SENTIMENT OF ONLINE REVIEWS ARE INCONSISTENT WITH CONVENTIONAL WORD OF MOUTH EFFECTS

Ronald Drozdenko
Donna Coelho
Western Connecticut State University

ABSTRACT

Marketers have been shifting resources from traditional media to online media for several years. While online consumer behavior has been the topic of numerous research studies, there are few published studies to date comparing the valence of reviews in different product categories. This is particularly relevant since it is often quoted that “A satisfied customer will tell 2-3 people, while a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience.” (TARP, 1979). The goal of this study was to test this assumption in the digital marketplace by determining if the number of favorable and unfavorable reviews reported to be posted online by consumers varies by product category. The findings indicated that for each of the 20 product categories examined, consumers were more likely to write a favorable review. The gender differences were examined; there were no overall differences in the number of reviews posted by males and females, but there were significant interactions of gender with product type and sentiment type. The authors also performed a preliminary analysis of the psychological characteristics of reviewers; it was found that certain traits such as self-acceptance, positive attitude and peer conformity were related to posting reviews.

Keywords: Online product reviews, consumer behavior, word of mouth communication