Characterizing non-chain restaurants’ Yelp star-ratings: Generalizable findings from a representative sample of Yelp reviews

Abstract Previous research has established the importance of positive Yelp reviews for the success of independent, non-chain restaurant. While managers may assume that increasing customer satisfaction will increase star rating, previous research on determinants of satisfaction does not necessarily generalize to Yelp reviews or across Yelp star ratings. Accordingly, we used Multiple Correspondence Analysis with a representative sample of 54,000 reviews to investigate the criteria used by reviewers in their assignment of star-ratings to determine if different star-ratings are characterized by different criteria. Our findings confirm previous research showing the importance of service, food, and environment, but suggest these criteria matter differently at different star ratings. Based on these results, we offer suggestions for improving restaurants’ star-ratings: for 1 and 2-star restaurants, avoid long waits, for 3-star restaurants, focus on improving food quality, for 4 and 5-star restaurants, focus on creating a positive overall experience through service, food, and environmental factors.