Research On The Mechanisms Generating Fake Reviews And Their Impact On Consumer Rating Preference

As consumers increasingly rely on online reviews for making purchasing decisions,merchants have come to understand the significance of these reviews and have started to manipulate them by posting fake reviews to optimize their benefits.On the one hand,merchants post positive fake reviews to exaggerate the quality of their products and services,aiming to improve their reputation and increase sales.On the other hand,merchants post negative fake reviews about their competitors to detract from their products and services,aiming to decrease their competitors’ reputation and sales.Although a considerable amount of research has investigated the reasons behind and effects of fake reviews,crucial research questions still need to be addressed.For instance,the important role of review manipulation by competitors is needed to be considered when examining the factors generating positive fake reviews.Additionally,the characteristics merchants of that drive competitors to post negative fake reviews have yet to be explored.Furthermore,while research has been conducted on the impact of fake reviews,there is a need for further study on the impact on subsequent consumer rating preference.To address the above research gaps,this paper provides a comprehensive overview of current research on online fake reviews and relevant theories of merchant market competition and online consumer reviews.This paper selects restaurant reviews on the widely recognized online review platform Yelp as the research subject,examining the motives behind merchants’ positive and negative fake reviews and their impact on subsequent consumer rating preference,and expends the following specific content:(1)This study delves into the influence of competitors’ review manipulation and merchants’ reputation on positive fake reviews.First,a research framework for social comparison among merchants is developed through social comparison theory to explore the effect of competitor review manipulation on merchants’ motivation to post positive fake reviews.Further,this study explores the effect of merchants’ reputations on their motivation to publish positive fake reviews combining the loss aversion theory.This study finds that the extent of manipulation by competitors significantly heightens a merchant’s inclination to publish positive fake reviews,while a merchant’s superior reputation compared to competitors reduces this inclination.This study further reveals that the above two motivations can be moderated by the merchant’s prospective popularity,not by the type of restaurant.(2)This study examines the influence of the differences in popularity of the merchant and its competitors on negative fake reviews.As these negative fake reviews are often thought from the competitors of merchants,this paper incorporates signal theory to explore the characteristics of the competitors that may evoke envy in merchants.As a result,the motivations for merchants to publish negative fake reviews are explored.Results from empirical analysis indicate that merchants with relatively higher online popularity than their competitors are more likely to receive more negative fake reviews.Furthermore,this study also finds that factors such as the merchant’s rating,its type,and the popularity of the competitors significantly impact the above effects.(3)This study examines the influence of positive and negative fake reviews on consumer rating preference.Based on the persuasion knowledge model,the study finds that fake reviews can cause consumers’ reverse psychology,affecting their rating preferences.The findings show that positive fake reviews lead consumers to underestimate the quality of products and services,leading to lower ratings,while negative fake reviews cause consumers to overestimate the quality,resulting in higher ratings.This study also reveals that the proportion of extremely positive and negative reviews in online reviews can significantly impact these effects.Based on the previously discussed research content,this research examines the driving forces behind positive and negative fake reviews from a competitive perspective and the effects of these fake reviews on consumer rating preference from the perspective of a merchant’s reputation.The findings of this research make a valuable contribution to the existing literature on fake reviews and online reviews and have practical implications for the design and improvement of online platforms.Additionally,these conclusions can inform the development of effective policies to encourage fair competition among merchants and increase consumer trust in these platforms.