Online reviews mitigate uncertainty about product quality that is caused by information asymmetry. However, low-quality online reviews are not effective, while high-quality online reviews may raise costs. Unlike the previous studies, this paper develops a game-theoretic model to examine the feasibility and pricing of online review supervision mechanism for operators of platforms that are based on the ‘network externality’. The results reveal that platforms are not always benefited from online reviews. We provide a new perspective and give some preventive suggestions for platforms with a view to furthering sustainable development.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.