When the Stars Shine Too Bright: The Influence of Multidimensional Ratings on Online Consumer Ratings
Schneider, Weinmann, Mohr and vom Brocke challenge the assumption that consumer ratings simply reflect consumer satisfaction, arguing that they can be influenced by the design of the rating system itself. They compare single-dimensional systems, which elicit only an overall rating, with multidimensional systems that elicit ratings on specific dimensions alongside an overall one, and draw on the accessibility and diagnosticity framework to predict that dimensional ratings will shape the overall rating depending on how those dimensions were rated. Seven experiments support that prediction across various settings, rating objects, dimensions and numbers of dimensions. The practical consequence this publication carries is that comparing average ratings across two platforms means comparing the outputs of two different instruments that nobody has calibrated against each other.
Schneider, Weinmann, Mohr and vom Brocke challenge the assumption that consumer ratings simply reflect consumer satisfaction, arguing that they can be influenced by the design of the rating system itself. They compare single-dimensional systems, which elicit only an overall rating, with multidimensional systems that elicit ratings on specific dimensions alongside an overall one, and draw on the accessibility and diagnosticity framework to predict that dimensional ratings will shape the overall rating depending on how those dimensions were rated. Seven experiments support that prediction across various settings, rating objects, dimensions and numbers of dimensions. The practical consequence this publication carries is that comparing average ratings across two platforms means comparing the outputs of two different instruments that nobody has calibrated against each other.
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Schneider, C. J., Weinmann, M., Mohr, P. N. C., & vom Brocke, J. (2021). 'When the stars shine too bright: the influence of multidimensional ratings on online consumer ratings.' Management Science, 67(6), 3871-3898. Seven experiments; dimensional ratings in multidimensional systems influence overall ratings, so ratings can be shaped by the design of the rating system rather than only by satisfaction. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2020.3654
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https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3654
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2020.3654