The role of reviewer badges in the dynamics of online reviews

In this research, we examine the role of reviewer badges in the spread of opinion in the context of online reviews. Specifically, we investigate how ratings from badged and non-badged reviewers influence the opinions of subsequent reviewers, how this influence varies depending on whether the subsequent reviewer is badged, and the dynamics of review time and recent product popularity. Using a multimethod approach and archival data covering a two-year period of 458,305 reviews for products in both hedonic and utilitarian categories on Amazon (with data from TripAdvisor as a robustness check), we uncover several unique insights. First, badged reviewers tend to give lower ratings than non-badged reviewers. Second, prior ratings from badged reviewers have a smaller positive influence on subsequent reviewers than ratings from non-badged reviewers. Third, when we distinguish between badged and non-badged subsequent reviewers, we find that ratings from prior non-badged reviewers have a negative effect on ratings awarded by subsequent badged reviewers. These three effects are consistent with badged reviewers’ drive to differentiate their reviews. Finally, we find that badged reviewers tend toward stronger differentiation behavior when the reviewed product has recently become available online and when it has a high proportion of recent reviews from non-badged reviewers. The findings have important implications for marketing managers seeking to influence the review-generation process for their products and for platform managers working to incentivize the quantity and quality of reviews on their websites by awarding badges or other forms of recognition.