Projecting service quality: The effects of social media reviews on service perception

Consumers use social media reviews from either organizations (provider-driven reviews) or other consumers (consumer-driven reviews) to make decisions. Although these reviews are prevalent, there is only a basic understanding of when these reviews induce more favorable service perceptions and behavioral intention, and what drives such desirable outcomes. This study investigates factors that impact consumers' reactions to social media reviews and the underlining process. We find that the effects of the reviews on service evaluations depend on service attributes (experience vs. credence) and apparent social media popularity (i.e., number of likes). Study 1 shows that participants evaluate service providers with credence attributes (a hospital) more favorably when viewing provider-driven reviews. However, study 2 shows that the opposite is true for services with experience attributes (a restaurant). In contrast to conventional wisdom, page popularity induces a less favorable perception of consumer-driven reviews of services with credence attributes. Furthermore, information credibility mediated the review type's indirect effect on service perception.