Although numeric online ratings provide summary consumer feedback, review text which includes details of consumers’ experiences may be more diagnostic. However, managers have little experience in processing textual information. We examine whether managerial use of online review text analytics, derived from extraction and visual representation of insights in review text, affects service quality of their firm’s offering. We develop hypotheses relating managerial use of online review text analytics to service quality. We use a longitudinal randomized control trial in a field setting in 135 Italian hotels to provide causal evidence for the hypotheses. Results which are robust to various threats indicate that the managerial use of online review text analytics improves service quality by 5.4% during the treatment window. This effect is strengthened by managerial accountability for his/her actions and weakened by prior firm performance. Additional analysis indicates that managers who use online review text analytics were more likely to identify the main weakness of their offering and take actions to address it. The findings generate guidelines on how managers can leverage online review text to improve service quality.
Making words speak: leveraging consumer insights from online review text to improve service quality
Andrea Ordanini
;Anastasia Nanni
2018
Abstract
Although numeric online ratings provide summary consumer feedback, review text which includes details of consumers’ experiences may be more diagnostic. However, managers have little experience in processing textual information. We examine whether managerial use of online review text analytics, derived from extraction and visual representation of insights in review text, affects service quality of their firm’s offering. We develop hypotheses relating managerial use of online review text analytics to service quality. We use a longitudinal randomized control trial in a field setting in 135 Italian hotels to provide causal evidence for the hypotheses. Results which are robust to various threats indicate that the managerial use of online review text analytics improves service quality by 5.4% during the treatment window. This effect is strengthened by managerial accountability for his/her actions and weakened by prior firm performance. Additional analysis indicates that managers who use online review text analytics were more likely to identify the main weakness of their offering and take actions to address it. The findings generate guidelines on how managers can leverage online review text to improve service quality.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
