Negativity bias in the diagnosticity of online review content: the effects of consumers’ prior experience and need for cognition

The importance of online review valence is a subject of debate among scholars. Prior studies mostly assumed valence as a “peripheral” cue derived from online review surface features (e.g., star ratings). This assumption has important implications as it restricts the negativity bias effects to a certain group of consumers who lack pertinent prior experience with the product/service domain and the motivation to assess the product/service. …