Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: Misrepresentation on Consumer Review Websites

Recent developments in social media have raised theoretical issues about the decline in the distinction between core business activities and communication. Traditional industries such as the airline industry have tangible assets (aircraft), less tangible assets (landing slots), intangible assets (brand image, company reputation), and human resources. In social media enterprises, these distinctions no longer apply: intangible assets predominate. Consumer review websites adopt a business model in which consumers submit reviews for hotel guests and restaurant customers, generating advertising revenues and commission. As businesses are tempted to commission reviews (reputation management, fake reviewing), the question arises of the quality of the content. Research has been carried out using algorithms to identify fake reviews, but while mathematical analysis is useful, linguistic analysis also provides insights into consumer reviews, the key asset for consumer review websites with a substantial market capitalisation.