Customers, Watch Out! Experimental Insights Into The Detection of Fake Online Reviews

Consumers rely on experiences from other individuals expressed online when forming an attitude about a product and making purchase decisions. However, the trustworthiness of consumers’ online opinions is jeopardized through the deceptive behavior of firms in the form of fake reviews. In their interactions with strangers, the readers of online reviews derive the trustworthiness of the reviews from available cues. This research investigates consumers’ ability to identify fake reviews. Three experimental studies were conducted and included different potential detection support mechanisms. The results show that priming self-protection, as well as two of the three tested detection support mechanisms, affect the source’s trustworthiness. This research contributes to the field of online interactions by highlighting the dark sides of the rising practice of fake reviews.