How and When Review Length and Emotional Intensity Influence Review Helpfulness: Empirical Evidence from Epinions.com

Although longer reviews are generally considered more helpful, no research has investigated whether “the more the better” also applies to the expression of emotions. This paper explores the distinct effects of review length and emotional intensity. We propose that, in contrast to review length, the intensity of emotions has a negative effect on review helpfulness, and that this effect only applies to positive emotions. Additionally, drawing on elaboration likelihood model and the literature on the social functions of emotions, we predict that the respective effects of review length and emotional intensity are moderated by reviewer trustworthiness and the difficulty of reading review content. To test these hypotheses, we collected a rich data set from Epinions.com a leading provider of consumer reviews. Our findings reveal the importance of taking the intensity of emotions into consideration when evaluating review helpfulness, and the results carry important practical implications.