The Role of Power and Incentives in Inducing Fake Reviews in the Tourism Industry

被引:79
作者
Choi, Sungwoo [1 ]
Mattila, Anna S. [2 ]
Van Hoof, Hubert B. [1 ]
Quadri-Felitti, Donna [1 ]
机构
[1] Penn State Univ, Sch Hospitality Management, 101 Keller Bldg, University Pk, PA 16802 USA
[2] Penn State Univ, Sch Hospitality Management, Lodging Management, University Pk, PA 16802 USA
关键词
online review; fake review; unethical behaviors; power; incentives; WORD-OF-MOUTH; ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING; ONLINE HOTEL REVIEWS; SOCIAL-CLASS; MODERATING ROLE; USER REVIEWS; CONSUMERS; IMPACT; SELF; MONEY;
D O I
10.1177/0047287516677168
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
As online reviews have become increasingly prevalent in recent years and their influence on consumers' purchasing decisions has grown exponentially, some companies have begun to ask people to write fake reviews about their businesses or their competitors while offering compensation in return. This process has drawn the attention of regulators because it knowingly misleads consumers. This article reports on two studies that looked at the effect of two types of incentives (self-benefiting or charitable) on individuals' intentions to write fake reviews and examined the moderating role of a person's sense of power on his or her propensity to post a fake review. The study findings indicate that powerless individuals are more likely to post a fake review when presented with a monetary incentive rather than a charity incentive, while powerful individuals are not impacted by incentive type. Moreover, when asked to post negative fake reviews about competitors, such effects are mitigated.
引用
收藏
页码:975 / 987
页数:13
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