Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence of the reviewed establishment’s price level and the user’s social network size and reputation status on consumers’ tendency to post more visual imagery content. Furthermore, it explores the moderating effects of user experiences and geographic distance on these dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a multi-method approach to explore both the determinants behind the sharing of user-generated photos in online reviews and their internal mechanisms. Using a comprehensive secondary data set from Yelp.com, the authors focused on restaurant reviews from a prominent tourist destination to construct econometric models incorporating time-fixed effects. To enhance the robustness of the authors’ findings, the authors complemented the big data analysis with a series of controlled experiments.

Findings

The reviewed establishments price level and the users reputation status and social network size incite corresponding motivations conspicuous display “reputation seeking” and social approval motivating users to incorporate more images in reviews. “User experiences can amplify the influence of these factors on image sharing.” An increase in the users geographical distance lessens the impact of the price level on image sharing, but it heightens the influence of the users reputation and social network size on the number of shared images.

Practical implications

As a result of this study, high-end establishments can increase their online visibility by leveraging user-generated visual content. A structured rewards program could significantly boost engagement by incentivizing photo sharing, particularly among users with elite status and extensive social networks. Additionally, online review platforms can enhance users’ experiences and foster more dynamic interactions by developing personalized features that encourage visual content production.

Originality/value

This research, anchored in trait activation theory, offers an innovative examination of the determinants of photo-posting behavior in online reviews by enriching the understanding of how the intricate interplay between users’ characteristics and situational cues can shape online review practices.

中文翻译：

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是什么促使消费者在在线评论中发布更多照片？特质激活理论视角

目的

本研究旨在调查所审查机构的价格水平以及用户的社交网络规模和声誉状态对消费者发布更多视觉图像内容的倾向的影响。此外，它还探讨了用户体验和地理距离对这些动态的调节作用。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究采用多种方法来探讨在线评论中分享用户生成的照片背后的决定因素及其内部机制。作者利用 Yelp.com 的全面二手数据集，重点研究了著名旅游目的地的餐厅评论，构建了包含时间固定效应的计量经济学模型。为了增强作者研究结果的稳健性，作者通过一系列对照实验补充了大数据分析。

发现

所评论的场所的价格水平以及用户的声誉状况和社交网络规模会激发相应的动机，即显着展示“寻求声誉”和社会认可，从而激励用户在评论中加入更多图像。 “用户体验可以放大这些因素对图像共享的影响。”用户地理距离的增加减少了价格水平对图像共享的影响，但增加了用户声誉和社交网络规模对共享图像数量的影响。

实际影响

这项研究的结果是，高端机构可以通过利用用户生成的视觉内容来提高其在线知名度。结构化奖励计划可以通过激励照片共享来显着提高参与度，特别是在具有精英地位和广泛社交网络的用户中。此外，在线评论平台可以通过开发鼓励视觉内容制作的个性化功能来增强用户体验并促进更动态的互动。

原创性/价值

这项研究以特质激活理论为基础，通过丰富对用户特征和情境线索之间错综复杂的相互作用如何塑造在线评论实践的理解，对在线评论中照片发布行为的决定因素进行了创新性的检验。