• Log In
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MIS Distinguished Speaker Series

Temple University

You are here: Home / Archives for online ratings

online ratings

Wendy Moe to speak on Measuring the Value of Social Dynamics in Online Product Ratings Forums

October 15, 2009 By Sunil Wattal

Measuring the Value of Social Dynamics in Online Product Ratings Forums

Wendy Moe

Associate Professor of Marketing
R H Smith School of Business
University of Maryland

October 16, 2009

Alter Hall 746, 1130am – 100pm

Abstract

Extant research has shown that consumer online product ratings can significantly influence
product sales. However, these ratings have also been shown to be subject to a number of social
influences. In other words, posted product ratings not only reflect the customers’ experience
with the product but also reflect the influence of others’ ratings. The objective of this paper is to
model posted product ratings in an effort to measure the impact of the social dynamics that may
occur in a ratings environment on both subsequent rating behavior as well as product sales.

Our modeling efforts are two fold. First, we model the arrival of product ratings and separate the
effect of social influences from the underlying or baseline ratings behavior. Second, we model
product sales as a function of posted product ratings. However, rather than simply modeling the
effects of observed ratings, we decompose ratings into a baseline rating and the contribution of
social influence. From this model, we can measure the overall sales impact resulting from
observed social dynamics.

We show that ratings behavior is significantly affected by previously posted ratings. We further
show that the effect on sales resulting from this social dynamic is significant but relatively small
compared to the effect that ratings have when they represent an unbiased and independent
evaluation of the product. With the increased popularity of online discussion and ratings forums,
many marketers have been investing in efforts to moderate these conversations or to contribute
comments of their own, effectively biasing the sentiments expressed in the online forum. Our
results show that while these efforts can affect sales, their effects are limited and short-lived.

Tagged With: online ratings, social dynamics, univ of maryland, wendy moe

Primary Sidebar

RSS MIS News

  • AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference 2025 April 17, 2025
  • Temple AIS wins at the 2024 AIS Software Innovation Challenge! January 15, 2025
  • 10 Week Summer Internship in CyberSecurity October 7, 2024
  • Volunteer for Cybersecurity Awareness Month October 7, 2024
  • MIS faculty awarded promotions June 17, 2024

Tags

AI amrit tiwana Artificial Intelligence blockchain boston college bots brian butler carnegie mellon univ crowd culture deception Deep Learning Design experiment Field Experiment financial technology georgia state georgia tech Healthcare Human vs AI information security Innovation Institutional Theory IT Outsourcing long tail Machine Learning machines Maryland media Online Communities platform privacy productivity Quasi-natural experiment recommender systems simulation Social Capital social media social network steven johnson technology adoption temple univ user generated content UT Dallas wharton

Archives

Copyright © 2025 Department of Management Information Systems · Fox School of Business · Temple University