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Role of gender in the creation and persuasiveness of online reviews

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  • Ravula, Prashanth
  • Bhatnagar, Amit
  • Gauri, Dinesh K

Abstract

Online reviews play an important role in consumers’ purchase journeys and therefore have received considerable research attention. Yet research is limited as to whether and how a reviewer’s gender affects persuasiveness. In response, we analyze more than one million reviews posted on the website Yelp and find that an author’s gender indeed affects review text and, consequently, persuasiveness. Specifically, we find that (1) reviews posted by women (vs. men) are more authentic, less analytical, more positive-affective, and less negative-affective and (2) authentic, analytical, negative-affective text increases the persuasiveness of reviews while positive-affective text lowers it. We also find that the persuasiveness of reviews from women (vs. men) depends on product category, suggesting that retailers should consider the product category and authors’ gender when ranking reviews.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravula, Prashanth & Bhatnagar, Amit & Gauri, Dinesh K, 2023. "Role of gender in the creation and persuasiveness of online reviews," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322008517
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113386
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