Modeling the dynamics of online review life cycle: Role of social and economic moderations

Abstract

Online review system (ORS) can unite members who share similar interests in topic discussion or knowledge exchange that entails dynamics and complexity. In this work, we propose a multiagent system to replicate the evolution of social bonds and online reviews in ORS. To validate the proposed method, we use big data from a real-world ORS collected over a period of 153 months. Results show that the proposed agent-based model can accurately predict the construction of bonds and the volumes of online reviews. Moreover, social moderation, economic moderation, and the combined moderating mechanism can motivate ORS members to post reviews. The stage (phase) of the review life cycle and the degree of moderation significantly impact the effectiveness of the mechanisms. Depending on the stage of the review life cycle, social and economic moderators have different degrees of success in generating online reviews. In the early stage, economic moderation is effective, whereas social moderation works better in the late stage. When the moderating levels are medium or high, the combined social and economic moderation is much better than the stand-alone mechanism. Although social bonds are positively associated with more posting, none of the moderating mechanisms (economic, social, or combined) can significantly enhance the bond. To manage ORS effectively, managers need to switch from the conventional static view (relying on single theory) to the dynamic view. In addition, they should incorporate social exchange, motivation, and social network concepts at different stages of the ORS life cycle.