Expert opinion and brand reputation: an analysis from a French Cuban cigars guidebook

Abstract

The role of expert opinion and its ability to reflect true quality are discussed. If the expert is theoretically expected to make objective decisions, the empirical evidence does not enable clear answers to be established. Using data from the 32 Cuban brands commercialized in France in the years 2000 to 2003, we estimate experts’ rating hedonic equations. Our results show that the quality of the cigar, measured with a note coded on a scale of 1 to 5, is independent of its price but is linked to its physical attributes. Moreover, these ‘objective’ characteristics play an increasing role over time. Finally, it appears that some brands are favourably considered.

Notes

¹ Due to an insufficient number of variables available, we are not able to resort to the Hausman–Taylor estimator (1981). This estimator assumes that a subset of the explanatory variables are correlated with the individual level random effects, but that none of the explanatory variables are correlated with the idiosyncratic error.

² The time of consumption of a cigar is a positive function of its length and its diameter.