
Looking at restaurant reviews on Yelp, Luca and Zervas (forthcoming) show that a
restaurant is more likely to commit review fraud when it experiences a negative shock to
its reputation. Moreover, restaurants are more likely to receive fake negative reviews after
a competitor opens up. Consistent with
Mayzlin et al. (2014), this paper also finds that
independent businesses are more likely to commit review fraud. Overall, this research
stream suggests that review fraud involves an element of cost–benefit analysis that is influ-
enced by economic incentives.
Review platforms employ a variety of mechanisms to prevent review fraud. As
discussed, Expedia’s ...