![Sample our Information Science journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5940/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Communication-Studies.jpg"})
Abstract
Online reviews represent an important decision aid for consumers. Therefore, the question of whether online reviews reflect the currently available information is of high importance. Nevertheless, previous research neglects information processing on online review platforms. We address this research gap and analyze whether restaurant health inspection results have an impact on the review generation process of online restaurant reviews. We find that while severe health inspection results lead to changes of online review star ratings, information processing depends on the current environment. We find indications for corrective actions after critical health inspections: on the one hand, the restaurant health score improves, which shows an increase in restaurant quality. On the other hand, we observe indications for an increased amount of fake reviews in case of poorly-graded restaurants. We contribute to theory by providing an understanding of the nature of information processing on online review platforms. For practitioners, our findings allow for an understanding of the dynamics of online review generation. Furthermore, we outline the importance of considering the risk of deceptive behavior.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the review team for providing very constructive feedback which has helped to significantly improve the manuscript throughout the review process.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Michael Siering
Michael Siering ([email protected]) is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany and a Business Consultant in the fields of digitalization and risk management. He holds a Doctoral degree from Goethe University Frankfurt and was a Visiting Scholar at Penn State University. His research studies decision support in electronic markets, with a focus on the analysis of user-generated content and applications in investment management, fraud detection, and social commerce. His work has been published in such journals as Journal of Management Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Journal of Information Technology, and Decision Support Systems.
Christian Janze
Christian Janze ([email protected]) holds a Doctoral degree from Goethe University Frankfurt. His research focuses on user generated content and has appeared in such venues as Decision Support Systems and the Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems.