Consumers often turn to online reviews to decide where to shop, eat or book services, but a new Tulane University study finds that star ratings might be influenced by something other than product quality—the size of the company.
Consumers often turn to online reviews to decide where to shop, eat or book services, but a new Tulane University study finds that star ratings might be influenced by something other than product quality—the size of the company.
In a large-scale, international study published in the Journal of Marketing, researchers found that smaller companies receive more favorable online word-of-mouth than larger ones—even when the customer experience is identical. The reason? People feel more empathy toward small businesses and are more inclined to support them with better reviews.
«This project explored the inherent biases present in online consumer reviews, and our findings reveal that big businesses tend to receive lower average ratings compared to small businesses», said Chris Hydock, co-author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business. «Interestingly, this isn’t because consumers are more critical of big businesses, but rather because they are less inclined to leave positive reviews for big businesses and more likely to do so for small businesses after a good experience.
