Safeguarding brands in online review forums: The role of managerial response

Abstract

Online review forums have emerged as important resources for consumer decision-making, especially in the areas of information search and product evaluations. It is thus necessary for managers to consider and implement strategies for safeguarding brands in online review forums. This study examines the use of managerial response as a strategy for influencing consumer attitudes in online review forums. Furthermore, the extent to which negative reviews, opinion leadership and the timeliness of managerial response impact consumer attitudes towards the responding firm are also evaluated. Data was collected from TripAdvisor.com. The hypothesised relationships were tested using a Heckman two-stage selection model. The results of this study show that by tailoring their participation to address negative reviews and those from opinion leaders, managers can expect to positively influence long-term consumer perception in online review forums. The findings have implications for the ongoing focus on reputation building and consumer relationship management in online environments. This study offers clear, implementable guidelines for effectively safeguarding brands in online review forums. This is the first study to empirically examine the use of managerial response as a strategy for safeguarding brands in online review forums.