The impact of context clues on online review helpfulness

Purpose This paper seeks to propose and empirically validate a conceptual model on the antecedents of review helpfulness comprising three constructs, namely, valence dissimilarity, lexical dissimilarity and review order. Design/methodology/approach A panel dataset of customer reviews was collected from Amazon. Using deep learning and text processing techniques, 650,995 reviews on 13,612 products from 570,870 reviewers were analyzed. Using negative binomial regression, four hypotheses were tested. Findings The results indicate that new reviews with high valence dissimilarity and lexical dissimilarity compared to existing reviews are less helpful. However, over the sequence of reviews, the negative effect of review dissimilarity on review helpfulness can be moderated. This moderation differs for valence and lexical dissimilarity. Research limitations/implications This study explains review dissimilarity in the context of online review helpfulness. It draws on the elaboration likelihood model and explains how the impacts of peripheral and central cues are moderated over the sequence of reviews. Practical implications The findings of this study provide benefits to online retailers planning to implement online reviews to improve user experience. Originality/value This paper highlights the importance of review dissimilarity in identifying user perception of online review helpfulness and understanding the dynamics of this perception over the sequence of reviews, which can lead to improved marketing strategies.