Some remarks on the internal consistency of online consumer reviews

In recent years, online consumer reviews (OCRs) have developed into a popular topic of qualitative and quantitative marketing research. Depending on the platform they arise from, OCRs can be composed of an overall star rating, explicit pros and cons, free text comments and a recommendation indicator. This paper examines whether these components provide consistent information regarding the evaluated product. Insights about the internal consistency of this form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) can be useful in consumer-oriented marketing strategies, complaint management as well as product development and improvement. By using a regression analysis framework the correlative relationships between star rating and recommendation are studied, as well as the effects that posted advantages and disadvantages, stated either explicitly or implicitly, have on these two types of product evaluations. The available results clearly support the view of OCRs as a consistent database for marketing research concerning eWOM. However, they also show that a combined consideration of all components can remarkably increase the information obtainable from this data source.