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Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research is published by MDPI from Volume 16 Issue 3 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY 3.0 licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad de Talca.
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Article

Busting Myths of Electronic Word of Mouth: The Relationship between Customer Ratings and the Sales of Mobile Applications

by
Sami Hyrynsalmi
1,
Marko Seppänen
2,
Leena Aarikka-Stenroos
1,
Arho Suominen
3,
Jonna Järveläinen
1 and
Ville Harkke
1
1
University of Turku, Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland
2
Tampere University of Technology, Center for Innovation and Technology Research, Tampere, Finland
3
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Innovation and Knowledge Economy, Turku, Finland
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2015, 10(2), 1-18; https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762015000200002
Submission received: 17 September 2013 / Accepted: 6 October 2014 / Published: 1 May 2015
Versions Notes

Abstract

Business and academic research frequently highlights the power of electronic word of mouth, relying on the knowledge that online customer ratings and reviews influence consumer decision making. Numerous studies in different disciplines have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of electronic word of mouth communication. Previously, typically small sample studies suggest that positive electronic word of mouth increases sales and that the effects depend on the volume and valence of reviews and ratings. This study’s contribution lies in testing the relationship between electronic word of mouth and the sales of applications in a mobile application ecosystem (Google Play) with an extensive dataset (over 260 million customer ratings; 18 months). The results show that higher values of valence of customer ratings correlate statistically significantly with higher sales. The volume of ratings correlates positively with sales in the long term but negatively in the short term. Furthermore, the relationship between electronic word of mouth and sales seems to be more important when the price of the application increases. The findings also underline the importance of the choice of a measurement period in studies.
Keywords: Products ratings; Consumer reviews; Consumer ratings; Sales; Electronic word of mouth; App stores; Micro-pricing; Big data Products ratings; Consumer reviews; Consumer ratings; Sales; Electronic word of mouth; App stores; Micro-pricing; Big data

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hyrynsalmi, S.; Seppänen, M.; Aarikka-Stenroos, L.; Suominen, A.; Järveläinen, J.; Harkke, V. Busting Myths of Electronic Word of Mouth: The Relationship between Customer Ratings and the Sales of Mobile Applications. J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2015, 10, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762015000200002

AMA Style

Hyrynsalmi S, Seppänen M, Aarikka-Stenroos L, Suominen A, Järveläinen J, Harkke V. Busting Myths of Electronic Word of Mouth: The Relationship between Customer Ratings and the Sales of Mobile Applications. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research. 2015; 10(2):1-18. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762015000200002

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hyrynsalmi, Sami, Marko Seppänen, Leena Aarikka-Stenroos, Arho Suominen, Jonna Järveläinen, and Ville Harkke. 2015. "Busting Myths of Electronic Word of Mouth: The Relationship between Customer Ratings and the Sales of Mobile Applications" Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research 10, no. 2: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762015000200002

APA Style

Hyrynsalmi, S., Seppänen, M., Aarikka-Stenroos, L., Suominen, A., Järveläinen, J., & Harkke, V. (2015). Busting Myths of Electronic Word of Mouth: The Relationship between Customer Ratings and the Sales of Mobile Applications. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 10(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762015000200002

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