The well-documented rating inflation of incentivized reviews (IRs) can mislead consumers into choosing a product that they would otherwise not buy. To protect consumers from this undesirable influence, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission recommends that reviewers conspicuously disclose any...

This research investigates a newly observed online pricing practice in which a seller frames a price premium as a discount by simultaneously increasing the price and introducing a list price, a scheme we call “Premium and List Price Synchronization” (PLPS). By analyzing longitudinal data of...

This paper uncovers the striking power of a product’s first consumer review. Our analytical model suggests that two key metrics of online consumer reviews, valence and volume, are not independent, but instead evolve interdependently. This interdependence forms a mechanism to transfer a...