The limits of reputation in platform markets: An empirical analysis and field experiment
Nosko first author. Using transaction-level marketplace data, the authors build a measure of seller quality from the share of transactions that generate positive feedback, counting transactions where buyers leave no feedback at all. It predicts poor transaction outcomes and later purchasing even after controlling for the visible reputation measures. When the platform put the measure into its search ranking, buyers shifted towards higher-quality sellers and bought more later, without reducing conversion at the time.
Nosko first author. Using transaction-level marketplace data, the authors build a measure of seller quality from the share of transactions that generate positive feedback, counting transactions where buyers leave no feedback at all. It predicts poor transaction outcomes and later purchasing even after controlling for the visible reputation measures. When the platform put the measure into its search ranking, buyers shifted towards higher-quality sellers and bought more later, without reducing conversion at the time.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-18.
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Nosko, C., & Tadelis, S. (2026). The limits of reputation in platform markets: An empirical analysis and field experiment. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 24(1). doi:10.1007/s11129-026-09313-1.