More than words: the role of personality in shaping the timeliness of online reviews

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential influence of the big five personality traits − extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness − on the time taken by travelers to submit online reviews after their hotel stay.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed 83,235 TripAdvisor reviews from 415 hotels in six major US tourism cities using random forest algorithms and Poisson regression. The research investigated the influence of the big five personality traits on the time taken by travelers to submit online reviews post-hotel stay, merging personality psychology with consumer behavior research through a combination of machine learning and statistical analysis.

Findings

The findings reveal significant correlations between certain personality traits and the time taken to post online hotel reviews. Extraversion, neuroticism and agreeableness were found to be negatively correlated with response time, suggesting that individuals scoring higher in these traits tend to submit their reviews more quickly. Conversely, openness exhibited a positive correlation, indicating that those with higher levels of openness tend to delay their feedback. Conscientiousness showed no significant correlation with response time.

Originality/value

This study represents a novel approach to understanding the relationship between personality traits and online review behavior in the hospitality industry. By leveraging advanced machine learning techniques, such as random forest algorithms, alongside traditional statistical methods like Poisson regression, this research offers a unique perspective on the influence of personality on consumer behavior. The innovative application of these technologies to a large data set of TripAdvisor reviews provides fresh insights that can inform the development of personalized customer engagement strategies. The findings contribute to the growing body of literature on the intersection of personality psychology, consumer behavior and hospitality management in the digital age.

研究目的

本研究旨在探讨五大人格特质（外向性、神经质、宜人性、开放性和尽责性）对旅行者在入住酒店后提交在线评论时间的潜在影响.

研究方法

本研究分析了来自美国六大旅游城市 415 家酒店的 83,235 条TripAdvisor评论, 采用随机森林算法和泊松回归方法, 探讨了五大人格特质对旅行者在入住酒店后提交在线评论时间的影响。研究将人格心理学与消费者行为研究相结合, 运用了机器学习和统计分析的组合方法。

研究发现

研究结果表明, 某些人格特质与发布在线酒店评论的时间存在显著相关性。外向性、神经质和宜人性与响应时间呈负相关, 表明具有较高这些特质的人倾向于更快速地提交评论。相反, 开放性与响应时间呈正相关, 暗示开放性较高的人往往延迟反馈。尽责性与响应时间无显著相关性。

研究创新

本研究通过利用随机森林等先进的机器学习技术和泊松回归等传统统计方法, 为理解人格特质对消费者行为的影响提供了新颖视角。这种创新性技术应用于包含大量TripAdvisor评论的数据集, 提供了新的见解, 可用于开发个性化客户互动策略。本研究成果为人格心理学、消费者行为和酒店管理领域在数字时代的交叉研究增添了新的学术价值。

Citation

Wang, X., Zheng, J. and Luo, M. (2024), "More than words: the role of personality in shaping the timeliness of online reviews", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-03-2024-0192