Interaction between satisfaction and incentives on online reviews

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interaction effect between customer satisfaction and monetary incentives on online reviews and test the moderating effect of personal characteristics, filling the research gap in online review behavior from the senders. Design/methodology/approach: Using a project role-playing technique that is widely applied in the marketing field, the authors conducted two experimental studies in a laboratory setting with student subjects and collected 390 and 362 acceptable samples for analysis in Studies 1 and 2, respectively. Findings: This research confirms the positive effects of satisfaction and incentives on review scores and tests the interaction effect between satisfaction and incentives on review scores with the moderating effects of moral judgment and sensitivity of promotion. Incentives could strengthen customers’ review scores except under small incentives situation where dissatisfied customers decrease scores instead. Additionally, the moderating effects of moral judgment and sensitivity of promotion are more significant in the case of dissatisfaction. Research limitations/implications: As this study focuses exclusively on a single service context and uses student samples, limitations persist regarding the generalizability of the results. Practical implications: The research provides new insights for marketers on designing effective incentive programs, as well as how to better balance costs and benefits in promotion strategies. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explore the interaction effect between satisfaction and incentives on online reviews considering the moderating effects of moral judgment and sensitivity of promotion. As a result, a new model is forwarded.