Do extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence? Differential effect of trust cues on helpfulness by review extremity: an empirical study using big data

This study examines whether the effect of trust cues, such as verified purchase badges and user-provided photos, on review helpfulness differs by review extremity, on which Sagan’s standard and the theory of confirmation bias suggest contradictory predictions. Adopting large empirical data with approximately 31 million online reviews from Amazon.com, this study finds that the effect of trust cues on review helpfulness is significantly larger for moderate reviews, although the difference is negated for highly helpful reviews, and the effect is more considerable for extremely positive reviews than extremely negative reviews. The findings also disclose that the effect is more substantial for extreme reviews on search products and those on tangible products, suggesting that the differential effect depends on product attributes.