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Employer Review Platforms – Do the Rating Environment and Platform Design affect the Informativeness of Reviews? Theory, Evidence, and Suggestions

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  • Cloos, Janis

Abstract

Online employer review platforms (ERPs) enable employees to evaluate their current and former companies anonymously online. Job-seekers can use the aggregated reviews to obtain information about potentially attractive companies and thus limit the number of suitable companies. However, the matching process between job-seekers and companies can only be effective if the information provided on ERPs is representative and can be trusted. This paper investigates specific characteristics of ERPs using the two large ERPs Kununu and Glassdoor as examples. It is argued that the ERP environment is very different from the well-known and -studied reputation system environment of online marketplaces, and that specific factors can potentially bias reviews on ERPs. Based on a new data set containing the Kununu and Glassdoor reviews of 114 major German employers, it is analyzed if and how design aspects of ERPs and other specific factors affect reviews. Results show that overall (and industry-specific), average review scores on Kununu and Glassdoor differ significantly from each other. Further results indicate that factors such as employees’ awareness of their impact on a company’s reputation also affect reviews. Suggestions are made on how ERPs could reduce the influence of these factors in order to present the aggregated information more effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Cloos, Janis, 2021. "Employer Review Platforms – Do the Rating Environment and Platform Design affect the Informativeness of Reviews? Theory, Evidence, and Suggestions," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 32(3), pages 152-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:nms:mamere:10.5771/0935-9915-2021-3-152
    DOI: 10.5771/0935-9915-2021-3-152
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Janis Cloos & Björn Frank & Lukas Kampenhuber & Stephany Karam & Nhat Luong & Daniel Möller & Maria Monge-Larrain & Nguyen Tan Dat & Marco Nilgen & Christoph Rössler, 2019. "Is Your Privacy for Sale? An Experiment on the Willingness to Reveal Sensitive Information," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, July.
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    3. Nunley, John M. & Owens, Mark F. & Howard, R. Stephen, 2011. "The effects of information and competition on racial discrimination: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 670-679.
    4. Dabirian, Amir & Kietzmann, Jan & Diba, Hoda, 2017. "A great place to work!? Understanding crowdsourced employer branding," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 197-205.
    5. Fietze, Simon & Matiaske, Wenzel & Menges, Roland, 2019. "Corporate Responsibility: In the Dilemma between Fake and Trust?," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 30(2-3), pages 143-147.
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    1. Cloos, Janis & Mohr, Svenja, 2022. "Acceptance of data sharing in smartphone apps from key industries of the digital transformation: A representative population survey for Germany," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

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