Motivated by the importance of having reliable online rating systems, we examine the ebb and flow of online ratings with a focus on whether aberrations in online ratings cast a long shadow in subsequent ratings. Our study consists of two complementary pieces: first, we reveal the dynamics...

A key to the content diversity on user-generated content platforms is what subjects users choose to contribute on. This research investigates how two factors can shape contributors’ subject choice decisions, namely, the amount of existing content and content contributed by online friends, or...

User-generated online reviews are crucial for consumer decision-making, but suffer from under- provision, quality degradation, and imbalances across products. This research investigates whether “friend contributions cues,” in the form of highlighted reviews written by online friends, can...