Online word-of-mouth communication in the form of product reviews is a major information source for consumers and marketers about product quality. The literature has used the mean of online reviews to predict product sales, assuming that the mean reflects product quality. However, using a...

Online product reviews provided by consumers who previously purchased products have become a major information source for consumers and marketers regarding product quality. This study extends previous research by conducting a more compelling test of the effect of online reviews on sales. In...

Online price comparison agents (shopbots) allow consumers to instantaneously receive price and other information from many online retailers. Online consumer clickstream data from ComScore Inc. demonstrate that consumers are increasingly using shopbots to conduct search. This phenomenon raises...

This study examines the nature and role of Psychological Contract Violation (PCV) in online marketplaces, a critical factor that has been largely overlooked by previous research. Applied to buyer-seller relationships, PCV is defined as a buyer's perception of having being treated wrongly...

Institution-based trust is a buyer's perception that effective third-party institutional mechanisms are in place to facilitate transaction success. This paper integrates sociological and economic theories about institution­ based trust to propose that the perceived effectiveness of three...