From satisfaction of consumers to satisfaction with consumers: Reverse rating in the sharing economy

My dissertation introduces a novel rating practice in digital two-sided markets (in particular, sharing economy platforms), termed reverse rating (i.e., consumers being rated by providers). In particular, I focus on consumer acceptance of (or reluctance towards) platforms that employ this practice. Thus, while my perspective is focused on consumers, the implications are directed toward platforms. More specifically, I investigate two key platform-level strategies (e.g., positioning, provider selection) that should affect consumer acceptance of reverse rating (as measured in terms of consumer responses). Theoretically, I propose that the sharing economy embodies two distinct institutional logics (i.e., market logic and non-market logic), which determine how consumers perceive their relationship with providers. Specifically, I argue that the manifestation of non-market logic promotes a more egalitarian and empathetic relationship between consumers and providers, which reinforces consumer acceptance of reverse rating. The results of one cross-sectional survey and seven experiments support my thesis. In this dissertation, I highlight two forms of manifestation of institutional logic that platforms can control: the positioning strategy and the provider type on a platform. In brief, the empirical evidence suggests that the reverse rating practice is more positively associated with consumer responses (i.e., a more positive consumer evaluation and a stronger platform usage intention) if a platform adopts a relationship-focused (vs. profit-focused) positioning strategy. This main effect is mediated by consumers’ perceived closeness with providers. Provider type also matters. Consumers are more receptive to being rated by individual providers (e.g., private homeowners) than business providers (e.g., boutique hotels) on a sharing economy platform. This main effect is mediated by consumers’ perceived similarity with providers. The main effect of positioning strategy and provider type on consumer responses holds even when consumers receive a lower-than-expected rating score from a provider. Nonetheless, these two main effects would only hold when the platform employs reverse rating and do not apply to platforms that only allow consumers to rate providers. As a robustness check for the proposed underlying mechanism, two supplemental studies show that consumers who are prompted to take providers’ (vs. their own) perspective when evaluating the reverse rating practice express a higher level of acceptance and more positive consumer responses. Overall, my dissertation offers a set of important contributions to marketing theory by introducing the concept of reverse rating practice and deepening the research on consumer satisfaction and online review by reviving the institutional logic theory. It also points out several actionable guidelines for marketing communications to be conducted by sharing economy platforms where reverse rating is employed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Business Administration

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Shen, Jie (Doreen)

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rindfleisch, Aric
• Lamberton, Cait
• Shavitt, Sharon
• Narang, Unnati

• Sharing economy
• access-based consumption
• bilateral rating
• two-way rating
• reputation system
• reverse rating
• customer satisfaction.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Jie (Doreen) Shen

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115876

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115876