Hans Risselada, Lisette de Vries and Mariska Verstappen
This study aims to study to what extent the helpfulness votes others attach to a review affect a consumer’s perceived helpfulness of that review. In addition, the purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to study to what extent the helpfulness votes others attach to a review affect a consumer’s perceived helpfulness of that review. In addition, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether this social influence moderates the relationships among several content presentation factors and perceived helpfulness.
Design/methodology/approach
A choice-based conjoint experiment was carried out in which 201 respondents evaluated different reviews and chose the review they perceive as most helpful.
Findings
Consumers perceive reviews as more (less) helpful in the presence of clearly valenced positive (negative) helpfulness votes. In addition, helpfulness votes of others diminish the positive impact of structure and the negative impact of spelling errors.
Research limitations/implications
The experimental setup may limit the external validity of the study.
Practical implications
Providing a helpfulness button gives firms an instrument to offer content that consumers perceive as more useful and to exert some influence on the effects of content presentation factors on the review’s helpfulness.
Social implications
Consumers tend to follow other consumers’ opinions without forming their own opinion. Firms could misuse this tendency by hiring people to vote on reviews that are not necessarily helpful for consumers, but are helpful for the firm.
Originality/value
This study is the first to assess the extent to which social influence affects consumers’ evaluation of reviews. Given that consumers use helpfulness votes to distinguish reviews, it is important to understand to what extent these votes reflect the actual helpfulness of the information in the review and to what extent they reflect previous helpfulness votes.
Details
Keywords
The sharp increase in interest in social networks among marketing scholars and practitioners has coincided with the rapid proliferation of social networks among broader…
Abstract
The sharp increase in interest in social networks among marketing scholars and practitioners has coincided with the rapid proliferation of social networks among broader populations. Considering the substantial body of research that has emerged, it is an opportune time to reflect on the state of social network research (SNR) in marketing. Therefore, this chapter reviews recent marketing research, organized according to substantive areas of interest, followed by a discussion of critical dimensions of SNR for researchers, including network actor characteristics, modes, boundaries, impacts, and mechanisms, as well as the relevant level of analysis. By documenting how SNR can inform marketing decisions and influence marketing outcomes, this study also establishes recommendations for research to advance the state of SNR in marketing. A 2 × 2 classification schema reveals four categories that might guide scholars' choices of research designs, theories, constructs, and measures for SNR.
Details
Keywords
Pengkun Wu, Liuan Wang, Jiuan Jiang and Li Yu
This study aims to investigate the impact of physician efforts in online reviews on outpatient appointments, while also examining the moderating effect of physician title.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of physician efforts in online reviews on outpatient appointments, while also examining the moderating effect of physician title.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) to analyze the impact of physician efforts on outpatient appointments. Subsequently, a fixed effect model is employed to examine the research model using an 89-week panel dataset (from April 16, 2018 to December 29, 2019) comprising appointment and online review information pertaining to 8,157 physicians from a prominent online health community in China.
Findings
The findings suggest that physicians with lower professional titles exhibit a significantly higher inclination to enhance heuristic information (e.g. attracting helpful votes) compared to those with higher professional title. All physicians can enhance their outpatient appointments by dedicating efforts towards improving systematic review information, but physician title would weaken the relationship. Moreover, the effect of increasing review volume is considerably more substantial than that of increasing review length, which also surpasses the influence of providing managerial response.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies that primarily focus on patients’ perspectives, this paper represents one of the pioneering effects to examine physicians’ engagement in online reviews.
Details
Keywords
María Sicilia, Mariola Palazón and Manuela López
Brand pages are a very popular tool for companies to communicate with consumers in SNSs. Although brand pages could be considered virtual brand communities, they differ in several…
Abstract
Purpose
Brand pages are a very popular tool for companies to communicate with consumers in SNSs. Although brand pages could be considered virtual brand communities, they differ in several aspects. Thus, this chapter reviews the literature on brand pages attending to the main differences with other virtual communities, the motivations to join brand pages and its consequences for consumers and brands.
Methodology/approach
The studies reviewed have allowed us to identify the main characteristics of brand pages as a communication tool, as well as the definition of an important research agenda for this topic.
Findings
We have identified the main unique aspects that characterize brand pages as a virtual brand community. The motivations to become members of brand pages are analyzed as well as the positive consequences of these pages on the marketing variables. We also identified the research needs on brand pages.
Social implications
This chapter can be useful to both, marketers, by showing them how brand pages work and what motivate consumers to join it; and researchers, by showing them the main gaps on brand pages that should be addressed in future studies.
Originality/value
This chapter highlights the role of brand pages as a communication tool. It constitutes an attempt to review the literature and organize knowledge on brand pages. The characteristics of brand pages and virtual brand communities, the motivations to participate, the consequences for the brand and an important research agenda are developed.
Details
Keywords
Christian Nedu Osakwe, David Říha, Islam Mahmoud Yousef Elgammal and T. Ramayah
Large supermarket chains are adopting customer-service robots to improve service delivery in physical stores. Successful deployment of these robots depends on shoppers'…
Abstract
Purpose
Large supermarket chains are adopting customer-service robots to improve service delivery in physical stores. Successful deployment of these robots depends on shoppers' willingness to interact with them, requiring an understanding of influencing factors. This study, grounded in the Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) theory, seeks to systematically explore the factors influencing Gen Z shoppers' willingness to interact with customer-service robots.
Design/methodology/approach
A hybrid approach combining Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was employed to analyze survey data collected from 945 Gen Zs in the Czech Republic.
Findings
The results from SEM highlight significant cognitive, normative, and affective factors that influence the intention of Gen Z shoppers to interact with a customer-service robot. Specifically, cognitive factors such as effort and performance expectancy, along with normative factors like subjective norms, emerged as critical determinants. Furthermore, affective factors such as technology anxiety and positive emotions significantly influence users' readiness to use customer-service robots for service requests. The study also underscores that positive emotions, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and subjective norms are vital prerequisites for interacting with customer-service robots.
Originality/value
The originality of this work lies in its two significant contributions to the burgeoning field of SRs in retail literature. First, it extends the CAN theory to the context of SRs among Gen Z shoppers in Czechia, thereby enriching the existing literature on SRs in retail. Second, by employing a hybrid analytical approach, our research offers both empirical and methodological advancements, providing rigorous insights crucial for enhancing the understanding of the pivotal factors influencing shoppers' interactions with SRs in physical store environments.
Details
Keywords
Miaomiao Chen, Alton Y.K. Chua and Lu An
This paper seeks to address the following two research questions. RQ1: What are the influential user archetypes in the social question-answering (SQA) community? RQ2: To what…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to address the following two research questions. RQ1: What are the influential user archetypes in the social question-answering (SQA) community? RQ2: To what extent does user feedback affect influential users in changing from one archetype to another?
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 13,840 influential users drawn from the Covid-19 community on Zhihu, the archetypes of influential users were derived from their ongoing participation behavior in the community using the Gaussian mixture model. Additionally, user feedback characteristics such as relevance and volume from 222,965 commenters who contributed 546,344 comments were analyzed using the multinomial logistic regression model to investigate the archetype change of influential users.
Findings
Findings suggest that influential users could be clustered into three distinctive archetypes: touch-and-go influential users, proactive influential users and super influential users. Moreover, feedback variables have various impacts on the influential user archetype change, including a shift toward creating higher-quality content and fostering increased interaction, a shift toward generating lower-quality content and decreased interaction but improved speed and having mixed effects due to differences in information processing among these archetypes.
Originality/value
This study expands the existing knowledge of influential users and proposes practical approaches to cultivate them further.
Details
Keywords
Junyun Liao, Muhua Li, Haiying Wei and Zelin Tong
Recent years have witnessed the increasingly fierce competition amongst smartphone brands. Hence, smartphone firms urge to prevent current consumers from switching to maintain…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent years have witnessed the increasingly fierce competition amongst smartphone brands. Hence, smartphone firms urge to prevent current consumers from switching to maintain market position. Based on the push–pull–mooring (PPM) framework, this study aims to explore the drivers of users' intentions to switch from their current smartphone brands.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on previous literature and the characteristics of the smartphone purchase, this study identified one pushing, two pulling and five mooring factors. Online questionnaires were collected to test hypotheses using the structural equation modelling approach. An additional netnography study provides further support to the hypotheses.
Findings
Results show that regret is a push factor that enhances consumers' switching intentions. Moreover, two pull factors, subjective norms and alternative attractiveness positively influence consumers' switching intentions. Finally, switching costs, emotional commitment and brand community engagement are mooring factors that negatively affect brand-switching intention, whereas consumers' variety seeking has a positive effect.
Originality/value
This study enriches the brand switching literature and offers significant implications for customer retention.
Details
Keywords
Mingli Zhang, Zihan Wei and Yafei Liu
This study investigates how the complexity of sentiment in online reviews affects perceived helpfulness. Analyzed over 730,000 reviews from Tripadvisor.com, the research explores…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how the complexity of sentiment in online reviews affects perceived helpfulness. Analyzed over 730,000 reviews from Tripadvisor.com, the research explores how information overload and increased cognitive load impact consumer decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied the BERT deep learning model to analyze sentiment complexity in online reviews. Based on cognitive load theory, we examined two key factors: the number of attributes mentioned in a review and the variation in sentiment valence of across attributes to evaluate their impact on cognitive load and review helpfulness.
Findings
The results show that a higher number of attributes and greater variation in sentiment valence increase cognitive load, reducing review helpfulness. Reviewers’ expertise and review readability further moderate these effects, with complex or expert-written reviews worsening the negative impact.
Originality/value
This research introduces a method for measuring attribute-level sentiment complexity and its impact on review helpfulness, emphasizing the importance of balancing detail with readability. These findings provide a foundation for future studies on review characteristics and consumer behavior.
Details
Keywords
Gloria Jiménez-Marín, Araceli Galiano-Coronil and Luis Bayardo Tobar-Pesántez
The purpose of this study is to understand the perception and purchase intentions of Spanish consumers towards sustainable fashion and to see if this can guide the marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the perception and purchase intentions of Spanish consumers towards sustainable fashion and to see if this can guide the marketing strategy for sustainable fashion.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methodology has been designed to test the categories: knowledge, environmental concern, product-related features and social influence.
Findings
The results of this study suggest that some implications and advice on sustainability marketing strategy could help companies to develop sustainable fashion for Spanish consumers.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the focus on sustainability to achieve happiness and satisfaction of people as a form of governance from a social point of view.
Details
Keywords
Carla Nouwen, Isolde Driesen, Lisbeth Verharen and Tine Van Regenmortel
The growing number of people with multiple problems in different areas of life means that cross-domain interprofessional collaboration is becoming increasingly important. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The growing number of people with multiple problems in different areas of life means that cross-domain interprofessional collaboration is becoming increasingly important. This study aims to focus on interprofessional collaboration between professionals from social work and financial and employment service organizations in The Netherlands. This type of cross-domain collaboration is still mostly superficial, and limited empirical knowledge is available about its beneficial factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The interprofessional collaboration model of Mulvale et al. (2016) was used as theoretical background for the research methodology and to reflect on the findings of our study. Data was collected through a qualitative study among professionals (N = 18) from social work and financial and employment service organizations in three different Dutch municipalities.
Findings
Similar team-level collaboration mechanisms of Mulvale et al.’s (2016) model were seen within this study. Joint client meetings were very beneficial for the interprofessional collaboration. Further beneficial factors include the decision-making process, team vision, client as an equal member, open communication and the appointment of a coordinator.
Research limitations/implications
Further special attention is needed to determine how best to allocate co-ordinating tasks, and how organizational and policy contexts affect the functioning of interprofessional collaborative teams.
Originality/value
This study offers an empirical view on a cross-domain collaboration between social work and financial and employment service organizations, by using Mulvale et al.’s (2016) model. In addition, this study also offers special attention to the role of the client in interprofessional collaborative teams.