Fresh Voices or Sheer Numbers? How Online Review Dynamics Shape Quality Perception. An Experimental Study

Abstract

Title: Fresh Voices or Sheer Numbers? How Online Review Dynamics Shape Quality Perception Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the aspects of recency and quantity of online reviews influence consumers' perception of product quality. Through an experimental study, our research aims to establish the significance of these factors and the extent of their influence. Thus, we can contribute to empirical research that can be leveraged for successful marketing strategies. Method: The findings of this thesis were collected through an experiment. A survey containing manipulations of the experimental variables and Likert scale questions was used for the data collection. The respondents were randomly split into four groups and each group was shown a picture with a specific combination of manipulations. The results were analyzed in the statistical tool SPSS through t-tests, ANOVA and linear regressions. Conclusion: Respondents who were presented with recent reviews assessed the product’s quality as better than those who were presented with old reviews. The sample provided sufficient evidence to support that the recency of reviews has an influence on how consumers perceive product quality. The sample did not provide enough evidence to support the claim that the quantity of reviews influences quality perception. We further found that if a person trusts reviews they are more likely to assess product quality as higher and that the influence of trust was relatively larger than that of the experimental variables.