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13 pages, 543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship of Sustainability Communication on Social Media with Banking Consumers’ Loyalty through e-WOM

by Gao Wei, Wang Lin, Wu Yanxiong, Yan Jingdong and Sadik Yusuf Musse

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073832 - 31 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2864

Abstract

Prior literature has largely addressed corporate social responsibility (CSR) from outcomes related to organizational themes. However, its importance for achieving consumer-related outcomes is something that has been largely ignored by contemporary researchers. Likewise, how CSR communication through social media can create positive emotions [...] Read more.

Prior literature has largely addressed corporate social responsibility (CSR) from outcomes related to organizational themes. However, its importance for achieving consumer-related outcomes is something that has been largely ignored by contemporary researchers. Likewise, how CSR communication through social media can create positive emotions on the part of consumers has to date been under-explored. Hence, the present study aims to fill these gaps by investigating the impact of CSR communication of an organization through social media on consumer loyalty. The study also proposes electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) as a potential mediator between this relationship. The proposed model of the present study was tested in the banking sector of a developing country. The data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed through the structural equation modeling technique (SEM). The results of the present study validated that CSR communication of a bank through social media directly and indirectly, through e-WOM, influences consumer loyalty in a positive manner. The results of the present study will be helpful for policymakers to better understand how well-planned CSR communication of an organization on social media can lead towards better consumer-related outcomes such as consumer loyalty and e-WOM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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16 pages, 282 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Developing a Measure for Online Shopping Mall Reputation (OSMR)

by Heeseung Yu and Eunkyoung Han

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3818; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073818 - 30 Mar 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3753

Abstract

This study was conducted with the purpose of developing and validating multidimensional reputation criteria for evaluating online shopping malls, which have been growing explosively since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Delphi study was conducted with a group of 31 professionals, and [...] Read more.

This study was conducted with the purpose of developing and validating multidimensional reputation criteria for evaluating online shopping malls, which have been growing explosively since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Delphi study was conducted with a group of 31 professionals, and the initial items for online shopping mall reputation were derived from that study. Those items were used to devise a questionnaire that was administered to 531 consumers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in 17 items based on four factors: reliability, technical skills, customer service, and accessibility. Convergent and discriminant validity were verified between the factors. Finally, structural equation modeling was used to verify the nomological validity of the scale. This online shopping mall reputation scale is expected to provide a standard for companies to effectively manage the reputations of online shopping malls in the future and for consumers to choose online shopping malls they can trust. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

18 pages, 317 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Media Influencer’s Reputation: Developing and Validating a Multidimensional Scale

by Eun Ah Ryu and EunKyoung Han

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020631 - 11 Jan 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 11651

Abstract

Since the introduction of smartphones in 2009, social networking services (SNS), which have seen a surge in users, facilitated changes in the media environment along with social influence that has increased the economic value and political influence of SNS. In particular, as consumers’ [...] Read more.

Since the introduction of smartphones in 2009, social networking services (SNS), which have seen a surge in users, facilitated changes in the media environment along with social influence that has increased the economic value and political influence of SNS. In particular, as consumers’ media use and consumption behavior change around digital media, social media plays a very important role in consumers’ lives. From this perspective, influencers who influence not only consumers’ consumption behavior, but also decision-making and opinion formation based on social media are attracting attention. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop items to measure an influencer’s reputation as a new source of information in the SNS environment; no previous researchers have presented generalized measurement items for an influencer’s reputation. We intended to identify what dimensions and items in the existing literature could effectively measure a social media influencer’s reputation and to verify each item’s relevance as a measure of a social media influencer’s reputation. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 experts and empirical findings from 557 adults, this study identified dimensions that impact on a consumer’s perception of a social media influencer and developed a scale. The results showed that the social media Influencer’s Reputation scale comprises four distinctive dimensions: Communication skills, influence, authenticity, and expertise. Additionally, the reliability and validity of the scale were assessed, using exploratory and confirmatory analyses and construct validity. The findings confirmed that the social media influencer’s reputation scale measurement items, in this study, can be used as a consistent measurement tool for each dimension. It is also important to develop value in favor of the marketing strategy by increasing value through the influencer’s reputation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

18 pages, 398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Significant Labels in Sentiment Analysis of Online Customer Reviews of Airlines

by Ayat Zaki Ahmed and Manuel Rodríguez-Díaz

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8683; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208683 - 20 Oct 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4410

Abstract

Sentiment analysis is becoming an essential tool for analyzing the contents of online customer reviews. This analysis involves identifying the necessary labels to determine whether a comment is positive, negative, or neutral, and the intensity with which the customer’s sentiment is expressed. Based [...] Read more.

Sentiment analysis is becoming an essential tool for analyzing the contents of online customer reviews. This analysis involves identifying the necessary labels to determine whether a comment is positive, negative, or neutral, and the intensity with which the customer’s sentiment is expressed. Based on this information, service companies such as airlines can design and implement a communication strategy to improve their customers’ image of the company and the service received. This study proposes a methodology to identify the significant labels that represent the customers’ sentiments, based on a quantitative variable, that is, the overall rating. The key labels were identified in the comments’ titles, which usually include the words that best define the customer experience. This database was applied to more extensive online customer reviews in order to validate that the identified tags are meaningful for assessing the sentiments expressed in them. The results show that the labels elaborated from the titles are valid for analyzing the feelings in the comments, thus, simplifying the labels to be taken into account when carrying out a sentiment analysis of customers’ online comments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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17 pages, 1099 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Using Bayesian Network to Predict Online Review Helpfulness

by Sangjae Lee, Kun Chang Lee and Joon Yeon Choeh

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6997; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176997 - 27 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2441

Abstract

The enormous volume and largely varying quality of available reviews provide a great obstacle to seek out the most helpful reviews. While Naive Bayesian Network (NBN) is one of the matured artificial intelligence approaches for business decision support, the usage of NBN to [...] Read more.

The enormous volume and largely varying quality of available reviews provide a great obstacle to seek out the most helpful reviews. While Naive Bayesian Network (NBN) is one of the matured artificial intelligence approaches for business decision support, the usage of NBN to predict the helpfulness of online reviews is lacking. This study intends to suggest HPNBN (a helpfulness prediction model using NBN), which adopts NBN for helpfulness prediction. This study crawled sample data from Amazon website and 8699 reviews comprise the final sample. Twenty-one predictors represent reviewer and textual traits as well as product traits of the reviews. We investigate how the expanded list of predictors including product, reviewer, and textual characteristics of eWOM (online word-of-mouth) has an effect on helpfulness by suggesting conditional probabilities of the binned determinants. The prediction accuracy of NBN outperformed that of the k-nearest neighbor (kNN) method and the neural network (NN) model. The results of this study can support determining helpfulness and support website design to induce review helpfulness. This study will help decision-makers predict the helpfulness of the review comments posted to their websites and manage more effective customer satisfaction strategies. When prospect customers feel such review helpfulness, they will have a stronger intention to pay a regular visit to the target website. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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13 pages, 602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online Company Reputation—A Thorny Problem for Optimizing Corporate Sustainability

by Ionica Oncioiu, Delia-Mioara Popescu, Elena Anghel, Anca-Gabriela Petrescu, Florentina-Raluca Bîlcan and Marius Petrescu

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5547; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145547 - 9 Jul 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3335

Abstract

The new economic environment, characterized as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, has been generated through the evolution of a world in which online reputation and corporate social responsibility have become closely interconnected. In this study, we assessed whether corporate social responsibility is a [...] Read more.

The new economic environment, characterized as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, has been generated through the evolution of a world in which online reputation and corporate social responsibility have become closely interconnected. In this study, we assessed whether corporate social responsibility is a goal with multiple implications for the image of the organization and its financial results, which present a model for measuring online reputation in the context of optimizing corporate sustainability. We used an econometric approach that showed that the main purpose of the model is to determine the best value of the dependent variable by providing a number of new sets of explanatory variables on the exact quantification of the company’s online reputation. The main results can support the decision-making process in building and maintaining online reputation in the short or long term, and the information provided is useful for implementing online reputation management programs. We provide a rather nuanced picture of the relationship between the credibility of corporate sustainability claims, financial security, and the chance of preserving the online reputation built. The research shows that online reputation risk management is no longer optional; online reputation must become a strategic resource for sustainable business. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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15 pages, 5574 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on User Influence Model Integrating Personality Traits under Strong Connection

by Chunhua Ju, Qiuyang Gu, Yi Fang and Fuguang Bao

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2217; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062217 - 12 Mar 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2295

Abstract

User influence has always been a major topic in the field of social networking. At present, most of the research focuses on three aspects: topological structure, social-behavioral dimension, and topic dimension and most of them ignore the difference between the audience. These models [...] Read more.

User influence has always been a major topic in the field of social networking. At present, most of the research focuses on three aspects: topological structure, social-behavioral dimension, and topic dimension and most of them ignore the difference between the audience. These models do not consider the impact of personality differences on user influences. To meet this need, this paper introduces the personality traits factor and proposes a user influence model which integrates personality traits (IPUIM) under a strong connection. The user influence measurement is constructed through the information dimension, structural dimension, and user behavioral dimension. The personality report of the user group is obtained by means of NEO-PI-R (The big five personality inventory, Chinese edition) and machine learning method, and it is integrated into the user influence model. The experiment proves that the model proposed in this paper has good accuracy and applicability in measuring user influence, and can effectively identify the key opinion leaders of different personality trait clusters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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27 pages, 3423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analyzing the Online Reputation and Positioning of Airlines

by Ayat Zaki Ahmed and Manuel Rodríguez-Díaz

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031184 - 6 Feb 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5206

Abstract

The aim of this study is to propose a methodology to define the positioning of airlines in terms of their online reputation measured with quantitative variables and applied in the airline industry. Reviews shared on the Internet give key information about service quality [...] Read more.

The aim of this study is to propose a methodology to define the positioning of airlines in terms of their online reputation measured with quantitative variables and applied in the airline industry. Reviews shared on the Internet give key information about service quality and value as perceived by customers. To carry out the empirical study, we obtained the information available on TripAdvisor about airlines in Europe, the USA, Canada, and other countries in America, differentiating also between airlines that follow a low-cost strategy and those that do not apply it. The results show that there is a significant difference in key service quality variables between airlines in the different geographical areas studied on the one hand, and the low-cost strategy applied on the other. The variables to be used to conduct the positioning analysis in the airlines are determined. They also show that the methodology has relevant practical implications and provides tools to further develop research related to the online reputation and strategic positioning of airlines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 1855 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Bibliometric Analysis of Online Reviews Research in Tourism and Hospitality

by Babajide Abubakr Muritala, Maria-Victoria Sánchez-Rebull and Ana-Beatriz Hernández-Lara

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9977; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239977 - 29 Nov 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7953

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on online reviews in tourism and hospitality, and presents the current state of research in the area. A bibliometric approach was used to analyze 632 journal articles on online reviews in tourism and hospitality from 2005 to 2019 [...] Read more.

This paper reviews the literature on online reviews in tourism and hospitality, and presents the current state of research in the area. A bibliometric approach was used to analyze 632 journal articles on online reviews in tourism and hospitality from 2005 to 2019 from the Scopus Database. This study identifies the most prolific journals, foundational works, and major research themes in the research area. In addition, we analyzed some dimensions of their network structure and the thematic evolution of the research area. The bibliometric method is quantitative and objective, and we carry out an analysis of the area based on citations and keywords. Researchers and business managers can gain useful insights on the current state of the art in this area. There have been only a few literature reviews tracking the growth in this research area, and even fewer using bibliometric methods or science maps. Therefore, this work provides an updated review of this fast-growing area with a bibliometric approach to highlight the recent developments with the aid of science maps, and shows the thematic network structure and evolution with an innovative visualization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Reputation and Sustainability)

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