Do Reductions in Search Costs for Partial Information on Online Platforms Lead to Better Consumer Decisions? Evidence of Cognitive Miser Behavior from a Natural Experiment

References

• Adomavicius G, Bockstedt J, Gupta A (2012) Modeling supply-side dynamics of IT components, products, and infrastructure: An empirical analysis using vector autoregression. Inform. Systems Res. 23(2):397–417.Link, Google Scholar
• Anderson S, Renault R (2013) The advertising mix for a search good. Management Sci. 59(1):69–83.Link, Google Scholar
• Angrist JD, Pischke JS (2008) Mostly Harmless Econometrics (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).Google Scholar
• Autor DH (2001) Wiring the labor market. J. Econom. Perspective 15(1):25–40.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Bakos JY (1997) Reducing buyer search costs: Implications for electronic marketplaces. Management Sci. 43(12):1676–1692.Link, Google Scholar
• Bickart B, Schindler RM (2001) Internet forums as influential sources of consumer information. J. Interactive Marketing 15(3):31–40.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Blake T, Nosko C, Tadelis S (2016) Returns to consumer search: Evidence from eBay. Proc. ACM Conf. Econom. Comput. (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 531–545.Google Scholar
• Branco F, Sun M, Villas-Boas JM (2012) Optimal search for product information. Management Sci. 58(11):2037–2056.Link, Google Scholar
• Branco F, Sun M, Villas-Boas JM (2016) Too much information? Information provision and search costs. Marketing Sci. 35(4):605–618.Link, Google Scholar
• Browne GJ, Pitts MG, Wetherbe JC (2007) Cognitive stopping rules for terminating information search in online tasks. MIS Quart. 31(1):89–104.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Brynjolfsson E, Hu Y, Smith MD (2003) Consumer surplus in the digital economy: Estimating the value of increased product variety at online booksellers. Management Sci. 49(11):1580–1596.Link, Google Scholar
• Brynjolfsson E, Hu YJ, Smith MD (2006) From niches to riches: The anatomy of the long tail. Sloan Management Rev. 47(4):67–71.Google Scholar
• Chen YX, Yao S (2017) Sequential search with refinement: Model and application with click-stream data. Management Sci. 63(12):4345–4365.Link, Google Scholar
• Chen PY, Hong YL, Liu Y (2018) The value of multidimensional rating systems: Evidence from a natural experiment and randomized experiments. Management Sci. 64(10):4629–4647.Link, Google Scholar
• Chiang KP, Dholakia RR (2003) Factors driving consumer intention to shop online: An empirical investigation. J. Consumer Psych. 13(1–2):177–183.Crossref, Google Scholar
• De Langhe B, Fernbach PM, Lichtenstein DR (2016) Navigating by the stars: Investigating the actual and perceived validity of online user ratings. J. Consumer Res. 42(6):817–833.Crossref, Google Scholar
• De Los Santos B, Hortacsu A, Wildenbeest MR (2017) Search with learning for differentiated products: Evidence from e-commerce. J. Bus. Econom. Statist. 35(4):626–641.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Deng Y, Zheng J, Khern-Am-Nuai W, Kannan K (2022) More than the quantity: The value of editorial reviews for a user-generated content platform. Management Sci. 68(9):6865–6888.Link, Google Scholar
• Diamond PA (1985) Search Theory (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA).Google Scholar
• Duan WJ, Gu G, Whinston AB (2008) Do online reviews matter? An empirical investigation of panel data. Decision Support Systems 45(4):1007–1016.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Dukes A, Liu L (2015) Online shopping intermediaries: The strategic design of search environments. Management Sci. 62(04):1064–1077.Link, Google Scholar
• Engler TH, Winter P, Schulz M (2015) Understanding online product ratings: A customer satisfaction model. J. Retailing Consumer Services 27:113–120.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Feinberg FM, Huber J (1996) A theory of cutoff formation under imperfect information. Management Sci. 42(1):65–84.Link, Google Scholar
• Gerrig RJ, Zimbardo PG, Campbell AJ, Cumming SR, Wilkes FJ (2011) Psychology and Life, 2nd ed. (Pearson Higher Education AU, Melbourne, Australia).Google Scholar
• Ghose A, Ipeirotis PG, Li BB (2012) Designing ranking systems for hotels on travel search engines by mining user-generated and crowdsourced content. Marketing Sci. 31(3):493–520.Link, Google Scholar
• Ghose A, Ipeirotis PG, Li BB (2019) Modeling consumer footprints on search engines: An interplay with social media. Management Sci. 65(3):1363–1385.Link, Google Scholar
• Gilovich T, Griffin D, Kahneman D (2002) Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgement (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK).Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gray WD, Boehm-Davis DA (2000) Milliseconds matter: An introduction to microstrategies and to their use in describing and predicting interactive behavior. J. Experiment. Psych. Appl. 6(4):322–335.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Gray WD, Sims CR, Fu WT, Schoelles MJ (2006) The soft constraints hypothesis: A rational analysis approach to resource allocation for interactive behavior. Psych. Rev. 113(3):461–482.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Greenwood BN, Wattal S (2017) Show me the way to go home. MIS Quart. 41(1):163–188.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Grinbaum A, Groves C (2013) What is “responsible” about responsible innovation? Understanding the ethical issues. Responsible Innovation: Managing the Responsible Emergence of Science and Innovation in Society (Wiley, Hoboken, NJ), 119–142.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Guo CQ (2001) A review on consumer external search: Amount and determinants. J. Bus. Psych. 15(3):505–519.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Haggag K, Pope DG, Bryant-Lees KB, Bos MW (2019) Attribution bias in consumer choice. Rev. Econom. Stud. 86(5):2136–2183.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Han S, Lerner JS, Keltner D (2007) Feelings and consumer decision making: The appraisal-tendency framework. J. Consumer Psych. 17(3):158–168.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Haubl G, Trifts V (2000) Consumer decision making in online shopping environments: The effects of interactive decision aids. Marketing Sci. 19(1):4–21.Link, Google Scholar
• Holbrook MB (1983) Using a structural model of halo effect to assess perceptual distortion due to affective overtones. J. Consumer Res. 10(2):247–252.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Hong H, Shum M (2006) Using price distributions to estimate search costs. Rand J. Econom. 37(2):257–275.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Hong Y, Huang N, Burtch G, Li C (2016) Culture, conformity and emotional suppression in online reviews. J. Assoc. Inform. Systems 17(11):737–758.Google Scholar
• Hu J, Huhmann BA, Hyman MR (2007) The relationship between task complexity and information search: The role of self-efficacy. Psych. Marketing 24(3):253–270.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Hu N, Pavlou PA, Zhang J (2017) On self-selection biases in online product reviews. MIS Quart. 41(2):449–475.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Huang N, Hong Y, Burtch G (2017) Social network integration and user content generation: Evidence from natural experiments. MIS Quart. 41(4):1035–1058.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Huang N, Sun TS, Chen PY, Golden JM (2019) Word-of-mouth system implementation and customer conversion: A randomized field experiment. Inform. Systems Res. 30(3):805–818.Link, Google Scholar
• Jiang Z, Benbasat I (2007) The effects of presentation formats and task complexity on online consumers’ product understanding. MIS Quart. 31(3):475–500.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Jiang BJ, Zou TX (2020) Consumer search and filtering on online retail platforms. J. Marketing Res. 57(5):900–916.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Jiang Y, Ho YC, Yan XB, Tan Y (2018) Investor platform choice: Herding, platform attributes, and regulations. J. Management Inform. Systems 35(1):86–116.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Jin C, Yang L, Hosanagar K (2023) To brush or not to brush: Product rankings, consumer search, and fake orders. Inform. Systems Res. 34(2):532–552.Link, Google Scholar
• Kim JB, Albuquerque P, Bronnenberg BJ (2010) Online demand under limited consumer search. Marketing Sci. 29(6):1001–1023.Link, Google Scholar
• Kool W, McGuire JT, Rosen ZB, Botvinick MM (2010) Decision making and the avoidance of cognitive demand. J. Experiment. Psych. General 139(4):665–682.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kuksov D (2004) Buyer search costs and endogenous product design. Marketing Sci. 23(4):490–499.Link, Google Scholar
• Kulviwat S, Guo CQ, Engchanil N (2004) Determinants of online information search: A critical review and assessment. Internet Res. 14(3):245–253.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kurzban R, Duckworth A, Kable JW, Myers J (2013) An opportunity cost model of subjective effort and task performance. Behav. Brain Sci. 36(6):661–679.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Kwark Y, Chen JQ, Raghunathan S (2014) Online product reviews: Implications for retailers and competing manufacturers. Inform. Systems Res. 25(1):93–110.Link, Google Scholar
• Li HF, Fang YL, Lim KH, Wang YW (2019) Platform-based function repertoire, reputation, and sales performance of e-marketplace sellers. MIS Quart. 43(1):207–236.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Lin TMY, Lu KY, Wu JJ (2012) The effects of visual information in eWOM communication. J. Res. Interactive Marketing 6(1):7–26.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Long F, Liu Y (2024) Platform manipulation in online retail marketplace with sponsored advertising. Marketing Sci. 43(2):317–345.Link, Google Scholar
• Lynch JG, Ariely D (2000) Wine online: Search costs affect competition on price, quality, and distribution. Marketing Sci. 19(1):83–103.Link, Google Scholar
• Macinnis DJ, Price LL (1987) The role of imagery in information-processing: Review and extensions. J. Consumer Res. 13(4):473–491.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Murphy R (2017) Local consumer review survey. Retrieved December 2, 2017, https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey-2017/.Google Scholar
• Nelson P (1974) Advertising as Information. J. Political Econom. 82(4):729–754.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Panchendrarajan R, Ahamed N, Murugaiah B, Sivakumar P, Ranathunga S, Pemasiri A (2016) Implicit aspect detection in restaurant reviews using cooccurence of words. Proc. 7th Workshop Comput. Approaches Subjectivity Sentiment Social Media Analysis (San Diego, CA), 128–136.Google Scholar
• Panchendrarajan R, Ahamed N, Sivakumar P, Murugaiah B, Ranathunga S, Pemasiri A (2017) Eatery: A multi-aspect restaurant rating system. Proc. 28th ACM Conf. Hypertext Social Media (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 225–234.Google Scholar
• Payne JW, Bettman JR, Johnson EJ (1993) The Adaptive Decision Maker (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK).Crossref, Google Scholar
• Perrow C (1961) Organizational prestige: Some functions and dysfunctions. Amer. J. Sociol. 66(4):335–341.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Risko EF, Gilbert SJ (2016) Cognitive offloading. Trends Cognitive Sci. 20(9):676–688.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Sahoo N, Krishnan R, Duncan G, Callan J (2012) Research note—The halo effect in multicomponent ratings and its implications for recommender systems: The case of Yahoo! Movies. Inform. Systems Res. 23(1):231–246.Link, Google Scholar
• Siegler RS, Lemaire P (1997) Older and younger adults’ strategy choices in multiplication: Testing predictions of ASCM using the choice/no-choice method. J. Experiment. Psych. General 126(1):71–92.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Stanovich KE (2009) The cognitive miser: Ways to avoid thinking. What Intelligence Tests Miss (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT), 70–85.Google Scholar
• Strebel J, Erdem T, Swait J (2004) Consumer search in high technology markets: Exploring the use of traditional information channels. J. Consumer Psych. 14(1–2):96–104.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Sun M (2012) How does the variance of product ratings matter? Management Sci. 58(4):696–707.Link, Google Scholar
• Tversky A, Kahneman D (2000) Choices, Values, and Frames (Russell Sage Foundation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK).Google Scholar
• Underwood RL, Klein NM (2002) Packaging as brand communication: Effects of product pictures on consumer responses to the package and brand. J. Marketing Theory Practice 10(4):58–69.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wansink B, Kent RJ, Hoch SJ (1998) An anchoring and adjustment model of purchase quantity decisions. J. Marketing Res. 35(1):71–81.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Weitzman ML (1979) Optimal search for the best alternative. Econometrica 47(3):641–654.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Westbrook A, Kester D, Braver TS (2013) What is the subjective cost of cognitive effort? Load, trait, and aging effects revealed by economic preference. PLoS One 8(7):e68210.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Wu JH, Li L, Xu LD (2014) A randomized pricing decision support system in electronic commerce. Decision Support Systems 58:43–52.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zhu F, Zhang XQ (2010) Impact of online consumer reviews on sales: The moderating role of product and consumer characteristics. J. Marketing 74(2):133–148.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zinko R, Stolk P, Furner Z, Almond B (2020) A picture is worth a thousand words: How images influence information quality and information load in online reviews. Electronic Markets 30(4):775–789.Crossref, Google Scholar
• Zipf GK (1949) Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology (Addison-Wesley Press, Cambridge, MA).Google Scholar