Understanding the online restaurant rating bias induced by air pollution and the underlying spatial and temporal effects
利用中国城市旅游系统中的餐厅评论和空气质量数据，研究发现空气污染会引发负面在线评分偏差，且偏差受空间和时间因素影响，对旅游管理和城市规划有启示。
Using unique restaurant review data in the urban tourism system combined with air quality data in the Chinese context, we confirmed the air pollution-induced mood misattribution in terms of negative online restaurant rating bias. Further heterogeneity analyses grounded in expectancy-disconfirmation theory were conducted. Tests regarding air quality differences across geography (i.e. the spatial effect) show that good air quality in the city where a restaurant is located can induce a stronger online rating bias. Tourists, especially those who are from cities with poor air quality, tend to post biased online restaurant ratings on polluted days compared with their local peers. For locals, their online restaurant rating bias is additionally determined by air quality differences over time (i.e. the temporal effect), suggesting the significance of persistent air pollution rather than by air quality deterioration. Overall, our work highlights the importance of air pollution, an external environmental stimulus, in shaping consumers’ online rating bias towards restaurant services. This underscores the need for guidelines by regarding air pollution that inform sustainable urban planning and destination management.