Paper Type
Short
Paper Number
1284
Description
Online review platforms provide financial incentives to solicit feedback. However, early research shows that it is counterproductive to reviewers’ prosocial behavior (i.e., the spillover effect on unincentivized reviews). This study investigates the post-effect of incentives (i.e., reviewers’ behavioral change after stopping financial incentives). We also reveal the dynamic change across periods by comparing the spillover effect and post- effect. By utilizing a large archival review dataset from Amazon, our finding shows that reviewers continue to reduce their physical contribution, indicated by fewer, shorter, and less helpful submissions, a continuity of the spillover effect. But the emotion changes from positive to negative, discontinued from the spillover effect. Additionally, we observe that financial incentives are instrumental in shaping reviewers’ writing style to be objective, which continues even after financial incentives disappear. This study allows a comprehensive and coherent understanding of financial incentives and provides managerial implications regarding the incentive policy.
Recommended Citation
Ren, Yanjing; Zhao, Yining; and Lin, Lihui, "(Dis)continuity of Spillover Effect: Investigating the Post Effect of Financial Incentive on Online Reviewers" (2024). PACIS 2024 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2024/track19_userbeh/track19_userbeh/8
(Dis)continuity of Spillover Effect: Investigating the Post Effect of Financial Incentive on Online Reviewers
Online review platforms provide financial incentives to solicit feedback. However, early research shows that it is counterproductive to reviewers’ prosocial behavior (i.e., the spillover effect on unincentivized reviews). This study investigates the post-effect of incentives (i.e., reviewers’ behavioral change after stopping financial incentives). We also reveal the dynamic change across periods by comparing the spillover effect and post- effect. By utilizing a large archival review dataset from Amazon, our finding shows that reviewers continue to reduce their physical contribution, indicated by fewer, shorter, and less helpful submissions, a continuity of the spillover effect. But the emotion changes from positive to negative, discontinued from the spillover effect. Additionally, we observe that financial incentives are instrumental in shaping reviewers’ writing style to be objective, which continues even after financial incentives disappear. This study allows a comprehensive and coherent understanding of financial incentives and provides managerial implications regarding the incentive policy.
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