Is it the Review or the Reviewer? A Multi-Method Approach to Determine the Antecedents of Online Review Helpfulness

Abstract
As online reviews increasingly become part of the
purchasing process, it is important to understand
which components of these reviews consumers
consider most helpful in facilitating the purchase
decision process. Online retailer and rating websites
with more helpful reviews offer greater potential
value to their consumers. Through two studies, we
seek to identify and better understand what makes a
helpful consumer review. After an open-ended
analysis of the qualities of a review identified by
subjects’ as helpful, we conducted a controlled
experiment that manipulated both the review content
and the description of the reviewer. One key finding
is that reviews written by a self-described expert are
more helpful than those that are not. This
information can provide guidance to online retailers
and rating websites in their efforts to provide value to
their customers.

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