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It’s all about the text: An experimental investigation of inconsistent reviews on restaurant booking platforms

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  • Andreas J. Steur

    (Ulm University)

  • Fabian Fritzsche

    (Ulm University)

  • Mischa Seiter

    (Ulm University)

Abstract

Consumer-generated reviews play a decisive role in creating trust and facilitating transactions on digital platforms. However, prior research shows various problems, e.g., only a small number of consumers providing reviews, fake reviews, and inconsistent reviews. We use an experiment in the context of a restaurant booking platform to examine the impact of inconsistent reviews on the duration of consumers’ transaction decisions. In a second experiment, we investigate the relative importance of the review components in the case of inconsistent reviews. Drawing on the dual-process theory and media richness theory, we predict that inconsistent reviews result in a longer time required for consumers’ transaction decisions (H1) and lead to users’ transaction decisions being predominantly based on the qualitative component (H2). Although we do not find general support that inconsistent restaurant reviews negatively determine the duration of transaction decisions, we find evidence that in the case of inconsistent restaurant reviews, the polarity of the qualitative component is crucial for both the duration of the transaction decision and the decision itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas J. Steur & Fabian Fritzsche & Mischa Seiter, 2022. "It’s all about the text: An experimental investigation of inconsistent reviews on restaurant booking platforms," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1187-1220, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:elmark:v:32:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s12525-022-00525-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12525-022-00525-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Jin, Wangyan & Chen, Yuangao & Yang, Shuiqing & Zhou, Shasha & Jiang, Hui & Wei, June, 2023. "Personalized managerial response and negative inconsistent review helpfulness: The mediating effect of perceived response helpfulness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Markus Binder & Bernd Heinrich & Marcus Hopf & Alexander Schiller, 2022. "Global reconstruction of language models with linguistic rules – Explainable AI for online consumer reviews," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 2123-2138, December.
    3. Rainer Alt, 2022. "Electronic Markets on platform culture," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1019-1031, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer reviews; Online reviews; Inconsistent reviews; Reputation; Digital platform; Consumer decision-making;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

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