App popularity: where in the world are consumers most sensitive to price and user ratings?
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Author(s)
Kuebler, Raoul
Pauwels, Koen
Yildirim, G
Fandrich, Thomas
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Many companies compete globally in a world in which user ratings and price are important drivers of performance but whose importance may differ by country. This study builds on the cultural, economic, and structural differences across countries to examine how app popularity reacts to price and ratings, controlling for product characteristics. Estimated across 60 countries, a dynamic panel model with product-specific effects reveals that price sensitivity is higher in countries with higher masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Ratings valence sensitivity is higher in countries with higher individualism and uncertainty avoidance, while ratings volume sensitivity is higher in countries with higher power distance and uncertainty avoidance and those that are richer and have more income equality. For managers, the authors visualize country groups and calculate how much price should decrease to compensate for a negative review or lack of reviews. For researchers, they highlight the moderators of the volume and valence effects of online ratings, which are becoming ubiquitous in this connected world.
Date Issued
2018-09-01
Date Acceptance
2018-05-30
Citation
Journal of Marketing, 2018, 82 (5), pp.20-44
ISSN
1547-7185
Publisher
American Marketing Association
Start Page
20
End Page
44
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Marketing
Volume
82
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2018, American Marketing Association
Subjects
Social Sciences
Business
Business & Economics
price sensitivity
rating sensitivity
mobile apps
dynamic panel model
Hofstede's cultural factors
OF-MOUTH
PANEL-DATA
CROSS-COUNTRY
CULTURAL ORIENTATION
EMERGING MARKETS
PRODUCT QUALITY
DYNAMIC-MODELS
PERFORMANCE
BEHAVIOR
SALES
1505 Marketing
1506 Tourism
Marketing
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2018-09-01