Abstract
Our research critically investigates the impact of social media astroturfing on sales, under which circumstances it may appear to have an effect, and the negative implications associated with such practices. Leveraging a distinct dataset from the Chinese movie industry, we utilize panel vector autoregression (PVAR) to dissect the dynamics between social media astroturfing, box-office revenues, and the performance of media across digital and traditional platforms. We further apply a dynamic matching approach to address the identification issue. Our findings suggest that while social media astroturfing might temporarily boost box-office revenues, its effectiveness is limited to the short term, and it harbors negative consequences for consumers. By systematically examining the effects of social media astroturfing, our study enriches both academic literature and practical understanding, cautioning against the reliance on such deceptive marketing tactics.
DOI
10.17705/1jais.00903
Recommended Citation
Yin, Xueyan; Liu, Ying; Chen, Pei-yu; and Shi, Zhan (Michael), "Shadows and Screens: Exploring the Impact of Astroturfing as a Facet of Fake Reviews in the Movie Industry's Social Media Dynamics" (2024). JAIS Preprints (Forthcoming). 152.
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00903
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais_preprints/152