Motivation crowding in online product reviewing: A qualitative study of amazon reviewers

This research explores online reviewers’ motivations and how different motives interact with one another. Through in-depth interviews with Amazon reviewers and a six-month observation of the reviewers’ forums, the study found that extrinsic motivation may crowd out or crowd in intrinsic motivation in different scenarios. If a reviewer becomes driven mostly by status recognition and reciprocal obligation, their initial intrinsic enjoyment may suffer a crowding-out effect. The reviewer’s motivation mix can also be in a state of flux as they rise through the ranks. This research sheds new light on motivation crowding and offers implications for online review management.