Keep Your Cool or Let it Out: Nonlinear Effects of Expressed Arousal on Perceptions of Consumer Reviews

Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 447-463, 2017

Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business Research Paper No. 2016-057

17 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2016 Last revised: 27 May 2017

See all articles by Dezhi Yin

Dezhi Yin

University of South Florida

Samuel Bond

Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology - Scheller College of Business

Han Zhang

Georgia Institute of Technology - Scheller College of Business

Date Written: July 28, 2016

Abstract

This research explores how expressed emotional arousal in a consumer review affects reader perceptions of its helpfulness. Drawing from research on written communication and lay theories of emotion, the authors propose a pattern of diminishing returns, in which the marginal effect of arousal on perceived helpfulness is positive at low levels of arousal but diminishes at higher levels. Results of a field study using Apple’s App Store, a follow-up survey, and two laboratory experiments provide consistent evidence for the predicted pattern. In addition, results suggest that the nonlinear effect is explained in part by perceptions of reviewer effort, and that the effect is stronger for products that are utilitarian in nature. By revealing a nuanced relationship between emotional expression and perceived helpfulness, these findings offer valuable implications for effective word-of-mouth communication.

Keywords: Word-of-mouth, Arousal, Emotion, Helpfulness, Consumer reviews

Suggested Citation

Yin, Dezhi and Bond, Samuel and Zhang, Han, Keep Your Cool or Let it Out: Nonlinear Effects of Expressed Arousal on Perceptions of Consumer Reviews (July 28, 2016). Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 447-463, 2017, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business Research Paper No. 2016-057, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2852932

Dezhi Yin (Contact Author)

University of South Florida ( email )

Tampa, FL 33620
United States

Samuel Bond

Georgia Institute of Technology ( email )

Atlanta, GA 30332
United States

Georgia Institute of Technology - Scheller College of Business ( email )

800 West Peachtree St.
Atlanta, GA 30308
United States

Han Zhang

Georgia Institute of Technology - Scheller College of Business ( email )

800 West Peachtree St.
Atlanta, GA 30308
United States

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