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Impact of online word-of-mouth on Amazon ranks in selected product categories
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Grinberg, Irina. Impact of online word-of-mouth on Amazon ranks in selected product categories. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T30000WR

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TitleImpact of online word-of-mouth on Amazon ranks in selected product categories
NameGrinberg, Irina (author); Bhuyan, Sanjib (chair); Jin, Yanhong (internal member); Wang, Lei (outside member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - New Brunswick
Date Created2012
Other Date2012-10 (degree)
SubjectFood and Business Economics, Word-of-mouth advertising, Corporations--Ratings and rankings, Teleshopping, Amazon.com (Firm)
Extentvi, 77 p. : ill.
DescriptionIn this thesis, I address a growing trend in how consumers obtain information prior to making their online purchasing decisions. Specifically, I investigate the relationship between online word-of-mouth (WOM; customer reviews and ratings) and sales, measured by Amazon.com “ranks”, for different product categories. I collect daily data from Amazon.com for twenty products in ten categories from December 8, 2011 to February 29, 2012 in an effort to capture changes in online WOM and how it impacts sales. I expand on the traditional metrics used to measure online WOM and mimic how consumers use review information on Amazon.com to make their purchases there. As part of my approach, I take into account the endogenous nature of reviews via instrumental variables. Results of this thesis show that in the Electronics category (1) the number of reviews significantly impact its rank, (2) a two-star rating (compared to a one-star rating) versus a four-star rating (compared to a one-star rating) has a greater impact on its rank, (3) Amazon’s Facebook.com “Likes” feature significantly impacts rank in Books, Electronics and Music, and (4) the impact of online WOM is significant for experience goods, but not for search goods. My findings suggest that online WOM metrics impact consumer purchase decisions through awareness and persuasion. Moreover, it underlines the emerging role of social media in sales outcomes. From a managerial standpoint, these findings suggest that businesses should use ratings, reviews, and social media to build awareness about their products and influence purchase decisions. Future research in online WOM and sales (or rank) outcomes for product categories should control for advertising and product heterogeneity within categories, as well as incorporate social media metrics, review text and length.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Irina Grinberg
Genretheses, ETD graduate
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T30000WR
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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