26 June, 2018: Professor Sarang Sunder, from Texas Christian University, will speak on ‘Unpacking the Wisdom of the Crowd and Friends: The Role of Rater and Firm Expertise on Social Influences in Online Ratings’ as part of the Seminar series by the Research and Publications Office of IIMB, on July 05.
In his talk, Prof. Sunder will touch upon how social effects unfold in online ratings. In his paper, he examines both crowd and friends’ social influences on rating behavior and uncovers the informational influence of user expertise and the signaling effects of firm expertise in online ratings. Using data from an online community comprising 41,797 users rating over 5,138 products from 2,206 firms across 10 years, he estimates social influence using robust panel data methods. The results suggest that, although social multipliers are significant in the rating context, a more nuanced view is recommended. Highlighting the informational role of rater expertise, the positive effect of the crowd is weakened as the user gains expertise but the friend effect is amplified as user expertise increases. Further, he demonstrates that a firm’s product line can act as a signal of expertise that weakens the positive influence of the social multiplier. This study highlights a more nuanced view of social multipliers and has implications to the practice of online reputation management, rating system design and firm product strategy.
Speaker Profile: http://neeley.tcu.edu/About_Neeley/Faculty_and_Staff/Sunder,_Sarang.aspx
Title: Unpacking the Wisdom of the Crowd and Friends: The Role of Rater and Firm Expertise on Social Influences in Online Ratings
Speaker: Sarang Sunder, Texas Christian University
Date: 05.07.2018, Venue: P12 @ 2.30PM
26 June, 2018: Professor Sarang Sunder, from Texas Christian University, will speak on ‘Unpacking the Wisdom of the Crowd and Friends: The Role of Rater and Firm Expertise on Social Influences in Online Ratings’ as part of the Seminar series by the Research and Publications Office of IIMB, on July 05.
In his talk, Prof. Sunder will touch upon how social effects unfold in online ratings. In his paper, he examines both crowd and friends’ social influences on rating behavior and uncovers the informational influence of user expertise and the signaling effects of firm expertise in online ratings. Using data from an online community comprising 41,797 users rating over 5,138 products from 2,206 firms across 10 years, he estimates social influence using robust panel data methods. The results suggest that, although social multipliers are significant in the rating context, a more nuanced view is recommended. Highlighting the informational role of rater expertise, the positive effect of the crowd is weakened as the user gains expertise but the friend effect is amplified as user expertise increases. Further, he demonstrates that a firm’s product line can act as a signal of expertise that weakens the positive influence of the social multiplier. This study highlights a more nuanced view of social multipliers and has implications to the practice of online reputation management, rating system design and firm product strategy.
Speaker Profile: http://neeley.tcu.edu/About_Neeley/Faculty_and_Staff/Sunder,_Sarang.aspx
Title: Unpacking the Wisdom of the Crowd and Friends: The Role of Rater and Firm Expertise on Social Influences in Online Ratings
Speaker: Sarang Sunder, Texas Christian University
Date: 05.07.2018, Venue: P12 @ 2.30PM