The Valence of Online Wom on Product Performance

ISBN-13: 9783659425295 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 144 str.

Chen Micky;Jiang Luxi;Zaborowski Martin

Opis

A growing reliance on the Internet as an information source when making choices about buying certain products raises the need for more research into electronic word of mouth. This study aims to contribute to the current scientific knowledge on how the valence of online reviews affects product performance. Using applications from the AppStore, we conduct an independent groups experiment to assess the mean changes in peoples evaluation of these apps as a result of online word-of-mouth. Furthermore, we add three moderating variables to analyze this relationship. The findings show that negative (positive) reviews have negative (positive) effects on app performance, and that the absolute size of the effect is larger when subjects are exposed to negative reviews (negativity effect). This study delivers contributions to both marketing research and marketing practice in that the results add to the current understanding of online WOM effects by showing in what way user reviews affect consumer behavior. Furthermore, a cross-sectional study has been conducted in the same category in the AppStore. The findings confirm the results from the experimental study.

O autorze

Micky Chen, Luxi Jiang, and Martin Zaborowski conducted this hypotheses driven research as their Bachelor thesis for the study International Business Administration at a Top 10 European business school; the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. As of September 2013, they will pursue their Master's degree in the business/IT field.