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Online Forum Shilling: Not Worth the Effort
If consumers are influenced by internet-based opinion forums (and evidence shows that they are), what's to stop companies from anonymously manipulating the bias of those forums by posting fake reviews and opinions? Word of mouth, according to WOMMA Advisory Board member Chrysanthos Dellarocas' article "Strategic Manipulation of Internet Opinion Forums: Implications for Consumers and Firms," which appeared in the October 2006 edition of Management Science.
Lying costs a lot more than it's likely to reap, says Dellarocas, thanks to the effects of negative word of mouth on ROI. Rather than increasing or decreasing positive online chatter about a company, false and manipulative postings merely decrease the validity of an online forum -- something consumers are very adept at catching on to. Also, Dellarocas contends that competitive online manipulation between firms inevitably leads to an "arms race" in manipulation that hurts the profits of all companies involved. The best way to increase the value of a forum, Dellarocas concludes, is through the encouragement of higher levels of active consumer involvement.