New research released by the National Bureau of Economic Research studied online home improvement service requests from consumers and the impact of licensing status on their hiring of a professional. The research shows that a higher number of reviews, higher ratings, and lower bidding prices influenced consumer choice and that licensing status had essentially no effect on hiring decisions. The paper indicated that the availability of alternative quality checks such as online reviews “has probably reduced the level of regulatory stringency needed to ensure the same service quality as in a world without online reviews.”
January 16, 2020
