This study focuses on the effect of prior average ratings of a product on subsequent online ratings, and we further analyze whether culture moderates this effect. The anchoring effect theory and cultural dimensions theory serve as the theoretical foundations for our investigation. To our best knowledge, we are the first to introduce the anchoring effect theory into the online review context. This study is also among the first to investigate how culture influences customers’ online evaluations. Empirical results suggest that the prior average rating positively influences subsequent customers’ posted ratings, and this positive influence is significantly moderated by culture. Besides theoretical contributions, our insights may also strategically benefit online sellers by increasing customer satisfaction and improving long-term sales.

本研究侧重于产品先前的平均评分对后续在线评分的影响，我们进一步分析了文化是否会缓和这种影响。锚定效应理论和文化维度理论是我们研究的理论基础。据我们所知，我们是第一个将锚定效应理论引入在线评论环境的人。这项研究也是最早调查文化如何影响客户在线评估的研究之一。实证结果表明，先前的平均评分对后续客户发布的评分有积极影响，而这种积极影响受到文化的显着调节。除了理论贡献外，我们的见解还可以通过提高客户满意度和改善长期销售来战略性地使在线卖家受益。