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Word of Mouth

“Word-of-mouth” refers to the organic and informal spread of information or recommendations about a product, service, brand, or business from one person to another. In the digital age, one of the most common forms of word of mouth is online consumer reviews. Consumers often look at online consumer reviews as a key source of information before making a purchase decision. However, only a small percentage of buyers end up leaving a review, which means there is the potential for biased information due to non-random missing information.

In this stream of research, I have investigated the characteristics of those who do and do not leave online reviews, the underlying motivations to share online consumer reviews, and how the influence of online consumer reviews on preferences is affected by the order and format of the reviews.

References:

  • Camilleri, A. R. (2021). Who doesn’t read online consumer reviews, and why? Personality and Individual Differences, 179, 110954. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110954 [Stimuli] [PDF]
  • Camilleri, A. R. (2020). The importance of online reviews depends on when they are presented. Decision Support Systems, 133, 113307. DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2020.113307 [PDF]
  • Camilleri, A. R. (2017). The presentation format of review score information influences consumer preferences through the attribution of outlier reviews. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 38, 1-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2017.02.002 [PDF]
  • Powell, A. E., Camilleri, A. R., Dobele, A. R., & Stavros, C. (2017). Developing a scale for the perceived social benefits of sharing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 34(6), 496-504. DOI: 10.1108/JCM-03-2017-2124 [PDF]