An exploratory study of online review management in hospitality services

Abstract

PurposeMore and more customers refer to online reviews before making any purchasing decisions thanks to the increasing popularity of social media and online shopping. This phenomenon has caught the attention of business managers who are increasingly aware that online reviews provide great opportunities to connect with current and potential customers. However, both practices and research on online review management from the businesses’ perspective are fragmented. The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrative framework that includes the key dimensions of an online review management system.Design/methodology/approachBased on the Grounded Theory approach, the authors conducted a multiple case study by analyzing the interviews with 11 hospitality services.FindingsThe authors found that an online review management system should go beyond the current norm of response management to incorporate key dimensions of formality, centralization, specialization, response customization, integration and review analytics.Practical implicationsThe study provides a systematic guideline for online review management practices. The framework can be used as a tool for a business to evaluate existing online review management practices and develop/refine its online review management system.Originality/valueThe study contributes to online review management literature by developing a comprehensive framework to understand the structure and processes of online review management. The key dimensions of an online review management system identified in this study provide an initial measurement model for the online review management construct. Furthermore, the study provides a springboard for future empirical validation and refinement of the key factors for effective online review management.