February 21, 2020 in Resoundingly Human
Is your bias affecting my meal?
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https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2020.01.29p
When we travel to a new place, whether for long overdue vacation, a work trip, or simply a day trip someplace we’ve been meaning to check out, many of us rely on review platforms such as TripAdvisor and Yelp to help us plan our visit. In particular, we look for guidance and advice in selecting restaurants, making choices based on how previous visitors have rated their own experience.
But how accurate are these reviews really? And adding more ‘food’ for thought, how much of a role does personal bias play when it comes to these reviews, and exactly what factors contribute to that bias?
To learn about some surprising ways in which bias impacts online reviews, in this episode I am joined by Marios Kokkodis, professor with the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, whose study, “Your Hometown Matters: Popularity-Difference Bias in Online Reputation Platforms,” is slated for publication in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research.
Want to learn more? Check out the additional resoruces and links listed below for more information about what was discussed in this episode.
Ashley Kilgore has more than a decade of experience in nonprofit communications and public relations, to include print, radio, video, and web. Contact Ashley Kilgore.