Assessing the Damage : An Exploratory Examination of Electronic Word of Mouth

Venessa Martin Funches,William Foxx,Eun Joo Park,Eun Young Kim 한국마케팅과학회 2010 마케팅과학연구 Vol.20 No.2

此硏究旨在考察?口碑(?NWOM)?在?行?的影?,着重分析服?失?的描述以及通信服?商的意向是如何影?消?者?企???力的??、?企?的?度、以及??的口碑行?和行?意向。?通信?服力的硏究着重于“??了什?;??;通?何渠道;有何影?(Chiu 2007)”。在此我?硏究了?子???布,尤其是“什?”的??方面:通信服?失?的等?以及?人?布的知?意向。?子?口碑看似正在毁掉?品或企?的??,?也就不?理解?什?人?????有偏?,??其不可?。根据?因理?,人????求事件的原因,尤其是那些消?的意外的事件(Weiner 2006)。Hennig-Thurau和Walsh (2003)提出“?然?者的知?和?在?信息的作者信任度都?有限,可以把?子口碑?做是表?-行??系的有效??。此据此我?提出以下假?:假?1. 在衡量(a)企???力,(b)人??企?的?度,(c)??的口碑,以及(d)行?意向?,面?高等?服?失??子?口碑的?象得分低于面?低等?服?失??子?口碑的?象。假?2. 在衡量(a)企???力,(b)人??企?的?度,(c)??的口碑,以及(d)行?意向?,面?警告意向?子?口碑的?象得分低于面???意向?子?口碑的?象假?3. 在?子?口碑中,服?失?的等?和知?意向互相影?,因此在衡量(a)企???力,(b)人??企?的?度,(c)??的口碑,以及(d)行?意向?,警告意向的?子?口碑的平均反??大于??意向的?子?口碑。主要硏究包括一?2 (服?失?的?重性) x 2(警告意向VS??意向的?口碑)的析因??。?通?模?的在????布信息刺激在??象。?一方案描述的服?失?是在??的零?机?不接受?物?,通?一家在?的硏究公司?全?抽?。共有113??象??此硏究,共分析了104????卷。硏究?象???方案???,92.3%?此反?强烈。方案的?作相?令人?意,所有的措施都??先的????,各??目也?分析??可??有效。多?量方差分析?果?示多?量?无明?的互相影?,因此我?只硏究主要影?――后?向和服?失?的?重性。后?向主要影??企?的?度、??的口碑和行?意向。服?失?的?重性主要影?4?因?量:企?的??力、?企?的?度、??的口碑和行?意向。需特?指出的是,??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??,企?的??力低于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??。??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??,?企?的?度差于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??。??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??,企?的口碑差于?子?口碑描 This study attempts to examine the influence that negative WOM (NWOM) has in an online context. It specifically focuses on the impact of the service failure description and the perceived intention of the communication provider on consumer evaluations of firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intentions. Studies of communication persuasiveness focus on “who says what; to whom; in which channel; with what effect (Chiu 2007).” In this research study, we examine electronic web posting, particularly focusing on two aspects of ‘what”: the level of service failure communicated and perceived intention of the individual posting. It stands to reason electronic NWOM that appears to be trying to damage a product’s or firm’s reputation will be viewed as more biased and will thus be considered as less credible. According to attribution theory, people search for the causes of events especially those that are negative and unexpected (Weiner 2006). Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003) state “since the reader has only limited knowledge and trust of the author of an online articulation the quality of the contribution could be expected to serve as a potent moderator of the articulation-behavior relationship. We therefore posit the following hypotheses: H1. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a high level of service failure will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a low level of service failure. H2. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a warning intent will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. H3. Level of service failure in electronic NWOM will interact with the perceived intention of the electronic NWOM, such that there will be a decrease in mean response on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention from electronic NWOM with a warning intent to a vengeful intent. The main study involved a 2 (service failure severity) x 2 (NWOM with warning versus vengeful intent) factorial experiment. Stimuli were presented to subjects online using a mock online web posting. The scenario described a service failure associated with non-acceptance of a gift card in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment. A national sample was recruited through an online research firm. A total of 113 subjects participated in the study. A total of 104 surveys were analyzed. The scenario was perceived to be realistic with 92.3% giving the scenario a greater than average response. Manipulations were satisfactory. Measures were pre-tested and validated. Items were analyzed and found reliable and valid. MANOVA results found the multivariate interaction was not significant, allowing our interpretation to proceed to the main effects. Significant main effects were found for post intent and service failure severity. The post intent main effect was attributable to attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. The service failure severity main effect was attributable to all four dependent variables: firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. Specifically, firm competence for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Attitude toward the firm for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Positive word of mouth for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure.

Assessing the Damage: An Exploratory Examination of Electronic Word of Mouth

Funches, Venessa Martin,Foxx, William,Park, Eun-Joo,Kim, Eun-Young Korean Academy of Marketing Science 2010 마케팅과학연구 Vol.20 No.2

This study attempts to examine the influence that negative WOM (NWOM) has in an online context. It specifically focuses on the impact of the service failure description and the perceived intention of the communication provider on consumer evaluations of firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intentions. Studies of communication persuasiveness focus on "who says what; to whom; in which channel; with what effect (Chiu 2007)." In this research study, we examine electronic web posting, particularly focusing on two aspects of "what": the level of service failure communicated and perceived intention of the individual posting. It stands to reason electronic NWOM that appears to be trying to damage a product’s or firm's reputation will be viewed as more biased and will thus be considered as less credible. According to attribution theory, people search for the causes of events especially those that are negative and unexpected (Weiner 2006). Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003) state "since the reader has only limited knowledge and trust of the author of an online articulation the quality of the contribution could be expected to serve as a potent moderator of the articulation-behavior relationship. We therefore posit the following hypotheses: H1. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a high level of service failure will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a low level of service failure. H2. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a warning intent will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. H3. Level of service failure in electronic NWOM will interact with the perceived intention of the electronic NWOM, such that there will be a decrease in mean response on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention from electronic NWOM with a warning intent to a vengeful intent. The main study involved a2 (service failure severity) x2 (NWOM with warning versus vengeful intent) factorial experiment. Stimuli were presented to subjects online using a mock online web posting. The scenario described a service failure associated with non-acceptance of a gift card in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment. A national sample was recruited through an online research firm. A total of 113 subjects participated in the study. A total of 104 surveys were analyzed. The scenario was perceived to be realistic with 92.3% giving the scenario a greater than average response. Manipulations were satisfactory. Measures were pre-tested and validated. Items were analyzed and found reliable and valid. MANOVA results found the multivariate interaction was not significant, allowing our interpretation to proceed to the main effects. Significant main effects were found for post intent and service failure severity. The post intent main effect was attributable to attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. The service failure severity main effect was attributable to all four dependent variables: firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. Specifically, firm competence for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Attitude toward the firm for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Positive word of mouth for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Behavioral intention for e 此?究旨在考察?口碑(?NWOM)?在?行?的影?, 着重分析服?失?的描述以及通信服?商的意向是如何影?消?者?企???力的??, ?企?的?度, 以及??的口碑行?和行?意向. ?通信?服力的?究着重于 "??了什?; ??;通?何渠道;有何影?(Chiu 2007)". 在此我??究了?子???布, 尤其是 "什?" 的??方面: 通信服?失?的等?以及?人?布的知?意向. ?子?口碑看似正在毁掉?品或企?的??, ?也就不?理解?什?人?????有偏?, ??其不可?. 根据?因理?, 人????求事件的原因, 尤其是那些消?的意外的事件(Weiner 2006). Hennig-Thurau和Walsh (2003)提出 "?然?者的知?和?在?信息的作者信任度都?有限, 可以把?子口碑?做是表?-行??系的有效??. 此据此我?提出以下假?: 假?1. 在衡量(a)企???力, (b)人??企?的?度, (c)??的口碑, 以及(d)行?意向?, 面?高等?服?失??子?口碑的?象得分低于面?低等?服?失??子?口碑的?象. 假?2. 在衡量(a)企???力, (b)人??企?的?度, (c)??的口碑, 以及(d)行?意向?, 面?警告意向?子?口碑的?象得分低于面???意向?子?口碑的?象假?3. 在?子?口碑中, 服?失?的等?和知?意向互相影?, 因此在衡量(a)企???力, (b)人??企?的?度, (c)??的口碑, 以及(d)行?意向?, 警告意向的?子?口碑的平均反??大于??意向的?子?口碑. 主要?究包括一?2 (服?失?的?重性) x 2(警告意向VS??意向的?口碑)的析因??. ?通?模?的在????布信息刺激在??象. ?一方案描述的服?失?是在??的零?机?不接受?物?, 通?一家在?的?究公司?全?抽?. 共有113??象??此?究, 共分析了104????卷. ?究?象???方案???, 92.3%?此反?强烈. 方案的?作相?令人?意, 所有的措施都??先的????, 各??目也?分析??可??有效. 多?量方差分析?果?示多?量?无明?的互相影?, 因此我?只?究主要影?-后?向和服?失?的?重性. 后?向主要影??企?的?度, ??的口碑和行?意向. 服?失?的?重性主要影?4?因?量: 企?的??力, ?企?的?度, ??的口碑和行?意向. 需特?指出的是, ??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??, 企?的??力低于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??. ??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??, ?企?的?度差于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??. ??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??, 企?的口碑差于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??. ??子?口碑描述??重的服?失??, 行?意向低于?子?口碑描述???的服?失??. 因此, 假?1中的abcd都得到了支持. ?外, 衡量?企?的?度?, 警告意向的?子?口碑得分低于??意向的?子?口碑. 衡量企?的口碑?, 警告意向的?子?口碑得分低于??意向的?子?口碑. 衡量行?意向?, 警告意向的?子?口碑得分低于??意向的?子?口碑. 因此?假?2中的a?不符, ?管?果指向的是假?方向. 除此之外, 在假?的三??量中, 后?向?服?失?的?重性无明?的多?量或??量影?. 因此, 假?3被推?. 此?究有?究和管理的?重?涵, 如之前的?究一?, 此?究?果??了服?失?的?重性影?消?者知?, ?度, ??的口碑以及行?意向(Weun et al. 2004). ?于?一步的相?性, 在??容??了?反?, ?意味着企?需要努力?行服??救. 至于?子?口碑的知?意