Understanding the Adoption of Incentivized Word-of-Mouth in the Online Environment

Retailers have little control over what their customers say about their products and services online. Review platforms (e.g., Yelp and Travelocity) are rife with negativity, from both real customers with bad experiences and from fake reviews created by competitors. These negative reviews have been shown to influence the purchasing behavior of future consumers. Many platforms do afford companies some control by including them in the online conversation about their products or services. Crafting a response to a poor review which appeals to future consumers may mitigate some of the negative outcomes associated with that review. This study advances our knowledge of responding to negative reviews by adding to the growing body of research, using a simulation-based experiment to test the influence of three elements of a review response on purchase intention (i.e., an apology, an explanation and a pledge to correct the problem identified in the review). In doing so, the data show that purchase intention increases only when a response contains all three elements. Implications for e-commerce researchers and review platform developers are discussed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responding to Negative Electronic Word of Mouth to Improve Purchase Intention

Zinko

Patrick

Furner

et al. 2021

“…Proof of Lemma 1. We give the detailed analysis process to obtain the equilibrium solutions for the model of a dominant platform whose decision problem can be determined by (5). To simplify analysis and without loss of generality, we consider two scenarios when T is larger or smaller, that is, T ≤ T 0 or T > T 1 .…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because fulfilling e-commerce orders depends on fast logistics, safe transportation (e.g., avoiding the spoilage of goods), and low transport costs [3]. Poor logistics, having an adverse effect on the reputation of e-commerce retailers [4], result in low sales and profits [5]. Through the rapid development of the past two decades, e-commerce has become the most commonly used way of purchasing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Should E-Commerce Platforms Subsidize Retailers with Logistics Constraints during an Epidemic Scenario? Considering Power Structure and Altruistic Preference

Zhang

2021

To maintain the sustainable development of a platform’s economy, e-commerce platforms put forward various subsidy programs to retailers selling on them during COVID-19. This paper investigates an e-commerce platform’s decision on subsidizing a retailer selling on it with logistics constraints during an epidemic scenario, with a focus on the role of power structure and altruistic preference. By constructing two Stackelberg game models, the research obtains the optimal subsidy under two power structures (i.e., the dominant platform and the weaker platform), respectively. The comparison between them shows that the conditions of the dominant platform giving subsidies (both altruistic preference and logistics constraints should be higher enough) are stricter than the weaker platform. Considering the same altruistic preference and logistics constraints, the optimal subsidy provided by the weaker platform should always be not less than the dominant platform. However, the weaker platform, surprisingly, can get more utility by lowering its altruistic preference voluntarily when the commission fee is low. No matter what the power structure is, the optimal subsidy increases with the logistics service coefficient and altruistic preference, and the dominant member’s profit/utility is not less than the weaker one, which confirms “the first mover advantage”. Finally, more managerial implications to the platform-retailer systems are discussed.

“…Social media applications stimulate social interactions and user-generated content [28,29]. As they socialize online consumers generate eWOM by sharing recommendations and brand experiences with others [30].…”

Section: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 21 Engagement With Ewom On Social Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Engagement of Ethnic-Minority Consumers with Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) on Social Media: The Pivotal Role of Intercultural Factors

Levy

Gvili

Hino

2021

Social network sites (SNS) facilitate eWOM communication among consumers of different cultures. Building on contact theory and the theory of planned behavior, we propose a conceptual framework that integrates intercultural factors as predictors of minority consumers’ engagement with eWOM communicated by and to individuals of the dominant culture on social media. A partial least squares (PLS) analysis on data collected from the Israeli-Arab minority shows that intercultural factors (i.e., acculturation, social interaction, and language proficiency) are antecedents of minority consumer engagement with eWOM. However, this relationship is mediated by consumer beliefs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) concerning this behavior, and moderated by the cultural distance between minority and dominant culture consumers. The findings help marketers plan marketing communications that engage audiences meaningfully and generate positive eWOM when targeting ethnic-cultural minorities. The current study contributes to our understanding of minority consumers’ engagement with eWOM communicated by and to members of the hegemonic culture. It further contributes to consumer engagement theory and acculturation research by supporting the post-assimilationist view. The proposed model is highly valuable in light of the importance of the concept of consumer engagement in marketing research.