Differential Effects of Monetary and Social Rewards on Product Online Rating Decisions in E-Commerce in China

Humans can change their behaviors to obtain environmental rewards (e.g., money, food, and sex). However, our knowledge regarding how rewards affect human behaviors by priming and whether there are differences among types of rewards is limited. This study focused on whether monetary and social rewards have different priming effects on product rating decisions in e-commerce by using a behavioral experiment and event-related potentials (ERPs). Using cash/discount coupons as a monetary reward and greeting cards as a social reward, the behavioral data showed that unsatisfactory products with a monetary reward induced a less negative consumer attitude than those with a social reward or no reward; additionally, such products were associated with a longer reaction time while rating products than those with a social reward, reflecting that monetary rewards made it more difficult for the subjects to rate unsatisfactory products than social rewards. The P2, N2, and P3 components of the ERP data were evaluated. Unsatisfactory products caused negative emotion, which could be compensated more by the monetary reward than the social reward as reflected by a smaller P2 amplitude. Due to the compensation effect of the monetary reward, unsatisfactory products were associated with more decision conflict than the social reward as reflected by a more negative N2 amplitude, which is consistent with the behavioral results. However, in the subsequent controlled process, regardless of whether the products were satisfactory or unsatisfactory, the monetary reward caused more attention reallocation and was more motivating than the social reward as reflected by a larger P3 component. These findings have implications for the marketing strategy of online sellers and value of online reviews and suggest attaching importance to ethical issues induced by monetary rewards in rating behaviors.