| This dissertation investigates the effects of information presentation on reputation judgment in terms of how reputation information is valuated and integrated. Three presentation formats commonly used by online reputation systems are evaluated. The separate format presents the positive ratings and the negative ratings separately. The difference format presents the net positive ratings and the total ratings. The percentage format presents the percentage of positive ratings and the total ratings. The findings are three-folded. First, a negative rating has stronger effects on reputation than a positive rating under all presentation formats. Second, information presentation moderates the relative effects of positive and negative ratings on reputation judgment. Reputation ratings have stronger effects under the percentage format, followed by the separate format, and then the difference format. The effects can be explained by the characteristics of different presentation formats in terms of the numerical formats and the explicitness of information. Finally, reputation judgment appears to be more consistent with the reputation ratings when the ratings are presented in the percentage format, as it requires less mental effort in processing the information. |
