Is a “star” worth a thousand words? : The interplay between product‐review texts and rating valences

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how the interplay of valences (positive or negative) between review texts and ratings affects consumers' reactions to the reviews and the product being assessed. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental design with hypothetical movie reviews was used to investigate how inconsistent text‐rating reviews affect people's intention to consume a particular product and their perceptions of the review itself. Findings – It was found that text valences (positive or negative) significantly influence how subjects perceive the interestingness and trustworthiness of reviews. The texts also have an influence on the subjects' movie‐attendance intention compatible with their valence. In addition, a cross‐over interaction was found between texts and ratings that affects a review's trustworthiness. Research limitations/implications – The study enriches understanding of consumer decision making when different formats of information about the same object are presented. Practical implications – Marketers can benefit by incorporating review texts and rating valences to enhance the prediction accuracy of their products' sales performances. Review publishers can get a better understanding of how to present their reviews to enhance their perceived interestingness and trustworthiness. Originality/value – Product reviews are commonly found in the mass media. These reviews use ratings as evaluative summaries of the texts. However, little research has been conducted regarding the communication effects that the ratings have in relation to the texts. The study seeks to fill this gap.