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The Review of Socionetwork Strategies

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20-08-2018 | Article

Impact of Online Customer Reviews on Sales Outcomes: An Empirical Study Based on Prospect Theory

Authors: Zhen Li, Aoi Shimizu

Published in: The Review of Socionetwork Strategies | Issue 2/2018

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Abstract

This study examines the influence of the valence of online customer reviews on sales outcomes based on prospect theory. Numerous studies have revealed the importance of customer reviews in online marketing. However, only few studies have explored the impact of online customer reviews on sales outcomes in the dynamic process. Prior studies in behavioral economics literature have indicated that people differently value gains and losses and that losses have more emotional impact than an equivalent amount of gains. This study verifies whether prospect theory applies to the relation between online customer reviews and sales outcomes. Relevant data were collected from Amazon.co.jp, and three statistical models were employed to investigate the relation between the two factors. Major findings confirm that negative customer reviews considerably impact online sales than positive reviews. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the marginal effects of positive and negative reviews decrease with the increase in their volume. The results of this study will enable marketers to compare the relative sales effects of different types of customer reviews and improve the effectiveness of customer service management.

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A stock keeping unit (SKU) is a 6–8 character long alphanumeric code used to identify a product and track its inventory. The SKU for each product and seller is a unique number.

F-statistics for the category of portable batteries, earphones, and pump shoes are \(F_{\left( 1,326\right) }=5.78\,\left( p<0.05\right) \), \(F_{\left( 1,365\right) }=3.26\,\left( p<0.10\right) \), and \(F_{\left( 1,1207\right) }=4.73\,\left( p<0.05\right) \).

The ratio of online reviews is \(\left[ 0,R\right) \), where R is an unknown positive number that satisfies \(R<\left| \frac{\beta _{k1}}{2\beta _{k2}}\right| ,\left( k=1,2\right) \) and \(R<100\) simultaneously.

A large value of sales rank represents a small scale of sales volume.

To avoid taking the logarithm of zero, one cent is added to the positive and negative ratios.

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Title: Impact of Online Customer Reviews on Sales Outcomes: An Empirical Study Based on Prospect Theory
Authors: Zhen Li
Aoi Shimizu
Publication date: 20-08-2018
Publisher: Springer Japan
Published in: The Review of Socionetwork Strategies / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 2523-3173
Electronic ISSN: 1867-3236
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12626-018-0022-9

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