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1 – 10 of 276Ana Isabel Lopes, Edward C. Malthouse, Nathalie Dens and Patrick De Pelsmacker
Engaging in webcare, i.e. responding to online reviews, can positively affect consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior. Research is often scarce or inconsistent regarding the…
Abstract
Purpose
Engaging in webcare, i.e. responding to online reviews, can positively affect consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior. Research is often scarce or inconsistent regarding the effects of specific webcare strategies on business performance. Therefore, this study tests whether and how several webcare strategies affect hotel bookings.
Design/methodology/approach
We apply machine learning classifiers to secondary data (webcare messages) to classify webcare variables to be included in a regression analysis looking at the effect of these strategies on hotel bookings while controlling for possible confounds such as seasonality and hotel-specific effects.
Findings
The strategies that have a positive effect on bookings are directing reviewers to a private channel, being defensive, offering compensation and having managers sign the response. Webcare strategies to be avoided are apologies, merely asking for more information, inviting customers for another visit and adding informal non-verbal cues. Strategies that do not appear to affect future bookings are expressing gratitude, personalizing and having staff members (rather than managers) sign webcare.
Practical implications
These findings help managers optimize their webcare strategy for better business results and develop automated webcare.
Originality/value
We look into several commonly used and studied webcare strategies that affect actual business outcomes, being that most previous research studies are experimental or look into a very limited set of strategies.
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Fuzhen Liu, Kee-hung Lai and Chaocheng He
To promote the success of peer-to-peer accommodation, this study examines the effects of online host–guest interaction as well as the interaction's boundary conditions of listing…
Abstract
Purpose
To promote the success of peer-to-peer accommodation, this study examines the effects of online host–guest interaction as well as the interaction's boundary conditions of listing price and reputation on listing popularity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 330,686 data collected from Airbnb in the United States of America, the authors provide empirical evidence to answer whether social-oriented self-presentation and response rate influence listing popularity from the perspective of social exchange theory (SET). In addition, the authors investigate how these two kinds of online host–guest interactions work with listing price and reputation to influence listing popularity.
Findings
The results reveal the positive association between online host–guest interaction and listing popularity. Notably, the authors find that listing price strengthens but listing reputation weakens the positive effects of online host–guest interactions on listing popularity in peer-to-peer accommodation.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to adopt SET to explain the importance of online host–guest interactions in influencing listing popularity as well as examine the moderating role of listing price and reputation on the above relationship.
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Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Raffaella Montera and Rocco Palumbo
The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.
Abstract
Purpose
The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique sample of Italian hotels with current and prospective customers in the digital environment is investigated. A taxonomy of user-provider interactions mediated by UGC is developed. A mixed approach was designed to meet the study aims. Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis was performed in order to illuminate different strategies of UGC and electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) management. Secondly, a cluster analysis was implemented in order to explain hoteliers' behavior toward users' contents.
Findings
The study results suggested the existence of three clusters, which reflected three different types of interactions between hotels and customers in the digital domain. Interestingly, most of Italian hotels were found to adopt a reductionist approach to UGC and E-WOM management, turning out to be ineffective to exploit them for the purpose of quality improvement and hospitality service excellence.
Research limitations/implications
Hotels were found to be largely unaware of the importance of UGC and web-based communication with customers to improve their digital business strategy. Tailored management approaches are needed to realize the full potential of hotels' online content responsiveness for the purpose of value co-creation and service co-production.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies investigating the strategic and management perspectives embraced by hotels to handle their interactions with customers in the digital arena.
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Peng Ouyang, Jiaming Liu and Xiaofei Zhang
Free knowledge sharing in the online health community has been widely documented. However, whether free knowledge sharing can help physicians accumulate popularity and further the…
Abstract
Purpose
Free knowledge sharing in the online health community has been widely documented. However, whether free knowledge sharing can help physicians accumulate popularity and further the accumulated popularity can help physicians attract patients remain unclear. To unveil these gaps, this study aims to examine how physicians' popularity are affected by their free knowledge sharing, how the relationship between free knowledge sharing and popularity is moderated by professional capital, and how the popularity finally impacts patients' attraction.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collect a panel dataset from Hepatitis B within an online health community platform with 10,888 observations from April 2020 to August 2020. The authors develop a model that integrates free knowledge sharing, popularity, professional capital, and patients' attraction. The hierarchical regression model is used to for examining the impact of free knowledge sharing on physicians' popularity and further investigating the impact of popularity on patients' attraction.
Findings
The authors find that the quantity of articles acted as the heuristic cue and the quality of articles acted as the systematic cue have positive effect on physicians' popularity, and this effect is strengthened by physicians' professional capital. Furthermore, physicians' popularity positively influences their patients' attraction.
Originality/value
This study reveals the aggregation of physicians' popularity and patients' attraction within online health communities and provides practical implications for managers in online health communities.
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Keywords
Jung-Chieh Lee and Liang nan Xiong
Compared to traditional (domestic) e-commerce consumers, cross-border electronic commerce (CBEC) consumers may face greater information asymmetry in the CBEC purchase process…
Abstract
Purpose
Compared to traditional (domestic) e-commerce consumers, cross-border electronic commerce (CBEC) consumers may face greater information asymmetry in the CBEC purchase process. Given this background, however, the literature has paid limited attention to the informational antecedents that influence consumers' perceptions of transaction costs and their CBEC purchase intentions. To fill this gap, this study integrates the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and transaction cost theory (TCT) to develop a model for exploring how product (website informativeness, product diagnosticity and website interactivity as the central route) and external (country brand, website policy and vendor reputation as the peripheral route) informational antecedents affect consumers’ evaluations of transaction costs in terms of uncertainty and asset specificity and their CBEC purchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a survey approach to validate the model with 766 Generation Z CBEC consumers based on judgment sampling. The partial least squares (PLS) technique is adopted for data analysis.
Findings
The results show that all the proposed central and peripheral informational antecedents reduce consumers’ perceptions of uncertainty and asset specificity, which in turn negatively influences their CBEC purchase intentions.
Originality/value
Through this investigation, this study increases our understanding of how product and external informational antecedents affect consumers’ evaluations of transaction costs, which subsequently determine their CBEC purchase decisions. This study offers theoretical contributions to existing CBEC research and has practical implications for CBEC organizations and managers.
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Haroon Shaukat, Islam Elgammal, Mukaram Ali Khan and Kareem M. Selem
Underpinning social identity theory (SIT) and service-dominant logic (SDL), the current paper seeks to explore the effect of self-presentation on online brand advocacy (OBA)…
Abstract
Purpose
Underpinning social identity theory (SIT) and service-dominant logic (SDL), the current paper seeks to explore the effect of self-presentation on online brand advocacy (OBA). Furthermore, this paper investigates the mediating role of hedonic value and the moderating role of customer interaction with e-commerce websites (i.e. Amazon, Walmart and eBay).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from customers of three e-commerce platforms (i.e. Walmart, Amazon and eBay) using a structured questionnaire – multi-group analysis applied on SmartPLS 4.4.
Findings
Self-presentation has a positive role in increasing hedonic value and its impact on OBA. The moderating effect of customer interaction on these relationships is also investigated and found to be significant.
Social implications
Our findings underscore the significance of fostering inclusive online communities and favorable online settings. Existing findings are consistent with overarching objectives of digital empowerment and enhanced online interaction quality. This paper contributes to harmonious and collaborative digital societies by encouraging personalized experiences that foster a sense of belonging among diverse customers.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the existing body of knowledge by comparing customer behavior on three major e-commerce platforms, going beyond the traditional focus on a single platform. Drawing on SIT and SDL, this paper provides a distinct nomological framework for OBA that unifies disparate constructs, filling theoretical gaps in our understanding of online customer behavior.
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Mauro Dini, Ilaria Curina and Sabrina Hegner
The study aims to provide a detailed definition of Destination Cultural Reputation while also exploring its impact on tourist satisfaction through an investigation of the dynamics…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to provide a detailed definition of Destination Cultural Reputation while also exploring its impact on tourist satisfaction through an investigation of the dynamics between these two elements. Additionally, the potential moderating role of on-site engagement in sustainable activities has been investigated, examining whether satisfaction prompts tourists to exhibit behaviors such as the intention to return and recommend the cultural destination.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve these objectives, a survey and a structural equation model, based on a sample of 647 visitors to an important UNESCO World Heritage site (i.e. Urbino), have been adopted.
Findings
Findings confirm tourists’ recognition of the destination’s cultural reputation, supporting its relationship with visitor satisfaction. Additionally, tourist satisfaction is positively associated with destination loyalty. However, on-site sustainable activities negatively moderate the relationship between destination reputation and tourist satisfaction. This suggests that a favorable cultural reputation should align with quality sustainable activities in the destination to prevent tourist dissatisfaction.
Practical implications
The paper offers valuable practical insights for destination managers and policymakers aiming to enhance appeal and sustainability.
Originality/value
The study contributes to enhancing the understanding of the complex relationship between reputation, satisfaction, and loyalty in cultural destinations. In addiction it measures the reputation of tourist destination through the specific cultural dimension.
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Kanapot Kalnaovakul, Kandappan Balasubramanian and Stephanie Hui-Wen Chuah
This study investigates the service quality dimensions of hotel resorts in renowned beach destinations of Thailand. It also explores the relationship between review text sentiment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the service quality dimensions of hotel resorts in renowned beach destinations of Thailand. It also explores the relationship between review text sentiment expressed in online platforms and the satisfaction ratings provided for those reviews.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a two-step analysis approach: first, supervised and unsupervised machine learning via support vector machine (SVM) and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) are used to identify service quality dimensions, and second, SmartPLS with PROCESS macro is applied to analyze the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between sentiment and satisfaction rating. The dataset comprises 102,179 online reviews from TripAdvisor, focusing on 187 selected hotels rated from 3 to 5 stars.
Findings
Eight service quality dimensions were identified, including leisure activities, tangibles and surroundings, reliability, responsiveness, service process, food, empathy and ambience. The study underscores that the service process stands as the sole dimension exhibiting negative sentiment. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a robust positive association between sentiment of review texts and satisfaction, and reviewers’ experience and brand affiliation influenced the relationship between customer sentiment and satisfaction.
Practical implications
Hotel managers should focus efforts on maintaining tangible aspects while enhancing existing service quality level of other dimensions, particularly those related to intangible elements. Independent hotels might implement quality audit to ensure that service quality gaps are monitored.
Originality/value
This study contributes an examination of the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between review sentiment and satisfaction rating in online reviews.
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Lixin Zhou, Zhenyu Zhang, Laijun Zhao and Pingle Yang
Online open innovation platforms provide opportunities for product users to participate in the innovation process and contribute their ideas to the platform. Nonetheless, they…
Abstract
Purpose
Online open innovation platforms provide opportunities for product users to participate in the innovation process and contribute their ideas to the platform. Nonetheless, they also present a significant challenge for platform managers, who select high-quality innovations from a massive collection of information with diverse quality.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors employed a machine learning method to automatically collect a real dataset of 2,276 innovations and 30,004 detailed comments from the online platform of IdeaExchange and then conducted empirical experiments to verify the study hypothesis.
Findings
Results show that extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experience positively and directly influenced the quality of their innovation. Furthermore, an individual's social network position mediated among extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness and openness to experience and the quality of an innovation.
Research limitations/implications
Results showed that extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experience positively and directly influenced the quality of their innovation. Furthermore, an individual's social network position mediated among extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience and the quality of innovations.
Originality/value
This study combined the Big Five personality traits theory and social network theory to examine the association between user intrinsic personality traits, social network position and the quality of their innovative ideas in the context of online innovation platforms. Additionally, the findings provide new insights for platform managers on how to select high-quality innovation information by considering user personality traits and their social network position.
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Alessandro Inversini and Giovanni Battista Derchi
The purpose of this study is to generate a better understanding of the nature of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication on social media. In fact social media are one…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to generate a better understanding of the nature of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication on social media. In fact social media are one of the most effective communication channels in contemporary business settings. Due to their inner characteristics, they should be the ideal channel for communicating CSR topics. Over the last 15 years, a variety of researches discussed the interplay between CSR and social media, resulting in a rather tangled body of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a scoping review of published academic literature at the intersection of these two research bodies (i.e. CSR and social media communication) to shed light on the nature of the communication, strategic challenges and practices, as well as their key factors and impact.
Findings
To date, academic research related to the nature of CSR on social media is fragmented and blurry. This research sheds light on the challenges of interactive social media communication in CSR and presents an account of key strategies, tactics and possible impacts for these challenging communication practices.
Originality/value
This research generates a better understanding of the nature of CSR communication on social media, strategic challenges and practices, as well as their key factors and impact. It is the tentative of generating a synthetic account of relevant literature in the field.
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