ABSTRACT

Online reviews generated by consumers have reached a huge diffusion among buyers and constitute an important marketing communications tool for companies that allow them to successfully promote a product. This study adopts a less developed approach in previous studies and tries to analyse what attributes of a product or service are relevant when it comes to getting a good online assessment of consumers as well as to analyse if the competitive environment of the company also affects the ratings. Based on a sample of 1,870 Spanish hotels and using regression analysis, our results show that vertical and horizontal differentiation, age, and price are characteristics of a product that positively impact the online rating given by consumers. However, pricing of additional features can reduce the effect of horizontal differentiation on online rating due to the different value to consumers of those features. Additionally, the competitive environment also has an impact on the online rating and paradoxically, areas with a higher concentration of competitors allow companies to obtain a better evaluation if the competitors are not co-located very close to the company. These findings can support company marketers to manage consumer online reviews and help marketers in promoting a product.

摘要

消费者产生的在线评论已在买家中广泛传播，并成为公司成功推广产品的重要营销传播工具。本研究采用以前研究中欠发达的方法，并试图分析产品或服务的哪些属性与获得良好的消费者在线评估相关，并分析公司的竞争环境是否也会影响评级. 基于 1,870 家西班牙酒店的样本并使用回归分析，我们的结果表明，纵向和横向差异、年龄和价格是对消费者在线评分产生积极影响的产品特征。然而，附加功能的定价可以减少横向差异对在线评分的影响，因为这些功能对消费者的价值不同。此外，竞争环境也会对在线评级产生影响，而且自相矛盾的是，如果竞争对手不在离公司很近的地方，竞争者集中度较高的区域可以让公司获得更好的评价。这些发现可以支持公司营销人员管理消费者在线评论并帮助营销人员推广产品。