Tulane study finds smaller companies get kinder online reviews — And empathy is the reason why

A new, large-scale international study analyzing millions of reviews from Yelp, Amazon, Twitter and Instagram, found that smaller companies consistently received higher ratings—even when the customer experience was identical. The research revealed that people were more likely to leave glowing reviews for small businesses and more forgiving when things went wrong.

Published in the Journal of Marketing, Chris Hydock, co-author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business, said the fix for big companies was straightforward— simply being more responsive and writing back in a warmer tone can shift how people feel about a company—and how they rate it.

“This project explored the inherent biases present in online consumer reviews, and our findings reveal that big businesses tend to receive lower average ratings compared to small businesses,” said Chris Hydock, co-author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business. “Interestingly, this isn't because consumers are more critical of big businesses, but rather because they are less inclined to leave positive reviews for big businesses and more likely to do so for small businesses after a good experience.”

For interviews, contact Roger Dunaway at roger@tulane.edu or 504-452-2906.