Helpful or Harmful? A Double-edged Sword of Emoticons in Online Review Helpfulness

Keywords

Emoji; Emoticon; List-based; Narrative-based; Online review; Review format; Review valence; Smiley

Abstract

Emoticons are graphic demonstrations of facial expressions. They have become a common and easy-to-use tool for online users to express ideas or feelings. Earlier research highlights the importance of emoticons in computer-mediated communications. However, limited attention has been given to the use of emoticons in online reviews. Using the Cognitive Tuning Theory as the backbone, we attempt to examine how emoticons in online reviews influence review helpfulness. One lab experiment with restaurants as the context and one empirical study with data of 4870 hotel reviews from Facebook business pages were conducted. The hypotheses were assessed via multilevel regression analysis using R programming language. Results indicate that positive emoticons enhance review helpfulness when the review is narrative-based and negative emoticons increase review helpfulness when the review is list-based. Processing fluency serves as the underlying mechanism. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Publication Date

12-1-2020

Original Citation

Huang, G.-H., Chang, C.-T., Bilgihan, A., & Okumus, F. (2020). Helpful or harmful? A double-edged sword of emoticons in online review helpfulness. Tourism Management, 81, N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104135

Document Type

Paper

Language

English

Source Title

Tourism Management

Volume

81

College

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Location

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

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