Abstract

Gaining access to ratings has become much easier due to the internet and research shows that they are of influence on consumer decision making. At healthcare comparison websites, patients are gradually sharing their opinions online whereby the number of ratings can differ significantly per provider. Because patients may lack the necessary skills and information to judge health care quality, some platforms complement patient ratings with an expert rating. It is unclear however which source has the biggest influence on decision making. A previous study found that generally people seem to follow their peers, but only when they are in large numbers. Otherwise, they follow the expert. The present study aims to find out how many peers are necessary to “overrule” the expert. An online experiment is conducted and the results indicate that rating volume does play a role in the effects of patient versus expert ratings. This finding can, for example, support platform providers in understanding how to use online ratings to ensure that patients benefit most of them.