Why and How Consumers Perform Online Reviewing Differently

Abstract

Reviewing products and services is a widespread consumer activity in which millions engage. Why and how do consumers review differently from one another? Prior work assumes that consumers commonly understand what reviewing is. Consequently, it attributes differences in reviewing to individual variations in psychological, motivational, and sociodemographic characteristics, consumption experiences, and expertise. This central assumption is problematic because it fails to consider that differences in how consumers understand reviewing may explain why they approach and perform reviewing differently. To address this gap, we analyze a large qualitative data set composed of reviews and interviews with their authors. Our insights complement prior work by theorizing the sociocultural shaping of reviewing. We answer why consumers review differently by inductively theorizing the concept of reviewing orientation—a cultural model comprising a set of interconnected characteristics that shapes how consumers review and translates into a distinct reviewer voice—a reviewer’s standpoint expressed within a review. We answer how consumers review differently by developing three reviewing orientations: communal sharing, systemic evaluation, and competitive punditry. Finally, we discuss the transferability of the findings, the role of institutional dynamics in reviewing, and recommendations for online review platforms and marketers.