Paying online community members to write product reviews backfires badly
Monday, May 1, 2017 - 14:31
in Mathematics & Economics
Online user reviews have become an essential tool for consumers who increasingly rely on them to evaluate products and services before purchase. The business models of online review platforms like Yelp and TripAdvisor, and e-commerce sites like Amazon and Expedia critically depend on them. Should such sites pay users to encourage them to write reviews? According to a new study, that is a bad idea.