Start Date
12-13-2015
Description
Prior research has shown that negative online reviews are more valuable than positive reviews due to differences in casual attribution for positive versus negative information such that negative reviews tend to be relatively attributed more to the product (vs. reviewer) than positive reviews. We propose that the presence of repeating purchase cues, which indicates using a product for a reasonable period of time, reduces the relative extent to which positive reviews are attributed to the reviewer and mitigates the negativity bias. We also evaluate the behavior of customers when online reviews include positive and negative information at the same time, and propose that characteristics of mixed reviews are closer to negative reviews than positive reviews. An experimentation involving 74 subjects shows that causal attribution to a product is negatively related to review valence, but that this relationship is less for reviews that contain repeated purchase information.
Recommended Citation
Vali, Hessamedin; Xu, David; and Yildirim, Bayram, "The Effects of Repeating Purchase Cues and Mixed Reviews on Product Attribution" (2015). ICIS 2015 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2015/proceedings/HCI/5
The Effects of Repeating Purchase Cues and Mixed Reviews on Product Attribution
Prior research has shown that negative online reviews are more valuable than positive reviews due to differences in casual attribution for positive versus negative information such that negative reviews tend to be relatively attributed more to the product (vs. reviewer) than positive reviews. We propose that the presence of repeating purchase cues, which indicates using a product for a reasonable period of time, reduces the relative extent to which positive reviews are attributed to the reviewer and mitigates the negativity bias. We also evaluate the behavior of customers when online reviews include positive and negative information at the same time, and propose that characteristics of mixed reviews are closer to negative reviews than positive reviews. An experimentation involving 74 subjects shows that causal attribution to a product is negatively related to review valence, but that this relationship is less for reviews that contain repeated purchase information.