A question of taste? The difference in perceived helpfulness of online reviews for utilitarian versus hedonic products

While online reviews have become an indispensable marketing tool, their impact may depend on several factors. This paper demonstrates that online reviews are perceived as more helpful for utilitarian products than for hedonic products (study 1 & 2). Applying theory about opinions and taste, we show that the quality of hedonic products is depending on personal taste, while the quality of utilitarian products is seen as a matter of general opinion (study 3). We provide evidence that this opinion versus taste attribution mediates the effect of product type on perceived helpfulness of online reviews (study 4)

Citations and herding: why one article makes it and another doesn't

The purpose of this paper is to draw a link between citations and the choice overload paradigm and show that herding plays a role in citing behavior. In addition, parallel with an increase in the number of published papers, we observe an increase in the strength of herding in citation

Real-time evolution of an embedded controller for an autonomous helicopter

In this paper we evolve the parameters of a proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) controller for an unstable, complex and nonlinear system. The individuals of the applied genetic algorithm (GA) are evaluated on the actual system rather than on a simulation of it, thus avoiding the ldquoreality gaprdquo. This makes implicit a formal model identification for the implementation of a simulator. This also calls for the GA to be approached in an unusual way, where we need to consider new aspects not normally present in the usual situations using an unnaturally consistent simulator for fitness evaluation. Although elitism is used in the GAs, no monotonic increase in fitness is exhibited by the algorithm. Instead, we show that the GApsilas individuals converge towards more robust solutions

Out of equilibrium anomalous elastic response of a water nano-meniscus

We report the observation of a transition in the dynamical properties of water nano-menicus which dramatically change when probed at different time scales. Using a AFM mode that we name Force Feedback Microscopy, we observe this change in the simultaneous measurements, at different frequencies, of the stiffness G'(N/m), the dissipative coefficient G''(kg/sec) together with the static force. At low frequency we observe a negative stiffness as expected for capillary forces. As the measuring time approaches the microsecond, the dynamic response exhibits a transition toward a very large positive stiffness. When evaporation and condensation gradually lose efficiency, the contact line progressively becomes immobile. This transition is essentially controlled by variations of Laplace pressure

When consistency matters: the effect of valence consistency on review helpfulness

When evaluating the helpfulness of online reviews, review valence is a particularly relevant factor. This research argues that the influence of review valence is highly dependent on its consistency with the valence of other available reviews. Using both field and experimental data, this paper show that consistent reviews are perceived as more helpful than inconsistent reviews, independent of them being positive or negative. Experiments show that this valence consistency effect is driven by causal attributions, such that consistent reviews are more likely to be attributed to the actual product experience, while inconsistent reviews are more likely to be attributed to some reviewer idiosyncrasy. Supporting the attribution theory framework, reviewer expertise moderates the effect of consumers' causal attributions on review helpfulness