Spatial and social distances between U.S. domestic travelers in restaurant review assessment

This study discusses the effects of spatial and social distances between U.S. domestic travelers on online review assessment. Previous studies on online review assessment have augmented the understanding of quantitative measures of review usefulness; however, researchers have seldom observed dyadic perspectives from one another and their close versus far psychological distances that generate differences in assessing reviews. This study suggests a scenario-based experiment model that measures the spatial and social distances between posters and readers in social networking spaces. Results indicated that the perceptions of readers allied with spatial and social (elite status) distances predominantly influence review assessment while the spatial closeness and elite status of posters are considered as high impact factors for long distant travelers. Male travelers have a visible decline in affective evaluations as spatial and social distances are spontaneously encountered. Importantly, travel distance and social dyads indicate a strong interactive effect on cognitive and affective evaluations.