A Sentiment Analysis of Star-rating: a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

Consumer-generated reviews and ratings are critical for the tourism industry. The star rating distribution of services can significantly influence a consumer’s decision-making and choice of services. We analyze the star rating distribution of restaurant reviews from three nations (Japan, China, and the U.S.) and find two distribution patterns: bimodal and unimodal. Then, we analyze the sentiment correlation with each star rating across the three cultures. We find the inconsistency of positive sentiment correlation with 5- and 4-star ratings generated by Japanese consumers. Possible contributing factors, including biases, national culture, and socioeconomic conditions, are discussed