Exploring the WOW in online-auction feedback

The reputation system, or Feedback Forum as it is called on eBay, is considered the most critical element for success in online auctions. Previous studies have examined only “aggregate” reputation measures. This research extends the investigation into “detailed” reputation-system information elements by classifying online-auction reputation information as a rating-and-review (RR) type of “word-of-web” (WOW). We discovered, via a study of rating-and-review WOW from 86 websites, a characteristic that is unique to online auctions-“bidirectionality”-and, in a study of online-auction utilization, found that indeed several “detailed” reputation-system elements, such as feedback reviews, are processed during consumer/bidder decision making.