TO RESPOND OR NOT TO RESPOND: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES TO NEGATIVE ONLINE REVIEWS

摘要

Research on complaint management has emphasized the importance of service recovery. A well-executed recovery effort is not only capable of influencing customer satisfaction positively, but can also convert dissatisfied customers into satisfied and loyal ones (Sparks and McColl-Kennedy 2001; Tax et al. 1998). Customer satisfaction after a service recovery depends on their fairness perception (i.e., the extent they perceive themselves being treated fairly compared to other customers, the extent they perceive that the output is in balance with the input) and attribution of accountability (i.e., the perceived causes of success or failure, who is to blame) (Ostrom and Iacobucci 1995; Swanson and Kelley 2001). Research on recovery management has usually measured satisfaction after service failure of the duped customer itself in a one-to-one relationship. With the growing use of the Internet, everybody can post a negative comment online, for everyone with an Internet connection to read. Negative online WOM by a dissatisfied customer due to a service failure, can have serious negative consequences (Wirtz and Mattila 2004), as this can harm brand image, companies' reputations and consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions (e.g., Lee and Youn 2009; Sen and Lerman 2007). Thus, it is one of the major challenges for companies to develop appropriate response strategies to negative eWOM (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2010). Little research exists, however, on how online service recovery actions are perceived by potential customers. When online reviews are read by so many potential customers, it is critical to not only satisfy the initial client, but also to remove barriers with the readers of these online reviews. People who have the intention to buy a service are likely to reconsider their decision after reading negative reviews, especially when these potential customers realize that the organization does not respond properly to these negative comments.