The role of online product reviews on information adoption of new product development professionals

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of features involving online product reviews (OPRs) on information adoption by new product developers (NPDs). Design/methodology/approach -In total, 143 OPRs on a specific product on Amazon.com were collected as the sample of this study. Using content analysis ratings and observed data in OPRs, the research model was analyzed with the partial least squares (PLS) method. Findings -Results suggest that helpfulness rating and the degree of referencing are positively associated with NPDs' information adoption, while the extremeness of product rating is negatively associated. Moreover, title attractiveness mitigates the negative relationship between the extremeness of product rating and information adoption. Practical implications -The findings provide interesting insight for NPDs who visit e-commerce sites to learn through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. OPRs with a higher degree of referencing, higher helpfulness rating, moderate level of product rating, and higher degree of title attractiveness are better adopted by NPDs. Social implications -This paper investigates the value of OPRs for a specific group of information users and suggests that information about products generated by anonymous consumers can be crucial. Originality/value -While extant studies have focussed on the impacts of OPRs on consumers' purchasing intention and behavior, this paper is among the first attempts to investigate the impacts of OPRs on developers' information adoption. Therefore, it contributes to the body of knowledge on knowledge transfer from consumers to business as well as the information adoption literature.

Managing online creativity for improving innovation performance

“…Based on this knowledge, firms are able to develop a new product that is superior to existing products in attributes or service offerings (Lee and Yang, 2015). In this line, users within an online creative climate in computer-mediated platforms are also likely to have a similar behavior to express themselves, with insightful knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of existing products.…”

“…In addition, users in virtual environments can offer firms knowledge about unique or breakthrough features of existing products (Zhou et al, 2014;Lee and Yang, 2015). Following these views, users within an online creative climate in computer-mediated platforms can also provide firms with information related to their products' unique or breakthrough features.…”

The Effect of Unsolicited Online Product Feedback Orientation on Product Development Success in the North American Consumer Electronics Industry

“…Unfortunately, since very little prior work has been done to create a definitive typology of online social media, the present study will focus on the most frequently used sources of social media (Leenders & Dolfsma, 2016;Xiang & Gretzel, 2010). The four primary sources or "channels" of social media that contain UOPF consist of virtual community posts, online product reviews, social networks posts, and blogs/vlogs (Lee & Yang, 2015). These sources of UOPF are all considered as subsets of social media, but have never been investigated within a single study in terms of their impact on product development (Piller et al, 2012).…”

“…The subsequent rise in online commerce (e-commerce) has further increased the prevalence and importance of this type of product feedback (Lee & Yang, 2015). Online product reviews allow online shoppers to share their opinions, thereby encouraging others to shop online.…”

“…Nonetheless, prior research has primarily focused on examining the "demand enhancing" impact of online product reviews on the purchasing intention of other buyers and the link between positive reviews and selling price and overall sales (Dellarocas, 2003;Li, Hitt, & Zhang, 2011). Lee and Yang (2015) also found that most prior research on online product reviews has focused on customer learning, purchasing behaviour, and marketing while little effort has been placed on examining how organizations integrate the information from online product reviews into product development. With respect to product development, the only identified, semi-relevant research study on this topic comes from Kumar et al (2010) who state that positive or negative online product reviews can be used as general indicators of customer satisfaction with a product or service.…”