Is Users Rating Becoming Overpowering? the Risks of Inappropriateuse of Digital Feedback
Is Users Rating Becoming Overpowering? the Risks of Inappropriateuse of Digital Feedback
Thursday, 10 July 2025: 16:15
Location: SJES005 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
Oral Presentation
Digital technologies have made it easy to generate feedback on the performance of products and services. They have contributed significantly to reducing the information asymmetries between producers and consumers, between suppliers of public goods and users, and between politicians and
citizens. It seems that Web 2.0 has enhanced the effectiveness of the "voice" evoked by Albert
Hirschman in the 1970s. Is there a risk that the feedback provided and the connected rating may
become too invasive, so much as to constitute a threat to the confidentiality of individual data? We
distinguish between three types of feedback: 1) bottom-up feedback, occurring when many
individuals evaluate and comment on the performance of organizations; 2) the transversal one, which
happens when a series of individuals exchange comments, appreciations and reciprocal evaluations;
3) the top-down one, when organizations assign a rating to individuals. We finally offer some
suggestions to moderate the existing risks.
citizens. It seems that Web 2.0 has enhanced the effectiveness of the "voice" evoked by Albert
Hirschman in the 1970s. Is there a risk that the feedback provided and the connected rating may
become too invasive, so much as to constitute a threat to the confidentiality of individual data? We
distinguish between three types of feedback: 1) bottom-up feedback, occurring when many
individuals evaluate and comment on the performance of organizations; 2) the transversal one, which
happens when a series of individuals exchange comments, appreciations and reciprocal evaluations;
3) the top-down one, when organizations assign a rating to individuals. We finally offer some
suggestions to moderate the existing risks.