THREE EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON ONLINE REPUTATION AND REGULATION MECHANISMS

Abstract

Recent developments in information technology have given risen to various online reputation and regulation mechanisms which generate reliable digital cues for trust formation and facilitate economic transactions in online marketplaces. Despite the prevalence of online reputation and regulation mechanisms, there are still underexplored areas in existing online reputation mechanisms, lack of research on newly developed reputation mechanisms, as well as scant empirical evidence in the context of newly emerged online marketplaces. In response to the aforementioned gaps, this dissertation investigates the economic impact of online reputation and regulation mechanisms through three empirical studies (i.e., online review platforms in study 1, online product sampling in study 2, and sharing economy in study 3). The notable findings provide new insights to the literature of online reputation and regulation mechanisms and offer practical guidance for marketers and platform operators to understand the effective use of various online reputation mechanisms and regulatory approaches.