Abstract:

There is a common practice these days to use paid reviewers to post information about a company’s products in social networks. This research analyzes the credibility and impact of a remunerated review compared to an authentic one, using the general subject’s confidence in online product recommendations as a moderator variable. Results show that people with a low confidence in online recommendations only trust non-paid, genuine reviews. On the other hand, subjects who manifest a high confidence in online recommendations tend to have equal trust in both paid and non-paid product reviews.