The Effects of Online Negative Word-of-Mouth: An Empirical Study

  • Su Jung Kim
  • Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang
  • Edward C. Malthouse
Conference paper
Part of the Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science book series (DMSPAMS)

Abstract

Previous studies on the effects of word-of-mouth (WOM) have rarely distinguished the effect of creating and reading WOM messages. This paper investigates how posting and viewing online negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) affect customers’ subsequent purchase behaviors. We also identify different types of negative emotions expressed in NWOM and examine their impact. Using a dataset that combines customers’ posting and viewing activities on the firm’s online forum and their purchase and redemption histories, we find the interaction effect between posting and redeeming to be positive, and viewing to be negative. Regarding emotions, anger has a negative effect, while concern has a positive effect. We propose an explanation for these findings, and discuss their implications and applications.

Keywords

Negative word-of-mouth NWOM Posting Viewing Emotion Sentiment analysis 
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Copyright information

© Academy of Marketing Science 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Su Jung Kim
    • 1
  • Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang
    • 2
  • Edward C. Malthouse
    • 1
  1. 1.Northwestern UniversityChicagoUSA
  2. 2.Northwestern UniversityEvanstonUSA

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