to classify products. We further collect archival data to categorize the products and services. Implications of this analytical tool and empirical findings for research, theory and managerial practice are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Hong, Yili; Chen, Pei-Yu; and Hitt, Lorin M., "Measuring Product Type With Dynamics of Online Product Review Variance" (2012). ICIS 2012 Proceedings. 7.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2012/proceedings/EconomicsValue/7
Measuring Product Type With Dynamics of Online Product Review Variance
The concept of “product type” (experience versus search product) is increasingly important in business research and practice. However, it is not defined or measured precisely in the Internet age due to significantly lower search cost and changes in consumer information search behavior resulting from reliance on information and communications technology. We take advantage of the greatly available micro level online word-of-mouth data and infer product type based on statistical properties of online word of mouth (specifically, online product reviews). We draw on the theories from statistics and literature on informational content of online product reviews to analytically propose a mechanism to classify products. We further collect archival data to categorize the products and services. Implications of this analytical tool and empirical findings for research, theory and managerial practice are discussed.