Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282307 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
Quaderni - Working Paper DSE No. 1185
Publisher: 
Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche (DSE), Bologna
Abstract: 
The utility associated with a service's consumption is contingent on its intrinsic characteristics and various situational factors. One key element that influences consumer satisfaction is adherence to prior expectations. This is particularly relevant for experience goods that highly depend on external factors, such as weather. On these premises, the current study explores the role of expectations on utility by analyzing the effect of weather surprises (i.e., the mismatch between forecast and realized weather) on online ratings. Results from the analysis of over 300,000 reviews posted on Booking.com indicate that weather surprises have an impact on the reported experienced utility, the effect depending on the sign of the surprise. Moreover, the consumption span moderates the surprise effect, thereby mitigating the impact of both positive and negative surprises on utility.
Subjects: 
weather bias
surprise effect
online reputation
experienced utility
online platforms
JEL: 
D83
D91
L81
Q54
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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