›› 2017, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (10): 95-107.

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Factors Affecting the Perceived Usefulness of Online Reviews

Min Qingfei, Qin Liang, Zhang Keliang   

  1. Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024
  • Received:2015-07-31 Online:2017-10-28 Published:2017-11-01

Abstract:

Our model focuses on the effect of system manipulation, social network of reviewer and characteristics of review on the perceived usefulness (PU) of online reviews. This paper uses the data collected from Pconline.com to empirically validate our model. The result reveals that the direct manipulation of the system will significantly affect the PU of online reviews. Meanwhile, except for the number of fans, the quality of fans should also be highlighted which will eventually impose a nuanced influence on the PU. Considering the individual characteristics and overall characteristic of online review, we find that the overall characteristic of online reviews will moderate the effect of individual characteristics on PU. The effect of two-sided reviews on the PU is stronger in the review set of positive balance (the ratio of positive to negative reviews).

Key words: online reviews, system manipulation, balance, review set