Write Online Reviews Research Articles

Digital Therapy for Negative Consumption Experiences: The Impact of Emotional and Rational Reviews on Review Writers

Abstract This research tests a solution for consumers to recover faster from negative experiences. We identify this solution by examining how the manner in which review writers express their emotions and rational thoughts in their reviews causally influences review writers. The results of five studies (field data and experiments) show that, similar to writing about traumatic life events, when review writers express both emotional and rational aspects in reviews about negative consumption experiences, they feel better afterwards (i.e., they recover affectively), and are more likely to purchase again (i.e., they recover cognitively). We further examine why writing integrated reviews has positive effects on review writers by collecting biophysiological response data, which provide support for an account related to affective recovery, and by analyzing thought listing data, which provide support for an account related to cognitive recovery. This research shows that writing online reviews can serve as a digital therapy tool that helps consumers recover from negative experiences.

Mining heritage gone wrong: A study of disappointed tourists at China’s national mine parks

ABSTRACT Mine parks are a late twentieth-century addition to the global heritage repertoire. To date, most studies of visitor experiences at mining heritage sites focus on tourists who appreciate their outings. Yet mine parks do not satisfy all those who visit. What goes wrong for those who visit these destinations and feel disappointed, and how do they express their displeasure? We answer this question by scrutinising the online negative reviews of tourists from seven Chinese national mine parks. Our analysis indicates ‘disgruntled tourists’ want the sites of former resource extraction to include a sight and meet their expectations for hospitable, accessible, and knowledgeable service. When mine parks fail to deliver, they become disappointed, dissatisfied, and angry. They overwhelmingly articulate their unhappiness using a language of ‘lack’ or deficiency and talking about ‘value for money’. The reviews further suggest that disappointed visitors write online reviews to vent negative emotions, warn other tourists, and punish site staff. Drawing on the broader literature on mining tourism, heritage tourism, and visitor experiences, we indicate strategies that mining heritage professionals could use to remedy disgruntled tourists’ sense of deficiency, while also contributing to scholarly discussions about what makes tourism meaningful.

Cultural similarity and guest-host interaction for virtual tourism

Online experience program is a novel virtual tourism product in which guests can experience interesting activities online. However, the mechanism behind guest-host interactions for online experience remains unexplored. From the perspective of cultural similarity, this study tries to discover how guests review differently to native hosts and foreign hosts, as well as how hosts reply differently to native guests and foreign guests. Based on the data collected from Airbnb, we conduct empirical analyses from the perspectives of guests and hosts separately. Our results show that guests tend to pay more efforts when they write online reviews for native hosts, whereas hosts prefer to pay more efforts to foreign guests while making managerial responses. Our work not only sheds light on the user behavioral patterns for virtual tourism products but also provides multiple practical implications for the platforms, businesses, and guests in the sharing economy.

Does service journey quality explain omnichannel shoppers' online engagement behaviors? The role of customer-store identification and gratitude toward the store

PurposeThe different dimensions of the online engagement behaviors exhibited by omnichannel shoppers, who mainly rely on the online channel for information search, are still understudied. This study aims to investigate how service journey quality (SJQ) has an impact on the overall omnichannel customer experience leading to customer identification (CI) with the store, subsequently leading to their exhibition of online engagement behaviors (writing online reviews, blogging, rating products and service online and indulging in customer-to-customer online interactions.Design/methodology/approachThe research is cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive. Purposive sampling was used to choose the research's participants. Data were collected from 591 Indian omnichannel customers who had previously made an omnichannel purchase that included the concurrent usage of various channels of a retailer using a verified self-administered survey. Using the Smart PLS 4.0 software, the proposed conceptual model has been evaluated.FindingsThe results indicate that omnichannel customer experience mediates the relationship between SJQ and CI with the store, subsequently leading to their exhibition of online engagement behaviors (writing online reviews, blogging, rating products and service online and indulging in customer-to-customer online interactions). The perceived customer gratitude toward the store significantly and positively moderated the direct relationship between SJQ and different online engagement behaviors (writing online reviews, blogging, rating products and service online and indulging in customer-to-customer online interactions).Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied upon the omnichannel shoppers of only Indian population and relied on a cross-sectional data collection procedure for this research.Originality/valuePost-pandemic, with highly dynamic shifts in customer preferences, the need for channel-agnostic shopping leading to the unpredictability of purchase patterns has made SJQ the only dimension to achieve sustainable loyalty intentions through value co-creation in an omnichannel retail context. Emphasizing post-purchase behaviors like different online engagement behaviors (writing online reviews, blogging, rating products and services online and indulging in customer-to-customer online interactions), this study is the first to show that SJQ might affect four different online customer engagement behaviors through omnichannel shopping experience and CI with the store. The moderating effect of customer-perceived gratitude toward the retailer on a few proposed hypotheses was also tested to give managerial recommendations. The study also answers the call to investigate the moderating role of customer gratitude in determining service quality-driven engagement behaviors.

The Negative Effect of Name: Mentions of Frontline Service Employee Name Reduce Online Review Persuasiveness

Some retailers encourage consumers to mention the names of frontline service employees when writing online reviews. As a result, although most consumers do not pay attention to frontline service employees’ names during consumption, they often see them in online reviews. The effect of this asymmetry on review persuasiveness is still unknown. This research examines the impact of mentioning frontline service employee names in online reviews on readers’ likelihood of being persuaded by them. The results of one secondary data analysis and four online experiments from China demonstrate that readers are less persuaded by positive online reviews mentioning (vs. not mentioning) frontline service employee names, and perceived deception mediates this negative effect. In addition, the level of required service expertise, occurrence frequency, and review valence moderate this negative effect. For services that require a high level of expertise, when the occurrence frequency of positive reviews mentioning frontline service employee names is low, and when the reviews are negative, the aforementioned negative effect diminishes. Our study offers a new direction for name research and identifies a new factor that influences online review persuasiveness. Our findings provide valuable managerial insights into online review management strategies in the Chinese context.

The Impact of Discrepancies between Offerors’ Self-Disclosure and Customers’ Reviews on Online Sales of Experiences in Sharing Economy

ABSTRACT Experience sharing is becoming popular as customers increasingly respond to the rapid platform technology development. However, because of format diversity and quality variation, customers refer to multiple information sources before booking. Two of the most important information sources are the hosts’ self-disclosure texts about the experience project and customers’ online reviews. Using natural language processing (NLP) techniques, we analyze the data from Airbnb experience projects. We find that the information discrepancies in hosts’ self-disclosure texts of the experience project and customers’ online reviews, in terms of their focus on the attributes of products and services and the linguistic styles, exist, and these discrepancies affect sales. Hosts elaborate more on the descriptive attributes, whereas customers focus mainly on individual perceptions in their reviews. Customers also write online reviews in a more concise, diverse, and relaxed fashion, conveying positive emotion and a more subjective tone than expressed by hosts’ project descriptions. Additionally, a large topic difference, reflected by customers’ more details about various attributes elaborated in their online reviews compared with the attributes described by the hosts in the project description, increases sales. Further, a larger discrepancy in length and diversity increases sales, whereas a larger discrepancy in subjectivity reduces sales. Compared with the online mode, the in-person mode strengthens the impact of content and linguistic discrepancies on sales. This study’s findings will help hosts and sharing economy platforms use a relative approach to optimize their information provision and exploit the electronic word-of-mouth effect to improve customers’ online purchase intention and behavior.

The impact of service robots on customer satisfaction online ratings: The moderating effects of rapport and contextual review factors

AbstractRecent research has established a positive relationship between the use of service robots powered by artificial intelligence in hospitality firms and customer satisfaction online ratings, a particularly important form of electronic word of mouth. However, it is not clear if and how this relationship is augmented or diminished by moderating factors. In this study, we examined four potential moderators by using machine learning and natural language processing techniques to analyze 20,166 online reviews of hotels that had implemented service robots. We had four key findings. First, a positive service robot‐satisfaction rating relationship was further enhanced by improved customer‐service robot rapport during the service encounter. Second, higher customer effort focused on service robots in a review reduced the service robot‐satisfaction rating relationship. Third, posting reviews using a mobile device (vs. other devices) showed higher satisfaction ratings. Finally, customers' prior experience in writing online reviews was unrelated to the service robot‐satisfaction rating relationship. Taken together, these results suggest that service robots should be designed to be interactive and encourage customers to build rapport, for example, by service robots engaging in conversational flows. Moreover, customers should be nudged to use their mobile devices to post timely reviews on their positive human–robot interactions.

Word of mouse! What drives consumer voluntarism to write online reviews?

ABSTRACT Online reviews have gained attention of both prospective consumers and business entities. Prior researchers have investigated motivators of online review writing; however, explicit role of intrinsic motivations for this voluntary act has yet to gain much attention. This study addresses this gap by examining consumers’ intrinsic motivations influencing their intention to write online reviews. An integrated model incorporating hedonic, pro-social, and ego-defensive motives as predictors along with Theory of Planned Behavior was developed and tested with data collected from 1111 users of e-tailer platforms. Results of PLS-SEM procedure reveal that the consumer’s intention to write online reviews is predicated on hedonic motivation and ego-defensive function as well as two TPB factors, namely, attitude toward review writing and perceived behavioral control. The study’s findings elucidate the complex mechanisms underlying consumers’ intention to write online reviews with implications for theory and practice of e-WOM behavior and business research.

The role of badges to spur frequent travelers to write online reviews

研究目的在线旅游评论平台已成为创新的信息系统, 这也是由于结合了复杂的游戏化元素, 例如具有视觉吸引力的徽章。本研究旨在分析升级徽章后评论的三个特征：评论长度（字数）、情绪评分和两次连续评论之间的时间段（距离撰写下一次评论的天数）。研究设计/方法/途径本研究使用数据挖掘方法分析了由 100 位常旅客和贡献者撰写的总共 77,000 条在线 TripAdvisor 评论。然后进行基于数据的敏感性分析 (DSA), 以提供对数据挖掘训练模型的理解。研究发现结果表明, 具有自我自豪感（“徽章护照”）和同行认可（“徽章有帮助”）的徽章在在线评论的整个生命周期中具有显着影响, 而仅通过计算贡献来授予徽章几乎没有影响。研究原创性本研究首次分析了经验丰富的旅行者在获得徽章和积分时受到的影响。奖励标准贡献徽章的内在动机因素几乎不会影响用户行为。需要设计徽章来奖励那些并非微不足道且不完全取决于用户的成就。

How to motivate digital natives to write online reviews

How to motivate digital natives to write online reviews

How to motivate digital natives to write online reviews

How to motivate digital natives to write online reviews

Do salespeople’s online profile pictures predict the number of online reviews? Effect of a babyface

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of a salesperson’s babyface in his/her profile picture on the number of online reviews the salesperson receives. In addition to testing the direct relationship, this study explores the moderating roles of salesperson gender and consumer involvement.Design/methodology/approachResponding to the call for field-based consumer research, the authors test their theory using an experimental design and a field study. Study 1 employs an experimental design in high and low involvement service settings to test the effect of a babyface on consumers’ intention to write online reviews. Study 2 uses field data, utilising real estate salespeople’s online profile pictures to test the effect of salespeople’s babyface on the number of online reviews they receive. It does so by using an artificial intelligence facial recognition application interface.FindingsA salesperson’s babyface results in fewer online reviews in situations in which consumers are highly involved in the purchase process. By contrast, a salesperson’s babyface engenders more online reviews when consumers purchase low involvement services. The adverse effect of a babyface on the number of online reviews, however, attenuates when a salesperson is female.Research limitations/implicationsLimited information about salespeople, a skewed number of online reviews and blurry online profile pictures from a real-world data set constitute the study’s limitations.Practical implicationsWhen consumers are highly involved in the purchase process, salespeople should appear mature in their online profile photos to engender more online reviews. However, salespeople providing low involvement services should opt for online profile pictures reflecting babyish facial features to generate more online reviews.Originality/valueResearch has shown that salespeople’s physical appearance plays an important role in consumers’ perceptions of salespeople and their performance. Although abundant research and practice have shown the importance of online reviews, less is known about how online profile pictures affect online reviews. Thus, building on well-studied cases of an overgeneralization effect, this work examines the extent to which salespeople’s babyface features in their online profile picture affects the number of online reviews received in a real-world setting.

A sentiment analysis of Michelin-starred restaurants

PurposeWith the growing popularity of social media, it has become common practice for consumers to write online reviews to share their opinion and experience as well as consider others' reviews to inform purchase decision-making. This study investigated how online review sentiments towards four key aspects (food, service, ambience and price) change after a restaurant is awarded a Michelin Star to shed light on how the award of a Michelin Star affects online reviews as well as what factors contribute to positive online restaurant reviews.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a sentiment analysis of online restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor. A total of 8,871 English-written reviews from 87 restaurants located in Europe were extracted using a web crawler developed by Beautiful Soup, and data were then processed using Semantria.FindingsThe study findings revealed that overall sentiments decreased after restaurants were awarded a Michelin Star, in which service sentiment was the most affected aspect, followed by food and ambience. Yet, price sentiment showed a prominent increase. This provides valuable insights for Michelin-starred restaurant operators and owners to create a unique and compelling gastronomic experience that triggers positive online reviews.Practical implicationsThe results of this study argue that consumers tend to hold higher expectations for this type of upscale restaurants given its recognition and quality assurance, so they are more likely to have negative feelings when their expectations are disconfirmed. Therefore, restaurants should continuously improve their food and service while paying attention to small details such as ambience, through creativity and innovation. Also, high-end restaurants, especially Michelin-starred restaurants, usually have the edge in premium pricing, yet competitive pricing may backfire considering its perceived luxurious values.Originality/valueThis study analyzed changes in customer sentiments when a restaurant is awarded a Michelin Star through text analytics. Through the lens of online restaurant reviews, the study findings contribute to identifying aspects that are most or least affected by the award of a Michelin Star as well as highlight the role of ambience in customer satisfaction which might have been overlooked in previous studies.

A Study on Travelers’ Motivation to Provide Online Reviews

Information communication technology has changed people’s behavior towards gathering and assimilating information resulting in their dependence on electronic word-of-mouth to fulfill their information needs. With the help of the theory of planned behavior as the conceptual base, the present study aimed at examining the role of antecedent factors – to inform other travelers, show concern, express their enjoyment, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on travelers’ attitude. Further, the impact of attitude on their intention to write reviews was also studied. The results suggested a significant impact of informing others, concern for others, expressing enjoyment, and subjective norms on travelers’ attitude towards writing reviews. This attitude triggered travelers’ intent to provide reviews. The original contribution of the study is in identifying the antecedent factors influencing travelers’ attitude and intention towards writing online reviews in the context of an emerging market (India).

Understanding online review behaviors of patients in online health communities: an expectation-disconfirmation perspective

PurposeAlthough online health communities (OHCs) and online patient reviews can help to eliminate health information asymmetry and improve patients' health management, how patients write online reviews within OHCs is poorly understood. Thus, it is very necessary to determine the factors influencing patients' online review behavior in OHCs, including the emotional response and reviewing effort.Design/methodology/approachBased on expectation-disconfirmation theory, this study proposes a theoretical model to analyze the effects of service quality perception (i.e. outcome quality and process quality perceptions) and disconfirmation (i.e. outcome quality and process quality disconfirmations) on patients' emotional response and reviewing effort. The authors test the research model by using empirical data collected from a popular Chinese OHC and applying ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and zero-truncated negative binomial (ZTNB) regression models.FindingsBoth service quality perception and disconfirmation have a positive effect on patients' positive emotional intensity in textual reviews, and disease severity enhances these relationships of process quality. Moreover, there is an asymmetric U-shaped relationship among service quality perception, disconfirmation and reviewing effort. Patients who perceive low service quality have higher reviewing effort, while service quality disconfirmation has the opposite relationship. Specifically, patients' effort in writing textual reviews is lowest when perceived outcome quality is 3.5 (on a five-point scale), perceived process quality is 4 or outcome quality and process quality disconfirmations are −1.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine patients' online review behavior and its motivations and contributes to the literature on online reviews and service quality. In addition, the findings of this study have important management implications for service providers and OHC managers.

Social influence bias in ratings: A field experiment in the hospitality sector

We investigate the empirical phenomenon of rating bubbles, that is, the presence of a disproportionate number of extremely positive ratings in user-generated content websites. We test whether customers are influenced by prior ratings when evaluating their stay at a hotel through a field experiment that exogenously manipulates information disclosure. Results show the presence of (asymmetric) social influence bias (SIB): access to information on prior ratings that are above the average positively influences the consumers’ rating of the hotel. In contrast, information on ratings that are below the average does not affect reviewers. Furthermore, customers who have never been to the hotel before the intervention are more susceptible to prior ratings than customers who have repeatedly been to the hotel before. Finally, customers who are not used to writing online reviews are more prone to SIB than customers who frequently write online reviews. Our findings suggest that online rating systems should be adjusted to mitigate this bias, especially as these platforms become more relevant and widespread in the hospitality sector.

Intention to write reviews: influence of personality traits, attitude and motivational factors

PurposeThe growth in online shopping activities has made online reviews a useful information source for customers. At the same time, the number of shoppers sharing their experiences through reviews has also increased. Not enough research has been undertaken in the past to examine a comprehensive set of factors that influence review posting behaviour. Further, the influence of personality traits on such behaviour is mostly unexplored. The study aims to examine the impact of the system’s usefulness and ease of use, along with shoppers’ motivation for writing reviews, namely, rewards and associated costs.Design/methodology/approachUsing the 3 M model of personality traits, this paper examined the impact of these personality traits on customers’ intent towards writing online reviews. A detailed review of the literature was undertaken to ascertain the pertinent factors, and the corresponding validated scales were obtained. The primary data was collected using an offline survey method, and 275 valid responses were recorded. The hypotheses were investigated through structural equation modelling on analysis of a moment structures 22.0.FindingsThe study observed the significant effects of both ease of use and usefulness, on shoppers’ attitude. This favourable attitude was further found to have a positive effect on shoppers’ intention to write reviews. Of the eight personality traits as predictors of shoppers’ intention to provide reviews, three (neuroticism, agreeableness and openness) were observed to be significant predictors. It was noted that intrinsic rewards influenced shoppers’ intention. Conversely, extrinsic rewards were found to be insignificant in influencing shoppers’ intention. Costs had a significant negative impact on the intention to write reviews.Practical implicationsThe study presents theoretical and managerial implications. This paper suggests that for writing online reviews, the customers must perceive the review system to be simple, convenient and easy to use. It is pertinent for them to comprehend the usefulness of such reviews. Electronic retailers must highlight how the reviews are read and considered in making buying decisions. They must develop a system that enables the review writers to know the number of shoppers who have purchased the product after reading a particular review. E-retailers must strategize to highlight the intrinsic rewards available for shoppers to motivate them.Originality/valueThe present study examines the factors that motivate and influence shoppers to write online reviews. Using the conceptual framework of technology acceptance model, the self-determination theory and the 3 M framework of personality traits, the study investigates the factors that motivate shoppers to write reviews. The most significant aspect of the present study is the inclusion of eight personality traits for deciphering the relationship between personality traits and the intention to write reviews.

Focus Within or On Others: The Impact of Reviewers’ Attentional Focus on Review Helpfulness

When reviewers write online reviews, they differ in the focus of their attention: some focus on their own experiences, whereas some direct their attention to others—prospective consumers who may read the reviews in the future. This paper explores how, why, and when reviewers’ attentional focus can influence the helpfulness evaluation of reviews beyond the impact of substantive review content. Drawing on the attentional focus and persuasion literatures, we develop a theoretical model proposing that reviewers’ attentional focus may influence consumers’ perception of review helpfulness through opposing processes, and that its overall effect is contingent on the review’s two-sidedness. Results of one archival analysis and five controlled experiments provide consistent support for our hypotheses. This work challenges the predominant view of the positive impact of other-focus (vs. self-focus), explores the interpersonal impact of a reviewer’s attentional focus on prospective consumers who are total strangers, and reveals an important, context-specific boundary condition.

Typology of Online Reviewers Based on Their Motives for Writing Online Reviews

Literature on online reviews has largely deliberated on factors that influence shoppers' behaviour. Few studies have examined the reasons that motivate shoppers to write online reviews and not much attention has been given to understand the differences among shoppers who provide online reviews. Despite the exponential growth of e-commerce and that of the impact of online reviews, very little is known about the segments of review providers. This paper addresses the gap by developing and profiling shoppers based on their motivations to write online reviews. The objective is to identify profiles of shoppers who intend to write online reviews based on the factors identified as important in the process of writing reviews. Cluster analysis was used to profile the customers in various segments. The findings indicated three distinct segments. The results of this research are pertinent to online and offline retailers to comprehend shoppers' motivations to write online reviews, which would help them to develop marketing strategies as per the profile of each segment.

What Motivates Consumers to Write Online Reviews? Qualitative Research in the Indian Cultural Context

The study explores and understands the antecedents that motivate the consumers to write online reviews on online consumer-opinion platforms in the Indian cultural context. This research employed the qualitative research approach using the in-depth interview method to understand the consumers’ motivation to write online reviews. The data collected in the form of interview narratives were analyzed using ATLAS.ti 8, a qualitative data analysis software. The study identified seven antecedents of writing online reviews based on the data analysis carried out in three phases. Further, based on the underlying meaning of these antecedents, a conceptual framework was proposed.