Disclosing Incentives in Online Reviews: Effects on Perceived Sincerity, Self-Serving Motives, and Consumer Intentions

Wang, B. and Ben Libon (Ph.D. student), “Disclosing Incentives in Online Reviews: Effects on Perceived Sincerity, Self-Serving Motives, and Consumer Intentions,” paper accepted for presentation at the American Academy of Advertising annual conference, Austin, March 26-29, 2026. Abstract: In this study, we examine how consumers interpret online reviews written in exchange for incentives. Drawing on attribution theory, we test how three disclosure types: no disclosure, reviewer self-disclosure, and other-user disclosure (incentives pointed out by another consumer) shape perceptions of reviewer sincerity, self-serving motives, and visit intentions in a between-subjects experiment using simulated Google-style restaurant reviews (N = 327). Reviews with no disclosure were seen as most sincere and least self-serving, self-disclosure produced intermediate evaluations, and other-user disclosure generated the most skepticism and strongest self-serving attributions. These perceptions, in turn, indirectly lowered intentions to visit the restaurant, highlighting the importance of who reveals the incentive.