Kordrostami, Elika, Yuping Liu-Thompkins, and Vahid Rahmani (in press), “Investigating the Influence of Regulatory Focus on the Efficacy of Online Review Volume Versus Valence,” to appear in European Journal of Marketing. [Download Full-Text PDF]
Abstract: Valence and volume of online reviews are generally considered to influence sales positively. However, existing findings regarding the relative influence of these two components have been inconclusive. With the goal of explaining some of these inconsistencies, this paper examines the moderating role of regulatory focus in the relationship between online review volume/valence and consumers’ purchase decisions. Through an experimental study and analyses of Amazon.com data, we find that online review valence was more impactful for consumers with a promotion focus and for promotion-oriented products, whereas online review volume effects were stronger for consumers with a prevention focus and for prevention-oriented products. These findings suggest the need for companies to adapt their consumer review management strategy to the regulatory orientation of their target market and products.