Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has become ubiquitous in the business environment. EWOM provides customers the power to influence others and drive firm strategic decisions. Through two essays, I examine the relationship between eWOM and performance outcomes. In the first essay, counter to traditional assumptions, I show how piracy has a positive impact on firm performance due to its positive influence on global and local eWOM. Additionally, this essay highlights that local and global eWOM should be considered separate constructs due to the nature of the consumers who produce this eWOM. Lastly, country institutional profiles are considered to examine the boundary conditions of these relationships. The second essay focuses on investigating content moderation policies in online review platforms. Through four different studies using both field and experimental data, I show that while assumptions and intentions are that content moderation leads to positive outcomes for consumers and firms, the opposite actually occurs. Content moderation policies harm performance outcomes due to a loss of trust in the e-commerce platform and increased perceived risk by the consumer. Policy, product, and consumer-level boundary conditions are also examined. This essay provides meaningful insights for managers and policymakers when considering different online content management policies.
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