The Interactive Effect of Review Rating and Text Sentiment on Review Helpfulness

Abstract

AbstractReview ratings and text sentiments respectively represent quantitative and qualitative aspects of user-generated product reviews. These two types of polarity information complement each other in affecting consumers’ review evaluation. Few extant studies consider the interplay of review rating and text sentiment on perceived review helpfulness. In this study, we attempt to investigate this potential interaction effect and examine whether it is conditional on review length. The empirical results from an analysis of 70,610 restaurant reviews from Yelp.com indicate that both review ratings and text sentiments exhibit negativity bias effect, such that negative ratings and texts are more helpful than positive ones. Meanwhile, the two types of review valence have a positive interaction effect on perceived review helpfulness. Moreover, the interaction effect of review rating and text sentiment is stronger for longer reviews.KeywordsWord of mouthSentiment analysisReview helpfulness