Online Word Of Mouth Research Articles

Modeling Environmental Antecedents of Online Word-of-Mouth on Team Social Media: A Perspective of Information Value

Abstract: This study explored environmental antecedents of online word-of-mouth (WOM) within the realm of information value and empirically assessed their influences on both low- and high-informativeness WOM behaviors (i.e., like and share behaviors, respectively) in a natural online setting (i.e., Facebook pages of professional sport teams). With survey data and online secondary data, content analysis and negative binomial regression were conducted. The results revealed the significant impacts of environmental antecedents associated with content provision and game attractiveness on fans’ like and share behaviors. The findings confirmed the importance of information value in determining online WOM behavior and shed new light on the investigation of this consumer behavior in sport marketing communications. Actionable suggestions are implicated in terms of utilizing the identified environmental variables to maximize the marketing benefits of fans’ online WOM behavior.

The Impact of South Korea Golf Resort Social Network Services Advertising and Online Word of Mouth on Consumer Brand Value

Today, social network services (SNS) advertising is frequently utilized by enterprises to communicate with consumers as it provides the best marketing effect using low-cost media. Since the value of SNS is increasing, managers need to look for more effective methods of utilizing the existing SNS channels. This study aims to provide suggestions for attracting customers and gaining an advantage amid the stiff competition among similar golf courses. To achieve the goal of this study, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted at six golf resorts in South Korea where SNS advertising has been used to enhance consumer experiences. The study found that SNS advertising and online word of mouth regarding golf resorts have a positive effect on emotive, social, and price values. Moreover, SNS advertising for golf resorts had a positive effect on the quality function value, while online word of mouth had no effect.

The Dynamic Evolution Mechanism of Heterogeneous OWOM—An Improved Viral Marketing Model

The negative impact of brand negative online word-of-mouth (OWOM) on social images in social media is far greater than the promotion of positive OWOM. Thus, how to optimize brand image by improving the positive OWOM effect and slowing the negative OWOM communication has turned into an urgent problem for brand enterprises. On this basis, we analyze the evolution process of the OWOM communication group of the social media brand network based on the SOR (stimulus-organism-response) theory of psychology. Through constructing the heterogeneous brand OWOM communication dynamic model and conducting the multi-agent-based simulation experiment, the dynamic visualization of brand OWOM communication effect combined the thinking model of viral marketing is realized. Experiments show that the ability of brand communicators to persuade has a direct impact on the persistence and breadth of brand communication. When the acceptance of the consumer market is high, the negative OWOM of the brand has a relatively huge impact on consumers.

Be a part of it: promoting WOM, eWOM, and content creation through customer identification

Purpose Customer identification leads to behaviors that are beneficial for firms. This paper aims to analyze the effect of firm identification and community identification on content creation, which indirectly may affect offline word of mouth and online word of mouth. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a research model that is tested using data from 491 users of online travel agencies. To do so, partial least squares method is used. Findings The results show a positive relationship between firm identification and community identification. Moreover, both variables exert a positive effect on content creation. Furthermore, content creation positively influences offline and online word of mouth. This influence is moderated by self-enhancement in the case of online word of mouth. Practical implications Firm managers must enhance customer identification, as it can turn in behaviors that are beneficial for the company. Moreover, firms that own online communities must apply segmentation strategies based on identification and self-enhancement to encourage positive behaviors from customers. Originality/value This research tests the relationship between firm identification and community identification. Additionally, this study jointly analyzes the impact of these variables on several beneficial behaviors.

Impacts of logistics information on sales: Evidence from Alibaba

AbstractFacing fierce competition from rivals, sellers in online marketplaces are eager to improve their sales by delivering items faster and more reliably. Because logistics quality can be known only after a transaction, sellers must identify effective ways to communicate logistics information to consumers. Drawing on the accessibility‐diagnosticity framework, we theorize that the sales impacts of logistics information depend on its relative diagnostic value. Using data on 1493 items with 505,785 consumer reviews from an online marketplace, we examine how sales are affected by three information sources for logistics services: online word of mouth (WOM) about logistics, self‐reported logistics services, and expected delivery time. We use an instrumental variable method to address the endogeneity issue between sales and WOM. We find that, ceteris paribus, consumers give more weight to WOM about logistics and delivery time when they make purchase decisions but less weight to self‐reported logistics service. The effects of logistics information on sales are asymmetric for large and small sellers.

Investigating the Role of Online WOM Content and Sender-Receiver Similarity in Social Learning

In this research, we develop an analytical model to investigate how the content of Online Word of Mouth (OWOM) impacts prices, product adoption, and profit when consumers have uncertainty about both the product quality and their own appreciation of quality. We consider how pricing is impacted by the presence of both satisfaction- and information-focused OWOM content with preference correlation between OWOM senders and receivers. There are several findings from this research. First, we find that when there is a mix of OWOM content, increasing the proportion of satisfaction-focused OWOM will increase price and profit for the low-quality firm, but has a U-shaped impact on the high-quality firm profit. Second, we find that profitability can be increased by restricting the type of OWOM content. Specifically, both high- and low-quality firms earn greater profit from an online platform with only satisfaction-focused OWOM than from a platform with a mix of both satisfaction- and information-focused OWOM. However, only the high-quality firm can earn greater profit from a platform with only information-focused OWOM than a firm with a mix of each, and this greater profit is only achieved if consumers have a strong enough incentive to send OWOM. Third, we find that preference similarity between senders and receivers of OWOM negatively impacts the low-quality firm but has a U-shaped effect on the profitability of the high-quality firm. Moreover, preference similarity can not only impact the consumers’ incentive to send a satisfaction vs. information review, it also affects how receivers of the OWOM update their beliefs about product quality and their own appreciation of quality. We discuss how firms can formulate appropriate strategies in response to OWOM by understanding its different dimensions (valence, focus, and similarity among senders and receivers).

Geographical Pattern of Online Word-of-Mouth: How Offline Environment Influences Online Sharing

We study the geographical pattern of online word-of-mouth (WOM). Specifically, we examine whether and how customers' local environment influences the generation and direction of online WOM. Leveraging a unique research design, we measure the online WOM at a U.S. national e-commerce platform by tracking the WOM referral decisions of customers in over 240,000 purchases. In parallel, we measure the local environment of customers by combining a range of proprietary and public data sources (Facebook, Census, ESRI, and SCCBS). This includes the offline social environment (e.g., friend visiting frequency, neighbor interactions, and population mobility), online social environment (e.g., Facebook ties), and local historical sales across geographical areas. We build a stylized theoretical framework based on customer sharing motives and social networks to guide our empirical examination. While digital technologies have enabled customers to share without physical boundaries, we find that location still plays significant roles in the generation and direction of online WOM. First, a customer's offline social environment significantly explains the generation of online referrals (whereas local characteristics known to drive online sales do not positively explain the referral generation). Second, online referrals are largely bounded locally (e.g., 47% within 10 miles), and referrals in areas with more local social interactions are more likely to stay local. Third, even when referrals travel far, they are more likely to point at destinations socially similar to the origins. Our findings have important implications for firms in allocating resources across geographical areas as well as using referral directions as signals to identify high-potential geographical markets.

How online word‐of‐mouth impacts receivers

AbstractOnline word‐of‐mouth (WOM) can impact consumers’ product evaluations, purchase intentions, and choices—but when does it do so? How do those receiving WOM know whether to rely on a particular message? This article suggests that the multiple players involved in online WOM (receivers, senders, sellers, platforms, and other consumers) each have their own interests, which are often in conflict. Thus, receivers of WOM are faced with a judgment task in deciding what information to rely on: They must make inferences about the product in question and about the players who provide or present WOM. To do so, they use signals embedded in various components of WOM, such as average star ratings, message content, or sender characteristics. The product and player information provided by these signals shapes the impact of WOM by allowing receivers to make inferences about (a) their likelihood of product satisfaction, and (b) the trustworthiness of WOM players, and therefore the trustworthiness of their content. This article summarizes how each player changes the impact of online WOM, providing a lens for understanding the current literature in online WOM, offering insights for theory in this context, and opening up pathways for future research.

Sustainability in the wine sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of awareness of the topic of sustainability among Italian consumers in the wine sector and their perception – that is, what does it mean to consumers – of this issue.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops a quali-quantitative study on a random sample of Vivino reviews analysed through content analysis.FindingsAwareness of topic of sustainability among Italian wine consumers is currently low, although it is increasing. It is not among the main factors that influence the choice of wine among Italian consumers, who are still mainly attracted by organoleptic properties and characteristics linked to the terroir concept.Research limitations/implicationsThe research utilises a random sample, and the analysis is limited to the perception of consumers using online word of mouth (WOM).Practical implicationsTo develop a long-term perspective on sustainability in the wine sector, it is necessary to have the courage to make a distinction between sustainability and short-term commercial performance. In addition, a cultural change in wine consumers is necessary and requires a willingness to pay a premium price for sustainable products.Originality/valueResearch on the awareness and perception of Italian wine consumers diffused by online WOM through communities such as Vivino has not yet been carried out.

Word-of-Mouth System Implementation and Customer Conversion: A Randomized Field Experiment

Online retailers often face the decision on whether they should implement a word-of-mouth (WOM) system on their websites. Some retailers opt not to have an in-site WOM system (e.g., Tiffany.com and Tjmaxx.com ), whereas others implement and manage an internal WOM system (e.g., Amazon.com and Macys.com ). According to a new study in Information Systems Research, authors Ni Huang (Arizona State University), Tianshu Sun (University of Southern California), Peiyu Chen (Arizona State University), and Joseph M. Golden ( Collage.com ) conducted a randomized field experiment to examine how implementing an in-site WOM system from ground zero influences customer conversion in an online retailing website. Their results demonstrate that implementing an in-site WOM system can be a double-edged sword to the online retailing website. Specifically, the impact of a WOM system implementation on customer conversion is moderated by WOM volume, such that its effect is positive above a threshold of volume and negative below the threshold. Additionally, the researchers find that WOM valence reinforces the impact of a WOM system on customer conversion. These results offer important implications for the hundreds-of-billion-dollar online retailing industry on the implementation and management of online WOM systems.

Can Online Rating Reflect Authentic Customer Purchase Feelings? Understanding How Customer Dissatisfaction Relates to Negative Reviews

ABSTRACT The fast growth in online word of mouth (online WOM) reviews has witnessed their wide applications in assisting customers in their purchases. While many positive factors about these reviews have been identified, biases may result from reviewers’ self-selection behavior. To examine whether online WOM ratings reflect authentic customer purchase feelings, this study focuses on the relation between customer dissatisfaction and negative reviews. First, the reviews are fine grained into feature-opinion pairs, after which three explanatory variables are designed to represent the individual, collective, and comprehensive (individual and collective) complaints, with the online rating being considered as the explained variable. Finally, a simple linear regression model is built to determine the relation between customer dissatisfaction (represented by discounting marks of ratings) and negative reviews. Our analysis finds that personal complaints have a positive effect on rating and the most frequent customer complaints have no significant effect on customer ratings.

Effect of Online Word of Mouth on Product Sales: Focusing on Communication-Channel Characteristics

Effect of Online Word of Mouth on Product Sales: Focusing on Communication-Channel Characteristics

Marketing communication in the digital age: online ads, online WOM and mobile game adoptions

PurposeThis study aims to explore the interdependent impacts of online word-of-mouth (WOM) and online ads on digital product adoptions, as well as their dynamic changes throughout the product life cycle.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted an empirical approach by using a unique data set of five mobile games launched between 2012 and 2014 provided by Renren Games Ltd. in China.FindingsThe results indicated that advertising generally has a positive impact on WOM. During the product life cycle, the influence on volume and variance gradually decreases, whereas the impact on valence increases over time. WOM (including WOM volume and WOM valence) and advertising both have positive impacts on game adoptions. They complement each other to shape adoptions throughout the product life cycle: advertising is more effective in encouraging adoptions in the early and later stages of the demand evolution process, whereas WOM has a greater impact on adoptions in the mid-stage.Practical implicationsThis study provided detailed managerial recommendations on how to effectively integrate different types of marketing communication and optimize the investment strategy of online ads and online WOM in different stages of the product life cycle.Originality/valueFirst, the study enriched the theory of digital marketing communication by studying the relationship between mass media (online ads), interpersonal media (online WOM) and product adoptions in the network context. Second, it provided an empirical basis for the inference of the dynamic development of media effect in the new product diffusion theory. Third, the results will be helpful to end the debate in current theoretical literature on whether there is a complementary or alternative relationship between the two effects. Last but not least, it enriched research on the antecedents and dynamic effects of online WOM.

온라인 구전이 영화매출에 미치는 영향 : 소유미디어와 획득미디어의 조절효과를 중심으로

소셜 미디어는 정보원천에 따라 기업이 운영하는 소유미디어(Owned Media)와 고객 등 제3자가 콘텐츠를 생산하며 기업이 통제할 수 없는 획득미디어(Earned Media)로 구분된다. 소셜 미디어 선행연구는 소셜 미디어의 브랜드 관련 콘텐츠가 잠재고객의 브랜드의 인지도를 높이고, 브랜드 태도를 긍정적으로 변화시킴으로써 궁극적으로 매출과 기업성과를 증가시킨다는 논리를 전개하고 있다. 하지만 선행연구는 대부분 소셜 미디어의 정보원천에 따른 미디어 시너지 효과의 차이를 충분히 설명하지 못한다는 한계점이 있다. 소비자는 정보처리 상황에 따라 미디어의 정보를 취사선택할 가능성이 높기 때문에, 통합된 미디어 관리가 매우 중요하다고 할 수 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 리뷰사이트의 온라인 구전과 소셜 미디어 구전(소유미디어, 획득미디어)이 영화 매출에 미치는 영향을 분석하는 것이다. 이를 위해 2017년 개봉한 국내영화의 리뷰 데이터 3,589개를 분석하였다. 연구결과 리뷰사이트 구전과 소셜 미디어 구전(소유미디어, 획득미디어)은 모두 영화 매출에 긍정적인 영향을 미쳤다. 하지만 리뷰사이트 구전을 조절하는 효과는 소유미디어와 획득미디어가 다른 것으로 나타났다.

Can your advertising really buy earned impressions? The effect of brand advertising on word of mouth

Paid media expenditures could potentially increase earned media exposures such as social media posts and other word-of-mouth (WOM). However, academic research on the effect of advertising on WOM is scarce and shows mixed results. We examine the relationship between monthly Internet and TV advertising expenditures and WOM for 538 U.S. national brands across 16 categories over 6.5 years. We find that the average implied advertising elasticity on total WOM is small: 0.019 for TV, and 0.014 for Internet. On the online WOM (measured volume of brand chatter on blogs, user-forums, and Twitter), we find average monthly effects of 0.008 for TV and 0.01 for Internet advertising. Even the categories that have the strongest implied elasticities are only as large as 0.05. Despite this small average effect, we do find that advertising in certain events may produce more desirable amounts of WOM. Specifically, using a synthetic control approach, we find that being a Super Bowl advertiser causes a moderate increase in total WOM that lasts 1 month. The effect on online WOM is larger, but lasts for only 3 days. We discuss the implications of these findings for managing advertising and WOM.

The perceived value of social media marketing: an empirical study of online word-of-mouth in Saudi Arabian context

Despite the dramatic increase in the use social media marketing and huge business investments allocated to online marketing, little is known about consumers’ perceived value of social media marketing. The perceived value concept is key factor in traditional consumer behavior.However investigations into online channels have not been done intensively. The present work has succeeded in demonstrating the role of perceived value on online consumer behavior and its influences on online word of mouth (OWOM) and behavioral loyalty. Based on a sample of 525 respondents who were social media users, the study used Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique to analyze the data. The study has succeeded in filling various gaps of knowledge and literature. The gaps addressed by the present work includes aspects pertaining to perceived value of social media marketing, online word of mouth, behavioral loyalty on online channels, etc.

Sender outcomes of online word-of-mouth transmission

PurposeDespite the importance of online word-of-mouth (WOM) communication to senders, receivers and concerned companies alike, a surprisingly limited amount of research exists on the impacts of online WOM participation on the senders themselves. Motivated by an attempt to fill this significant gap in the literature, this paper aims to investigate the sender outcomes of online WOM participation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on insights from focus group studies and psychological theories of emotions, catharsis and regret and the signaling theory to develop a conceptual model linking the drivers and content characteristics of online WOM participation and sender outcomes.FindingsThe findings show that sender outcomes from online WOM transmission differ by the types of drivers stimulating the online sharing activity and the level of exaggeration in the senders’ self-generated contents. Specifically, online WOM triggered by emotions leads to catharsis and emotional homeostasis among the senders, while that stimulated by motivational drivers such as altruism, reciprocity, self-enhancement and belongingness leads to sender happiness. Exaggeration in self-generated WOM contents by the senders, in turn, leads to delayed outcomes of sender regret and reduced sender trust in general online WOM contents.Research limitations/implicationsThe most important contribution to online WOM research lies in the study of the outcomes of WOM transmission from a sender’s point of view. By drawing on our exploratory findings and psychological theories of emotions, catharsis and regret and the signaling theory, the authors develop a conceptual model linking the drivers and the exaggeration nature of online WOM participation and sender outcomes.Practical implicationsManagers should realize that the most fundamental way of ensuring positive consumption experiences is to listen to customer voices, including even the most negative of feedback shared privately or publicly, and use that information to improve essential customer experience aspects. The finding on the effects of online WOM exaggerations on sender regret suggests that companies and consumers alike should work on ensuring producing more accurate and complete online customer reviews. The finding on the negative effect of online WOM exaggerations on sender trust raises an important question on the meaning of high quality reviews from the company’s perspective. To pursue high quality reviews, merchants should not only aim at receiving the highest possible numeric ratings but also encourage most truthful accounts of purchase and usage experiences. In turn, online platforms such as Amazon should also factor the quality of online ratings more effectively into their product recommendation algorithms.Social implicationsIn further consideration of consumer welfare implications, online WOM transmissions should be more recognized as a tool for allowing consumers to cleanse their emotions associated with marketing stimuli.Originality/valueOverall, the qualitative study and proposed conceptual model contribute to a more thorough and deeper understanding of individual-level sender outcomes of online WOM participation.

A movie customer satisfaction index model based on structural equation model

The success of a movie highly relies on customers' word-of-mouth (WOM) and satisfaction. WOM information on the internet media platform is good resource for customer satisfaction measurement. Impact factors of customer satisfaction of the movie are identified in this paper after the thorough literature review. Furthermore, an M-CSI model is proposed based on these impact factors using structural equation model as an index of movie customer satisfaction. And the satisfaction index is built with the proposed model using the online WOM data of 282 movies released in 2014 on Mtime. This paper verifies that movies' publicity effort and user expectation has a direct impact on its customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, the model gives a user satisfaction score to every movie according to different weights.

Talk Bursts: The Role of Spikes in Prerelease Word-of-Mouth Dynamics

Before their launch, many new products generate word of mouth (WOM) on social media. Such WOM typically increases toward the release date and contains sudden spikes. These spikes capture manifestations of peak consumer attention and are therefore of managerial importance, yet they have not received research attention. This article is the first to provide a comprehensive descriptive treatment of WOM spikes. The authors propose a conceptual framework to present spikes as a standalone WOM dimension and explain their emergence. They employ a robust filtering procedure to detect spikes and apply it in a data set of 90,000 prerelease online WOM messages on 157 Hollywood movies. The results indicate that prerelease spikes are widely prevalent: While some of them are event-driven, emerging in response to firm-created communications (e.g., trailer release), they are far more likely to emerge spontaneously. Content analysis reveals that WOM in spikes is more positive in sentiment and is more likely to deal with factual details than is WOM outside spikes. Prerelease WOM spikes also contribute significantly to the predictability of future product sales.

E-WOM’s Impact on App Development

ABSTRACT With the emergencies of Web 2.0, online word of mouth (e-WOM) has become one of the most useful communication channels. Organizations increasingly rely on social media to receive customers’ feedback for product development. Despite the known effect of e-WOM on customers’ decision-making, few studies have examined the influence of e-WOM on product improvement. Extending the prior e-WOM research, this paper empirically investigates how e-WOM affects mobile application (App) improvement and examines the moderating effect of developer expertise. Based on a dataset obtained from Applause.com, we find that e-WOM volume, valence, and reviewer exposure positively affect App improvement. We also find that developer expertise negatively moderates the effect of e-WOM on App improvement. The results indicate that expert developers are less likely affected by e-WOM. This study contributes by empirically investigating the role of e-WOM used to facilitate customer-to-business communication. This study also provides practical value for firms active in the App market.