Management response to eWOM in rural lodging establishments

  1. Rosa M. Hernandez-Maestro 1
  1. 1 Department of Administration and Business Economics and IME, University of Salamanca
Revista:
Spanish journal of marketing-ESIC

ISSN: 2444-9695 2444-9709

Año de publicación: 2020

Volumen: 24

Número: 2

Páginas: 263-278

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.1108/SJME-11-2019-0093 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Spanish journal of marketing-ESIC

Resumen

Proposito – Al objeto de mejorar su reputacion online, las empresas progresivamente estan adoptando un papel mas activo ante las reseñas online de los clientes, ofreciendo respuestas online a dichas reseñas. Por tanto, es necesario que las empresas conozcan mejor los efectos de responder online. Este estudio examina si resulta beneficioso responder a las reseñas y si expresar agradecimiento potencia el efecto de responder. Diseño/metodología/enfoque – A partir de datos sobre reseñas online de clientes y respuestas de la empresa, correspondientes a una muestra de 766 alojamientos de turismo rural de Toprural (www.toprural. com), se realizan analisis con NVivo y SmartPLS. Resultados – Responder a reseñas negativas mejora las puntuaciones medias del establecimiento en Toprural. Sin embargo, responder a reseñas positivas no tiene un efecto directo significativo. Ademas, expresar agradecimiento en las respuestas modera positivamente el efecto de responder. No obstante, esta moderacion es mas intensa en el caso de respuestas a reseñas negativas frente a las reseñas positivas. Originalidad/valor – La investigacion previa aporta evidencia contradictoria sobre los efectos de la intensidad de respuesta empresarial a las reseñas online; ademas, no se ocupa de la expresion de gratitud en particular. Este estudio aporta luz respecto al efecto directo de la intensidad de respuesta sobre las puntuaciones online y amplía la investigacion actual sobre las características de contenido de las respuestas. El marco de estudio, el turismo rural, se considera clave para un desarrollo rural sostenible y constituye un escenario donde el boca-oído electronico es especialmente importante; en consecuencia, gestionar correctamente el fenomeno es crucial.

Información de financiación

Support was received from Toprural, which provided the data used in this research. This work was also supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain), project ECO2017-82107-R.

Financiadores

Referencias bibliográficas

  • Akerlof, G. (1970), “The market for ‘lemons’: quality uncertainty and the market mechanism”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 84 No. 3, pp. 488-500.
  • Anagnostopoulou, S., Buhalis, D., Kountouri, I., Manousakis, E. and Tsekrekos, A. (2020), “The impact of online reputation on hotel profitability”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 20-39.
  • Anderson, C. and Han, S. (2016), “Hotel performance impact of socially engaging with consumers”, Cornell Hospitality Report, Vol. 16 No. 10, pp. 3-9.
  • Bickart, B. and Schindler, R.M. (2001), “Internet forum as influential sources of consumer information”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 31-40.
  • Browning, V., So, K. and Sparks, B.A. (2013), “The influence of online reviews on consumers’ attributions of service quality and control for service standards in hotels”, Journal of Travel and TourismMarketing, Vol. 30 Nos 1/2, pp. 23-40.
  • Bughin, J., Doogan, J. and Vetvik, O. (2010), “A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing”, McKinsey Quarterly, Vol. 2, pp. 113-116.
  • Casaló, L.V., Flavián, C., Guinalíu, M. and Ekinci, Y. (2015), “Avoiding the dark side of positive online consumer reviews: enhancing reviews’ usefulness for high risk-averse travellers”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 68 No. 9, pp. 1829-1835.
  • Del Brio-González, E., Hernández-Maestro, R.M. and Yoshikawa, T. (2018), “How does interpersonal justice affect outside directors’ governance behavior? A cross-cultural comparison”, Review of Managerial Science, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 683-709.
  • Drollinger, T., Comer, L.B. and Warrington, P.T. (2006), “Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 161-180.
  • Fazal-E-Hasan, S., Mortimer, G., Lings, I.N. and Neale, L. (2017), “Examining the antecedents and consequences of gratitude”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 34-47.
  • Filieri, R. and McLeay, F. (2013), “E-WOM and accommodation: an analysis of the factors that influence travelers’ adoption of information from online reviews”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 44-57.
  • Gu, B. and Ye, Q. (2014), “First step in social media: measuring the influence of online management responses on customer satisfaction”, Production and Operations Management, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 570-582.
  • Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K.P., Walsh, G. and Gremler, D.D. (2004), “Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet?”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 38-52.
  • Hennig-Thurau, T., Malthouse, E., Friege, C., Gensler, S., Lobschat, L., Rangaswamy, A. and Skiera, B. (2010), “The impact of new media on customer relationships”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 311-330.
  • Hernández-Maestro, R.M. and González-Benito, Ó. (2014), “Rural lodging establishments as drivers of rural development”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 83-95.
  • HomeAway, (2019)“VI Barómetro del alquiler vacacional en España 2019”, available at: www. homeaway.es/info/homeaway-lab/estudios/barometro-alquiler-vacacional/estudio-nacionalmultimedia/estudio/ (accessed September 2019).
  • Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE (2019), “Encuesta de ocupación en alojamientos de turismo rural”, available at: www.ine.es (accessed September 2019).
  • Kelley, H. (1973), “The processes of causal attribution”, American Psychologist, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 107-128.
  • Kumar, A. and Epley, N. (2018), “Undervaluing gratitude: expressers misunderstand the consequences of showing appreciation”, Psychological Science, Vol. 29 No. 9, pp. 1423-1435.
  • Lee, H.R. and Blum, S.C. (2015), “How hotel responses to online reviews differ by hotel rating: an exploratory study”,Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 242-250.
  • Lee, Y.L. and Song, S. (2010), “An empirical investigation of electronic word-of-mouth: informational motive and corporate response strategy”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 1073-1080.
  • Li, C., Cui, G. and Peng, L. (2017), “The signaling effect of management response in engaging customers: a study of the hotel industry”, Tourism Management, Vol. 62, pp. 42-43.
  • Libai, B., Bolton, R., Bügel, M.S., De Ruyter, K., Götz, O., Risselada, H. and Stephen, A.T. (2010), “Customer-to-customer interactions: broadening the scope of word of mouth research”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 267-282.
  • Litvin, S.W., Goldsmith, R.E. and Pan, B. (2008), “Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management”, Tourism Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 458-468.
  • Liu, W. and Ji, R. (2019), “Do hotel responses matter? A comprehensive perspective on investigating online reviews”, Information Resources Management Journal, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 70-89.
  • Lui, T.W., Bartosiak, M., Piccoli, G. and Sadhya, V. (2018), “Online review response strategy and its effects on competitive performance”, Tourism Management, Vol. 67, pp. 180-190.
  • Mate, M.J., Trupp, A. and Pratt, S. (2019), “Managing negative online accommodation reviews: evidence from the Cook Islands”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 627-644.
  • Mauri, A.G. and Minazzi, R. (2013), “Web reviews influence on expectations and purchasing intentions of hotel potential customers”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 34, pp. 99-107.
  • Medallia (2015), “Responding to social media boosts a company’s bottom line, new research finds”, available at: www.medallia.com/press-release/responding-social-media-boosts-companys-bottomline-new-research-finds/ (accessed July 2019).
  • Melo, A.J.D.V.T., Hernández-Maestro, R.M. and Muñoz-Gallego, P.A. (2017), “Service quality perceptions, online visibility, and business performance in rural lodging establishments”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 56 No. 2, pp. 250-262.
  • Min, H., Lim, Y. and Magnini, V.P. (2015), “Factors affecting customer satisfaction in responses to negative online hotel reviews: the impact of empathy, paraphrasing, and speed”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 56 No. 2, pp. 223-231.
  • Nieto, J., Hernández-Maestro, R.M. and Muñoz-Gallego, P.A. (2014), “Marketing decisions, customer reviews and business performance: the use of the Toprural website by Spanish rural lodging establishments”,Tourism Management, Vol. 45, pp. 115-123.
  • Observatorio del Turismo Rural (2017), “Estudio sobre el turismo rural 2017”, available at: www.escapadarural.com/observatorio/iv-congreso-europeo-de-turismo-rural-relacion-de-datos-presentados/ (accessed July 2019).
  • Papathanassis, A. and Knolle, F. (2011), “Exploring the adoption and processing of online holiday reviews: a grounded theory approach”, Tourism Management, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 215-224.
  • Park, D.H., Lee, J. and Han, I. (2007), “The effect of on-line consumer reviews on consumer purchasing intention: the moderating role of involvement”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 125-148.
  • Pavlou, P.A. and Fygenson, M. (2006), “Understanding and predicting electronic commerce adoption: an extension of the theory of planned behavior”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 30, pp. 115-143.
  • Proserpio, D. and Zervas, G. (2017), “Online reputation management: estimating the impact of management responses on consumer reviews”, Marketing Science, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 645-665.
  • ReviewPro (2015), “2015 Top luxury hotel and brand report”, available at: www.reviewpro.com/reporttop-luxury-hotel-worldwide-rankings-2015-thanks/ (accessed September 2019).
  • Ringle, C.M. Wende, S. and Becker, J.M. (2015), “SmartPLS 3. Boenningstedt: SmartPLS GmbH”, available at: www.smartpls.com
  • Sen, S. and Lerman, D. (2007), “Why are you telling me this? An examination into negative consumer reviews on the web”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 76-94.
  • Shugan, S.M. (1984), “Price-quality relationships”, in Kinnear, T. (Ed.),Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, Association for Consumer Research, AnnArbor, MI, pp. 627-632.
  • Sparks, B.A. and Bradley, G.L. (2017), “A ‘triple A’ typology of responding to negative consumergenerated online reviews”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Vol. 41 No. 6, pp. 719-745.
  • Sparks, B.A., Perkins, H.E. and Buckley, R. (2013), “Online travel reviews as persuasive communication: the effects of content type, source, and certification logos on consumer behavior”,Tourism Management, Vol. 39, pp. 1-9.
  • Sparks, B.A., So, K.K.F. and Bradley, G.L. (2016), “Responding to negative online reviews: the effects of hotel responses on customer inferences of trust and concern”, Tourism Management, Vol. 53, pp. 74-85.
  • TripAdvisor (2015), “5 Tips inspired by our new traveler survey”, available at: www.tripadvisor.com/ TripAdvisorInsights/w661 (accessed July 2019).
  • TripAdvisor (2019), “Online reviews remain a trusted source of information when booking trips”, available at: https://tripadvisor.mediaroom.com/2019-07-16-Online-Reviews-Remain-a-TrustedSource-of-Information-When-Booking-Trips-Reveals-New-Research (accessed October 2019).
  • Ullrich, S. and Brunner, C.B. (2015), “Negative online consumer reviews: effects of different responses”, Journal of Product and BrandManagement, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 66-77.
  • Vermeulen, I.E. and Seegers, D. (2009), “Tried and tested: the impact of online hotel reviews on consumer consideration”, Tourism Management, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 123-127.
  • Viglia, G., Minazzi, R. and Buhalis, D. (2016), “The influence of e-word-of-mouth on hotel occupancy rate”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 28 No. 9, pp. 2035-2051.
  • Wali, A.F. and Opara, B.C. (2013), “The impact of customer appreciation service on customer loyalty patronage: evidence from Nigeria financial sector”, European Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 163-169.
  • Wei, W., Miao, L. and Huang, Z.J. (2013), “Customer engagement behaviors and hotel responses”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 33, pp. 316-330.
  • Willemsen, L., Neijens, P.C. and Bronner, F.A. (2013), “Webcare as customer relationship and reputation management? Motives for negative electronic word of mouth and their effect on webcare receptiveness”, in Rosengren, S., Dahlén, M. and Okazak, S. (Eds), Advances in Advertising Research, Vol. 4, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden, pp. 55-69.
  • Xie, K.L., So, K.K.F. and Wang, W. (2017), “Joint effects of management responses and online reviews on hotel financial performance: a data-analytics approach”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 62, pp. 101-110.
  • Xie, K.L., Zhang, Z., Zhang, Z., Singh, A. and Lee, S.K. (2016), “Effects of managerial response on consumer eWOM and hotel performance: evidence from TripAdvisor”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 28 No. 9, pp. 2013-2034.
  • Ye, Q., Law, R. and Gu, B. (2009), “The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 180-182.
  • Ye, Q., Law, R., Gu, B. and Chen, W. (2011), “The influence of user-generated content on traveler behavior: an empirical investigation on the effects of e-word-of-mouth to hotel online bookings”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 634-639.
  • Zhang, Z., Li, H., Meng, F. and Li, Y. (2019), “The effect of management response similarity on online hotel booking: field evidence from Expedia”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 2739-2758.
  • Zhang, X., Qiao, S., Yang, Y. and Zhang, Z. (2020), “Exploring the impact of personalized management responses on tourists’ satisfaction: a topic matching perspective”, Tourism Management, Vol. 76, pp. 1-16.
  • Phillips, P., Barnes, S., Zigan, K. and Schegg, R. (2017), “Understanding the impact of online reviews on hotel performance: an empirical analysis”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 56 No. 2, pp. 235-249.