eWOM Watchdogs: Ego-threatening Product Domains and the Policing of Online Product Reviews
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-11-2014
Publication Title
Psychology & Marketing
DOI
10.1002/mar.20735
Abstract
Suspicion regarding dishonest electronic word-of-mouth is a growing concern for consumers online. Individual consumers are occasionally seen acting as product review forum “watchdogs” within the websites they visit, posting vigilante comments against reviews they perceive to be fraudulent. This multimethod set of studies investigates consumer “watchdog comments,” and the way in which ego-threatening product categories themselves may actually induce a prosecutorial mindset, leading to greater levels of suspicion toward positive online product reviews and the impulse to prosecute potential fraudsters. In Study 1, laboratory-induced ego threat increased punitive severity against the act of falsifying online product reviews. In Study 2, a content analysis of actual Amazon.com reviews and consumer commentary indicates that the occurrence of watchdog comments is more common within ego-threatening product categories.
Recommended Citation
Larson, Lindsay, Luther Trey Denton.
2014.
"eWOM Watchdogs: Ego-threatening Product Domains and the Policing of Online Product Reviews."
Psychology & Marketing, 31 (9): 801-811.
doi: 10.1002/mar.20735
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/marketing-facpubs/56
