Online Reviews on B2B Platforms for Software Products

The proposed transfer project T4 builds on the results of basic research carried out under the subproject A4 "Empirical analyses in markets for OTF services" at the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 901, "On-The-Fly Computing". Online reviews, specifically understanding drivers and economic effects of reviews, and design decisions for review systems, are the main research interests of this subproject. In this transfer project, we aim to identify the underlying motives for writing online reviews in B2B markets. Unlike online reviews in B2C markets, these motives are little understood and largely unexplored for B2B markets. Given the systematic differences between B2C and B2B markets, and based on the literature and anecdotal evidence, we posit that these motives are not the same. We expect some motives known from B2C to be less significant or even non-existent in a B2B context, and, above all, to uncover B2B-specific motives, too. In this transfer project, we will characterize and distinguish between online reviews in these two types of markets, and use a multi-method approach to identify and validate the underlying motives for writing B2B online reviews in software markets, specifically. For this reason, we team up with CELONIS, a global business software as a service company. The insights from this transfer project will enable B2B companies to elicit and exploit B2B online reviews in a more targeted manner.