Impact of online reviews of customer care

experience on brand or company selection

Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
Department of Marketing, Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,
North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of customer care experiences voiced online on consumer choice of brand or company when
purchasing products and services by including the level of usage of these sites, and consumer opinions about whether or not their comments would
make a difference to the actions of companies.
Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical framework of word of mouth is extended to an online environment, electronic word of mouth
(e-WOM), when using consumer opinions about customer care, and a model is suggested using structural equation modeling utilizing data from 320
consumers in the USA.
Findings – Consumer opinions about customer care in socially-based web sites impact consumer opinions and consumer engagement and
consequently consumer choice of brand or company when making purchases. The web sites, including government/consumer advocacy information
sites, company web sites, and information found through search engines, are not considered important in influencing consumers.
Research limitations/implications – The implications of the study are that companies need to pay attention to the voices of customers on socially-
based web sites and respond appropriately in order to keep customers brand-loyal. Since this was an exploratory study, it was limited in the number of
variables used for testing the hypotheses. The study could be improved by increasing the number of variables that explain online consumer opinions,
online engagement and consumer choice of brand or company.
Originality/value – This is an exploratory study focusing on the customer care experience rather than product quality or value provided by companies
as discussed by consumers on a variety of web sites. Therefore, it extends the previous works on product quality and value.

Keywords Customer services quality, Internet, Consumer behaviour, Opinion polls

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
Information source credibility has been an important issue for
advertisers for many years. Television, radio and print media,
believing that such practices will add credibility to the
advertising message, have commonly used celebrities and
expert opinions. Source credibility is crucial for a message to
be effective and it often depends on the receiver’s perception
of the sender’s trustworthiness and expertise (Kiecker and
Cowles, 2001). Similarly, Petty and Cacioppo (1986) define
source credibility as the extent to which an information source
is perceived to be believable, competent, and trustworthy by
information recipients. Credibility of the information
presented on the internet is new and open to discussion.
There is a growing body of evidence that internet-based
opinion mechanisms influence consumers when making a
purchase (Hong, 2006). This is a form of word of mouth
communication and is now known as electronic word of
mouth (e-WOM). According to Henning-Thurau et al. (2004),
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0736-3761.htm
Journal of Consumer Marketing
27/5 (2010) 447– 457
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761]
[DOI 10.1108/07363761011063349]
e-WOM is any positive or negative communication among the
potential, current or former customers about a product or
company that is available to public on the internet. Indeed,
some recent research studies have examined the e-WOM and
claim that the impact is not as effective as the traditional face-
to-face word of mouth (Sen, 2008; Sen and Lerman, 2007)
and it is difficult to measure the impact on return on
investment (Ferguson, 2008). In contrast, Steffes and Burgee
(2009) found that the information gained from the e-WOM
forum is more influential in decision making than speaking
with friends in person (WOM). While there is conflicting
evidence on the credibility of e-WOM, the studies conducted
to date do not consider the type of online information sources
utilized and their effectiveness. It is increasingly possible that
the growing number of review and opinion sites online are
allowing consumers to make informed decisions based on the
information provided by consumers who have had experience
with the product, company, brand or customer care.
In this paper we attempt to extend the previous works of
Amos et al. (2008), Mehta et al. (2008) and Sternbrian et al.
(1978) on information source credibility by focusing on a new
area of research, the online information sources about
customer care experience. If the source of information is
very credible, it is then perceived as useful and reliable, and it
facilitates knowledge transfer (Ko et al., 2005). Previous
studies emphasize the importance of information source
credibility (Davy, 2006; Hong, 2006; Rieh, 2002). We
examine the impact of online information source credibility
on consumer engagement of online activity, and consumer
opinions that companies view customer online actions
seriously (e.g. product reviews, complaints, etc.). By

447
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
considering the impact of the preceding factors on consumers’
choosing a brand or company, we attempt to build a model
using structural equation modeling.
There are a variety of internet-based information sources
such as online rating sites, blogs, and social networking sites.
These include eopinion.com, consumerreview.com,
YouTube.com, company web sites (e.g., Amazon.com), and
government/consumer advocacy sites which all offer opinions,
reviews and ratings for products or services. These internet-
based information sites may influence consumers to make
decisions to purchase a product online or perhaps move them
towards a brick and mortar retail store. In addition, the
information presented on these sites are not just about
product quality, but about customer care which encompasses
how customers are treated and whether or not their problems
are resolved to their satisfaction. Previous research indicates
that online rating systems are indeed important in consumer
decision making (Ba and Pavlou, 2002).
In addition to the internet-based source credibility, the level
of consumer use of the internet-based sites also impacts
consumers’ decisions to purchase products and services.
Frequent users of online review sites or virtual communities
are likely to place more importance on the information
gathered from the internet compared with not-so frequent
users. If industry studies are correct, usage of online sites is
growing rapidly. The resultant impact on buying has yet to be
determined. Thus, this study attempts to measure the impacts
of online information source credibility about customer care,
consumer opinions, and online engagement on consumer
choice of brand/company for purchases.
There has been little or no research on the issues of
internet-based information credibility specifically involving
reviews and ratings about customer care, whether or not
online consumer opinions have any impact, and whether the
internet based information sources affect the level of
consumer use and consumer opinions. Several previous
studies have considered the impact of virtual communities,
but have mainly focused on how consumer reviews of
products influence consumer decision-making (Thorsten et al.,
2004), and they focus on some specific information source
such as blogs (Johnson and Kayne, 2004). None of the studies
conducted to date have considered the reviews of customer
care provided by companies. Therefore, this study attempts to
address the larger picture of how internet source credibility,
consumer opinions, and the level of consumer use of the
internet regarding customer care can impact consumer choice
of brand or company to purchase from.
Literature review
Beginning in the mid-1990s many researchers studied the
impact of source credibility on interpersonal influence
specifically on the internet (Johnson et al., 1999 and
Calabrese and Borchert, 1996). These early studies focused
on political information online surrounding the US
presidential election of 1996.
By the year 2000 the internet had become home to millions
of bloggers and new consumer sites providing information on
products, services and customer care. With growing
competition across all sectors, customer experience and
customer engagement have become increasingly important
and the widespread acceptance of source credibility has
become a focus.
448
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
While the internet played an important role in the 2008 US
presidential election, recent studies have moved beyond the
political front and look at the implications of online
information sources and their role in buying decisions.
Those studies try to understand why consumers use the
internet to voice their opinions and why some encourage
businesses to join the conversation online. A major study
about motivations for consumers using the internet to express
themselves was conducted by Thorsten et al. (2004), and
indicated that the virtual communities were being used as
electronic e-WOM. Interestingly, the study found four major
motives: social interactions, economic incentives, concern for
others, and enhance self-worth, but did not consider the
credibility of the virtual communities. Another study focused
on the credibility of weblogs (known as blogs) vs traditional
offline media Johnson and Kayne (2004). The researchers
concluded that weblog users judged blogs as highly credible –
more credible than traditional sources. More importantly,
weblog reliance was the only strong predictor of weblog
credibility. The more one used blogs for information, the
more credible they deemed that information. If blogs were
increasingly being viewed as a credible source of information,
it would be interesting to investigate other online information
sources to see if they generated similar levels of trust as well.
Warnick (2004) addressed those who study source
credibility on the internet with an article that redirected the
discussion. She argued that users assess web sites according to
a number of factors and that credibility is something that has
to be studied in the field, not in a lab. Credibility, in her
opinion, is subjective and multidimensional. In the end, she
posits that relevant studies of source credibility need to look
beyond the most common attribute of authorship (which is
often unavailable in web discourse) and look at a myriad of
other variables. She suggests studying web site design, quality
of images on a web site, web site usability, information
structure, comprehensiveness, absence of self-interest, value,
or a multitude of other web site characteristics. This broader
perspective set the stage for studies on source credibility to
incorporate variables that previously were excluded from
academic research on the subject. In this same line of
thinking, in an earlier study, Robinson and Kaye (2000),
found that consumers who relied on online sources for
information more, rated the online sources as more credible.
If consumers find online sources credible, then studying the
implications of using this information to make buying
decisions would be a logical next step.
In 2006, Hong studied the relationship between the
message and source credibility and found that institution-
affiliated domain names (.gov,.org,.edu) did predict perceived
credibility in a general search. This was the first indication
that the domain classification of the site may be an indicator
of credibility. While it is interesting to note the differences in
domain names, no research to date has studied the nature of
the sites within domains’ sites. Furthermore, there has been
no academic research to date that examines consumer opinion
based on the degree of web 2.0 technologies or interactivity
within various site classifications. If we know that consumers
are moved by information online and that the domain
classification my influence the credibility of the information
provided, it would be prudent to look deeper into domain
classifications to see if differences continue to manifest
themselves within groups.
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
Those sites that are considered “social media” rather than
company web sites and government message board sites may
enjoy more positive consumer usage. With the current
proliferation of blogs, product review sites, forums,
discussion boards, etc., consumers may be making decisions
regarding credibility based on the more personal nature of the
site regardless of its domain affiliation. There are blogs as well
as corporations that share the.com domain tag but may be
viewed in very different ways by consumers. To date no
academic research has addressed the social nature of a site
and its perceived credibility in the context of customer reviews
online.
Several studies were conducted that focused on online
customer reviews. In 2006 Huang and Chen (2006) looked at
the way particular cues (sales volume and customer reviews)
influence consumer online product choices. A follow-up study
by Jumin et al. (2008) examined the source of the online
recommendation or review (seller vs buyer). They concluded
that the recommendations of other consumers influence the
choices of subjects more effectively than recommendations
from an expert. These results were generated from an
experimental design with all messages and cues provided by
the researchers.
In 2007, Park et al. (2007) examined online customer
reviews focusing on the impact of quality vs. quantity of
reviews available. They conclude that the purchase intention
increases as both quantity and quality of reviews increase.
Grant et al. (2007) reviewed literature on consumer online
information search behavior. They identified factors that
facilitated consumer searches and some that frustrated them.
They conclude that further studies, taking into account an
array of variables will contribute to the development of
pertinent marketing theory. Their findings about the quantity
and quality of reviews available are especially relevant with the
proliferation of these sites now on the internet.
Forman et al. (2008) considered the value of knowing the
identity of the online reviewer in virtual communities. They
conclude that identity-relevant information shapes judgment
about products and reviews. There is strong agreement that
customer reviews are powerful influential sources. Similarly,
virtual community members have an impact on the members’
shopping choices and that social identification with the virtual
communities is important in influencing this (Pentina et al.,
2008). In terms of consumer participation in virtual
communities, Bagozzi and Dholakia (2002) found that
involvement in virtual communities stem from social
identity, positive anticipated emotions and desires. If virtual
community members have an impact on members’ shopping
choices, perhaps consumers are influencing each other in new
ways as more and more product and company information is
shared online.
Also in 2008, Hu et al. (2008) studied customer reviews
online. The researchers used a portfolio approach to assess
the effectiveness of online reviews. Reviewer quality,
exposure, product coverage and temporal effects were
varied. It is concluded that the impact of online reviews on
sales diminishes over time. This finding has strong
implications for business response strategies. Chen and Xie
(2008) also noted that online customer reviews required
strategic responses from sellers. Ultimately the seller response
to customer online reviews must be examined systematically
and take into account customer attitudes and opinions
regarding potential business response. From a slightly
449
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
different perspective, Lee et al. (2008) investigated the
effects of negative online consumer reviews on consumer
product attitude and found that high percentage of negative
online consumer reviews results in a conformity effect. It may
be that negative online reviews impact actual buying behavior
or at least purchase intention.
Perhaps the most compelling research was that of Cheung
et al. (2008) on the impact of e-WOM and the adoption of
online opinions. The purpose of their study was to “examine
the extent to which opinion seekers are willing to accept and
adopt online consumer reviews [. . .]” The focus of the study
on the construct of “usefulness” and were able to explain only
46 percent of the variance by this construct. However, they
concluded that there were more factors in motivating
information adoption than simply information usefulness.
Research examining an ex post facto data from consumers
who have engaged in online use or publishing of reviews has
been the prevue of organizations like the Pew Foundation and
the many industries with an interest in the findings such as
software companies, internet researchers and online service
providers. Academic research on representative samples of
actual users remains scarce. A sample of the conclusions
arrived at by some of the more recent non academic studies
include the following:
.
A total of 81 percent of Online Holiday Shoppers Read
Online Customer Reviews (Nielsen Online, 2008).
.
A total of 86 percent of consumers read online business
reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90 percent of
whom say they trust these reviews. (Reddorbit.com,
2008).
.
As of October 2008, almost half of US online adults read
ratings and reviews at least once a month, and 19 percent
post them. Nearly twice as many read reviews compared
with 2007 (Forrestor.com, 2008).
Hypotheses development
It is clear from all the work done to date on the topic of source
credibility and online customer reviews that there is a need to
examine new indicators as well as a need to seek out users in
more field dependent research. As indicated earlier Hong
(2006) found that the domain classification of the site might
be an indicator of credibility. Similarly, Park et al. (2007)
concluded that purchase intention to purchase increases as
both quality and quantity of reviews increase. However, there
has been no research studying the nature of the sites and their
credibility on influencing consumer attitudes and their online
engagement. It is possible that customer care reviews in
variety of sites will impact consumer attitudes differently. For
example, customer reviews on a company web site may not be
seen as credible as the ones in a social network site such as
Facebook because the company has the option of being
selective on what is posted on their sites. Thus we propose the
following:
H1. Value placed on online sources of information about
customer care experience positively impacts consumer
opinion about online media making a difference in
customer care.
Social interactions, economic incentives, concern for others,
and enhanced self-worth (Thorsten et al. 2004), social
identity, and positive emotions and desires (Bagozzi and
Dholakia (2002) are good motivators for using the social
media as e-WOM. These incentives are likely to influence
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
consumers on the frequency of using socially and non-socially
based media sites. Similar to H1, as consumers perceive some
sites more credible than others, they use sites with higher
credibility more frequently. Thus, the credibility of the sites
leads to a higher level of online engagement. Therefore, we
suggest the following:
H2. Value placed on online sources of information about
customer care experience positively impacts consumer
engagement of online activity.
Negative online consumer reviews result in negative consumer
product attitude formation because of what is known as the
conformity effect (Lee et al., 2008). This situation is also
likely to be true in customer care reviews. As indicated earlier
online customer reviews require strategic responses from
sellers (Chen and Xie, 2008). Ultimately the seller response
to customer online reviews impact customer attitudes and
opinions regarding potential business response. If sellers
respond to dissatisfied customers in a reasonable manner,
then consumers are likely to form positive attitudes toward
the sellers and engage more in using and sharing of their
customer care experiences. Thus, this discussion leads us to
propose the following:
H3. Consumer opinion about online media making a
difference in customer care positively impacts
consumer engagement of online activity.
Previous research shows that consumers who rely on online
sources for information more frequently, rate the online
sources as more credible (Robinson and Kaye, 2000). Of
course, these consumers are likely to be heavy users of the
internet, engaged in sharing of their experiences online. The
important impact of consumers sharing their experiences in
virtual communities is that members of the virtual
communities have influence on the members’ shopping
choices (Pentina et al., 2008). Therefore, more frequent
users of the virtual communities are likely to be influenced by
other members in choosing brand/company. This discussion
leads us to develop the following hypothesis:
H4. Consumer engagement of online activity positively
impacts consumer decision on choosing companies
and brands.
Given the hypotheses proposed, this research attempts to
examine several important factors as they relate to customer
online reviews on customer care experience including the
social nature of the domain affiliation or site, how often an
individual uses online sites and consumer opinions regarding
the likelihood of businesses to respond. The impact of these
factors on consumer decision to choose a brand or company is
used as the endogenous variable since it would be of interest
to businesses.
Study methodology
The study was conducted via a web-based survey created by
TWI Surveys Inc. and the Society for New Communications
Research (SNCR) team, which included university faculty.
SNCR is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank dedicated to
the advanced study of the latest developments in new media
and communications, and their effect on traditional media
and business models, communications, culture and society.
The SNCR research team developed the questions in the
survey. The survey was then circulated via email to the SNCR
450
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
panel as well as to other lists of consumers that it acquired
from other sources in the spring of 2008. The researchers
monitored the sample against a variety of demographic
criteria to ensure that it collected a representative group of
online users. The major objectives of the research were to
assess the influence of social media sites on user opinions as
they relate to customer care experience and to determine what
types of online sites are considered the most valuable sources
of information about the customer care experience.
Measurement
The survey instrument included questions using five point
Likert scales to capture data on consumer use of social media
to learn about customer care, what sources of information
available online is most valued and what motivates a customer
to share their customer care (positive or negative) through
social media. The value placed on online sources of
information was measured by ten variables and used a scale
ranging from “very valuable” to “of no value”. The question
was phrased as follows: “When making purchasing decisions,
how valuable are the following sources of information about
the customer care experience?” These questions were aimed
at measuring the information source credibility effect. If
consumers view certain information sources as valuable, then
they are likely to perceive them credible, and thus, act on their
beliefs when selecting product brands/companies. Similarly,
consumer opinion about whether or not online media make a
difference was measured by two variables using a five-point
Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree to strongly
disagree”:
1 opinion that blogs, rating systems and discussion forums
can give consumers a greater voice in effecting changes in
customer care; and
2 opinion that one person can influence many people about
a bad customer care experience.
Consumer engagement of online activity was measured by
two variables dealing with the extent of consumer internet
usage by using a five-point Likert scale:
1 frequency of using social media to learn about the
customer care offered when considering of purchasing of
products/services; and
2 likelihood to share positive customer care experiences
online.
Finally, the endogenous construct was measured by two
variables which again used a Likert scale ranging from
“strongly agree to strongly disagree”:
1 consumers having chosen brands/company based on their
customer care experiences; and
2 consumers having chosen brands/company based on
others customer care experiences shared online.
Sample
The respondents were driven to the survey through a variety
of sources including blogs, newsletters, forums and word of
mouth. The target population was a diverse group of
consumers who used social media tools to share customer
care experiences. The final sample of 320 consumers is
demographically diverse. Females made up 55 percent of
respondents, males 45 percent. Most (78 percent) ranged in
age from 25-55, while 6 percent were under 25 years old and
15 percent were over 55. These demographics parallel those
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience Journal of Consumer Marketing
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457

of the typical internet users according to the 2008 study of
internet Users Demographics by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project (2009).
Results
Factor analysis, construct reliability and validity
A descriptive statistics of the variables measuring the value of
social media, consumer opinion, consumer online
engagement, and consumer decision on choosing brands or
company is presented in Table I. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
Measure of Sampling Adequacy with a test of Bartlett’s Test
of Sphericity showed that the data come from a multivariate
normal population (KMO ¼ 0:820; x?ð45Þ ¼ 953:94;
p ¼ 0:000).
The respondents rated ten online sources of information.
An exploratory factor analysis of these ten online information
sources showed that there are two categories of online
information sources explaining 58.6 percent of the variance in
the data (Table I). Seven of the sources represented socially-
based media while three of the sources represented the non-
socially-based media (search engines, company sites, and
government/consumer advocacy information sites). The
variable “value placed on Online rating systems about the
customer care experience” cross-loaded and the variable
“value placed on government/consumer advocacy information
sites about the customer care experience” had low factor
loading (0.36) and was deleted from the analysis. The socially
based media construct had a reliability coefficient of 0.84
while the non-socially media construct’s reliability coefficient
was 0.37 using the Cronbach alpha procedure in SPSS
(Cronbach, 1951). Given the very low alpha score, this
construct was not considered in further analysis. Two other
factors had low alpha coefficients, but had reasonable
composite reliability coefficients as presented later.
A confirmatory factor analysis (Table II) showed that one of
the indicators, value placed on online discussion forums had
high-standardized error covariances with two other indicators
in the data (2.93 and 3.94). Thus, this variable was also
deleted. In addition, the modification indices suggested two
correlated error terms. Therefore, we freed one of the
correlations between the two indicator error variances. The
presence of shared variances was expected because the
indicator variables were measured on the same scale and they
were very similar in their nature (micro blogging sites and
RSS indicators). Byrne (2001) suggests respecification of a
model when correlations between indicator error variances
exist provided that there is theoretical evidence for specifying
these correlations. The chi-square value was statistically
significant 84.14; df ¼ 38 p ¼ 0:001 suggesting a poor fit.
However, due to the sensitivity of the chi-square to sample
size, using chi-square as a goodness of fit may not be
appropriate (Hatcher, 1994). Therefore, other goodness of fit
indices were utilized. Based on the following indices, using the
maximum likelihood approach in SPSS AMOS, the data had
a very good fit: x? =df ¼ 2:21; NFI ¼ 0:93; CFI ¼ 0:96;

Table I Descriptive statistics of the variables in the study and exploratory factor analysis results
Std Factor
Variables Alpha Mean deviation loadings
Socially based web sites 0.845
BLOGSa value placed on blogs about the customer care experience 3.24 1.09 0.80
MIC_BLOGa value placed on Value placed on Micro-blogging sites about the customer care experience 2.11 1.11 0.78
SOC_NETWa value placed on social networking sites about the customer care experience 2.50 1.15 0.83
YOUTUBEa value placed on YouTube about the customer care experience 2.14 0.96 0.67
RSSa value placed on RSS about the customer care experience 2.36 1.07 0.70
DIS_FORUMa value placed on discussion forums about the customer care experience 3.52 1.08 0.61
ONLINE_RATa value placed on online rating systems about the customer care experience 3.69 0.968 0.50
Public-based web sites 0.365
CONS_ADVCa value placed on government/consumer advocacy information sites about the customer
care experience 2.88 1.06 0.36
COMP_SITESa value placed on company web sites about the customer care experience 3.11 0.88 0.76
SEARCH_ENa value placed on search engines about the customer care experience 3.79 1.03 0.74
Consumer opinion 0.68
C_VOICEb opinion that blogs, rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater
voice in effecting changes in customer care 4.08 0.86 –
C_INFLUENb opinion that one person can influence many people about a bad customer care
experience 4.22 0.77 –
Engagement 0.51
C_SHAREb Likelihood of sharing positive customer care experiences online 3.65 1.00 –
C_ENGAGEc Frequency of using social media to learn about customer care offered when considering
purchase of products/services 3.05 1.04 –
Choosing brand/company 0.50
C_CHOICE1b Choosing companies/brands based on my customer care experiences 4.46 0.67 –
C_CHOICE2b Choosing companies/brands based on others’ customer care experiences shared online 3.79 0.79 –
Notes: aMeasured on a five-point scale ranging from “very valuable” to “of no value”; bmeasured on a five-point scale ranging from “strongly agree” to
“strongly disagree”; cmeasured on a five-point scale ranging from “always” to “never”

451
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience Journal of Consumer Marketing
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457

Table II Results of confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability, and average variance extracted
Constructs and indicators CR AVE b SE CR p l
Socially based sites 0.90 0.64
Soc_Netw 1.289 0.097 13.23 0.001 0.86
Mic_Blog 1.014 0.090 11.24 0.001 0.70
RSS 0.836 0.086 9.68 0.001 0.60
YouTube 0.839 0.077 10.87 0.001 0.67
Blogs Fixed 0.71
Engagement 0.62 0.45
C_Engage 1.173 0.145 8.09 0.001 0.62
C-Share Fixed 0.001 0.54
Consumer opinion 0.80 0.68
C_Voice 1.627 0.19 8.32 0.87
C_Influen Fixed 6 0.001 0.60
Choose brands/companies 0.73 0.63
C_Choice1 0.29 0.045 6.75 0.001 0.35
C_Choice2 Fixed 0.99
Note: Indicator variables are described in Table I

IFI ¼ 0:96; TLI ¼ 0:94 and RMSEA ¼ 0:062 (Lo ¼ 0:044
and Hi ¼ 0:080).
In an attempt to ensure validity, the model was cross-
validated using the procedure suggested by Byrne (2001).
The sample was divided into two sub-groups by systematically
selecting every other case in the data. Therefore, each sub-
group consisted of 160 cases. The constrained model
consisted of four regression parameters, which were set as
equal across the two samples. The comparison of the
constrained model (x2 ¼ 153:96; df ¼ 82) and the base
model ( x2 ¼ 151:29; df ¼ 78) shows that the
Dx2 calculatedisnotstatisticallysignificantatp , 0:05 level
(Dx2ð4Þ ¼ 2:64). Therefore, the two sub samples generate
similar results and indicate validity. In addition to the very
good goodness of fit indices, all individual parameters had
significant t-values, thus, convergent validity is also
established (Phillips, 1981).
The composite reliability coefficients (CR) and the average
variances extracted (AVE) and the squared multiple
correlation coefficients for the latent constructs are also
presented in Table II. The CR coefficients ranged from a high
of 0.90 for the socially based media construct to a low of 0.63
for the construct of engagement. In all cases, the CR
coefficients exceed the recommended value of 0.60 (Bagozzi
and Yi, 1988). The AVEs ranged from a high of 0.68 for the
consumer opinion to a low of 0.45 for the engagement
construct. Thus, the AVEs with the exception of one are
above the recommended level of 0.50 (Fornell and Larcker,
1981). Although it is desirable to have constructs with AVEs
greater than or equal to 0.50, it is common for the AVEs to be
below 0.50 even when the reliabilities are acceptable
(Hatcher, 1994).
A test of discriminant validity showed that the square root
of AVE for each construct is higher than the intercorrelations
of all constructs (Table III). Therefore, the scales meet the
discriminant validity test as suggested by Fornell and Larcker
(1981). For the engagement construct that had low AVE of
0.45, we performed additional analysis based on the work of
Bagozzi et al. (1991). In all cases, the two-factor model
(x2 ¼ 84:1; df ¼ 38) fits the data better than the constrained
one-factor models (x21 ¼ 212:84; x22 ¼ 170:40; x23 ¼ 140:65,
all with df ¼ 39). Furthermore, all of the indicators had
statistically significant regression estimates and low standard
errors. Since the CRs are very high, the regression coefficients
are statistically significant with low standard errors, and the
model meets the discriminant validity test, we can conclude
that the impact of the constructs are reliable and sound.
Therefore, we now turn our attention to the results of the
hypotheses tests.
Hypotheses test results
The structural equation modeling testing the hypotheses
yielded a good fit despite a high chi-square value
( x2ð39Þ ¼ 99:62, p , 0:001; x2 =df ¼ 2:55; NFI ¼ 0:92;
CFI ¼ 0:95; IFI ¼ 0:95; TLI ¼ 0:93 and RMSEA ¼ :070
Lo ¼ 0:053 and Hi ¼ 0:087). Table IV shows the estimated
and standardized regression coefficients as well as the
significance levels of the model. Figure 1 depicts the causal
relationships using the standardized path coefficients among
the constructs. The R2 for the endogenous construct
(choosing brand/company based on customer care
experience) is 0.68 meaning that 68 percent of the variance
is explained by the exogenous constructs. The path
coefficients are also high and are statistically significant.
H1
As indicated earlier, the value placed on online information
sources was intended to be examined using two
constructs: socially-based media and non-socially-based
media. The non-socially-based media had a low reliability
coefficient and were not included in the structural equation
modeling analysis. The socially-based media are significant in
impacting consumer opinion about online media making a
difference in customer care ( b ¼ 0:30 and l ¼ 0:49;
p ¼ 0:001). As the importance placed in socially base media
increases so does the positive consumer perception of online
media making a difference in customer care. Therefore, this
hypothesis is partially supported because the value placed on
non-socially-based media construct was not included in the
analysis.

452
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience Journal of Consumer Marketing
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457

Table III Descriptive statistics for constructs, average variance extracted, and discriminant validity
Constructs Mean Std deviation AVE CBC OE CO SBS
a
Choosing brand/company (CBC) 4.22 0.71 0.63 0.79
Online engagement (OE) 3.40 0.84 0.45 0.46 0.67
Consumer opinion (CO) 2.74 0.79 0.68 0.51 0.43 0.83
Socially-based sites (SBS) 4.14 0.60 0.64 0.27 0.46 0.40 0.80
a
Notes: AVE: average variance extracted; The numbers in the diagonal are the square roots of the AVEs for the constructs; the numbers below the diagonal are
the intercorrelations among the constructs

Table IV Model parameters of social media use on customer care and impact on consumer decision making
Constructs and indicators R2 b SE CR p l
Socially based sites N/A
Soc_Netw 1.288 0.098 13.14 0.001 0.86
Mic_Blog 1.016 0.090 11.23 0.001 0.70
RSS 0.833 0.086 9.63 0.001 0.60
YouTube 0.839 0.077 10.84 0.001 0.67
Engagement 0.80
C_Engage 1.110 0.139 8.00 0.001 0.61
C-Share Fixed 0.57
Consumer opinion 0.24
C_Voice 1.626 0.19 8.169 0.87
C_Influen Fixed 9 0.001 0.60
Choose brands/companies 0.68
C_Choice1 0.438 0.077 5.70 0.001 0.42
C_Choice2 Fixed 0.82
Note: Indicator variables are described in Table I

Figure 1 Model of brand/company choice as impacted by online engagement, consumer opinion, and online reviews of customer care experience on
the socially based sites

H2 engagement (b ¼ 0:33 and l ¼ 0:44; p ¼ 0:001). As the value

Since the value placed on non-socially-based media was placed on socially based media gains importance, the online
dropped from the analysis, this hypothesis too was tested activity, utilizing the information on social media on customer
using only the impact of socially based media. The value care offered by companies increases as well. In other words,
placed on socially based media has a positive impact on online consumers who place importance on social media are highly

453
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
likely to use the social media in learning about customer care
offered by companies and share their experiences with other
consumers online. Therefore, this hypothesis is also partially
supported.
H3
Consumer opinion that online media can have a positive effect
on customer care strongly impacts consumer engagement of
online activity about customer care experiences (b ¼ 0:73 and
l ¼ 0:59; p ¼ 0:001). As the belief that online media gives
consumers a greater voice in effecting changes in customer
care gets stronger, consumer involvement in using social
media and sharing information on customer care increases.
This hypothesis is fully supported.
H4
There is a strong positive relationship between consumer
engagement in online activity and consumer decision to
choose brands/companies based on the customer care
experiences shred online (b ¼ 0:93 and l ¼ 0:82;
p ¼ 0:001). Stronger the consumer engagement in online
activity, stronger is the likelihood that consumers will choose
brands/companies based on customer care experiences. Stated
differently, consumers who are actively involved in gathering/
sharing online customer care experiences are highly likely to
choose brands/company based on the information gathered.
This hypothesis is also fully supported.
Discussion and conclusions
This was an exploratory study testing four hypotheses. H1,
testing the impact of source credibility effect of online sources
of information about customer care on consumer opinions
was partially accepted. It appears that the non-socially based
sites such as company web sites, search engines, and
government/consumer advocacy sites have no impact on
consumer opinion. This is somewhat consistent with an
earlier research conducted by Bickart and Schindler (2001)
who found that consumers who gathered information from
online discussions reported greater interest in the product
than did those consumers who gathered information from the
marketer-generated sources. The reason for this is highly
likely to be the trust issue as raised in a study by Sen (2008).
However, the socially based sites have a strong impact on
consumer opinion. Although, there is no research examining
the impact of a variety of socially based web sites, this finding
is consistent with the research conducted by Johnson and
Kayne (2004) that had considered the impact of blogs only.
The socially-based web sites are considered trustworthy and
the opinions shared on these sites are assumed to be unbiased.
A similar finding was obtained in testing H2. The credibility
effect of the socially based sites had a strong impact on
consumer engagement in online activity while the non-socially
based sites had no significant impact. Consumers who value
and trust the socially based sites frequently utilize social
media and are likely to share their customer care experiences
online.
The consumer opinion about online media making a
difference in customer care has a strong impact on consumer
engagement in online activity. Consumers who believe that
their voice would make a difference in the customer care
offered by companies are more heavily involved in online
activities dealing with customer care experiences than those
that feel otherwise.
454
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
The final and probably the most important hypothesis
testing the impact of online engagement on consumer choice
for brand/company showed a strong causal relationship. The
consumers who are heavily engaged on online activities are
highly likely to choose brands/companies based on their and
others’ online experiences. The path coefficient between
engagement and consumer choice of brand/company is
indeed the highest and the variance explained by this
construct is reasonably high as well. This finding is related
to the conclusion of an earlier research by Huang and Chen
(2006) that recommendations of other consumers impact
consumer choice.
Although not hypothesized in this research, the
demographical variables such as age, education, and income
were added to the model to see if they have any impact on the
model, especially on the construct of consumer choice of
brands/companies based on consumers’, their own and
others’ customer care experiences. Interestingly, they had no
impact on consumer choice of brands/company. This was also
verified through cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis.
Again, there were no statistically significant relationships with
the exception of income having impact on relying on other
consumers’ opinions online. Consumers with annual incomes
over $100,000 relied more on other consumers’ opinions
about customer care compared to consumers having lower
annual incomes.
Limitations and future research
This was an exploratory study. Thus, it was limited in the
number of variables used for testing the hypotheses. The
study could be improved by having at least three indicator
variables per construct. Although, all of the constructs
showed high internal consistency leading to high reliability,
one had low AVE, but good discriminant validity. Overall, the
model had a good fit to the data. Future studies could
examine a cross section of the population of internet users
with more variables related to consumer choice of brand/
customer care experiences.
Future studies could also examine the impact of
demographical variables on consumer reliance on social
media and choice on brand/company. While the online sample
was a convenience sample, it was monitored for its
representation of internet users as reported by several
industry studies that have provided definition of the on line
audience. Regardless, the model developed is theoretically
sound and is statistically significant.
Managerial implications
Companies can utilize the information provided by
consumers on a variety of web sites ranging from blogs to
rating and review sites to understand customer concerns and
complaints so that they can take corrective actions. From the
results of this study, it is very clear that consumers are
influenced by their own and other consumers’ customer care
experiences in choosing brand/company to make purchases.
Therefore, companies who are actively engaged in monitoring
web sites related to consumer discussions about customer care
will have a chance to recover dissatisfied consumers.
Furthermore, as discovered in this study, heavy users of
internet web sites related to customer care are highly likely to
rely on their own and others’ customer care experiences.
Therefore, it is important to respond to the complaints and
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
concerns of consumers on these web sites or on blogs to
combat the issues raised and offer incentives to the heavy
users of these web sites to keep or make them loyal customers.
References
Amos, C., Holmes, G. and Strutton, D. (2008), “Exploring
the relationship between celebrity endorser effects and
advertising effectiveness: a quantitative synthesis of effect
size”, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 27 No. 2,
pp. 209-21.
Ba, S. and Pavlou, P.A. (2002), “Evidence of the effect of
trust building technology in electronic markets: price
premiums and buyer behavior”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 26
No. 3, pp. 243-68.
Bagozzi, R.P. and Dholakia, U.M. (2002), “Intentional social
action in virtual communities”, Journal of Interactive
Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 2-21.
Bagozzi, R.P. and Yi, Y. (1988), “On the evaluation of
structural equation models”, Academy of Marketing Science,
Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 74-94.
Bagozzi, R.P., Yi, Y. and Phillips, L. (1991), “Assessing
construct validity in organizational research”, Administrative
Science Quarterly, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 421-58.
Bickart, B. and Schindler, R.M. (2001), “Internet forums as
influential sources of consumer information”, Journal of
Interactive Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 31-40.
Byrne, B. (2001), Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS,
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
Calabrese, A. and Borchert, M. (1996), “Prospects for
electronic democracy in the US: rethinking communication
and social policy”, Media Culture and Society, Vol. 18 No. 2,
pp. 249-68.
Chen, Y. and Xie, J. (2008), “Online customer review: word-
of-mouth as a new element of marketing communication
mix”, Management Science, Vol. 54 No. 3, pp. 477-82.
Cheung, C., Lee, M. and Rabjohn, N. (2008), “The impact
of electronic word-of-mouth: the adoption of online options
in online customer communities”, Internet Research, Vol. 18
No. 3, pp. 229-47.
Cronbach, L.J. (1951), “Coefficient alpha and the internal
structure of tests”, Psychometrika, Vol. 16, pp. 297-334.
Davy, C. (2006), “Recipients: the key to information
transfer”, Knowledge Management Research and Practice,
Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 17-25.
Ferguson, R. (2008), “Word of mouth and viral marketing:
taking the temperature of the hottest trends in marketing”,
The Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 3,
pp. 179-82.
Forman, C., Ghose, A. and Wiesenfeld, B. (2008),
“Examining the relationship between reviews and sales:
the role of reviewer identity disclosure in electronic
markets”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 19 No. 3,
pp. 291-317.
Fornell, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural
models with unobserved variables and measurement
errors”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 1,
pp. 39-50.
Forrestor.com (2008), “The growth of social technology
adoption”, available at: www.forrester.com/Research/
Document/Excerpt/0,7211,44907,00.html (accessed
March 2009).
455
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
Grant, R., Clarke, R.J. and Kyriazis, E. (2007), “A review of
factors affecting online consumer search behaviour from an
information value perspective”, Journal of Marketing
Management, Vol. 23 Nos 5/6, pp. 519-33.
Hatcher, L. (1994), A Step-by-step Approach to Using the SAS
System for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling,
SAS Institute, Carey, NC.
Henning-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K.P., Walsh, G. and
Gremler, D.D. (2004), “Electronic word-of mouth via
consumer-opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to
articulate themselves on the internet?”, Journal of Interactive
Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 38-52.
Hong, T. (2006), “The influence of structural and message
features on web site credibility”, Journal of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology, Vol. 57 No. 1,
pp. 114-27.
Hu, N., Ling Lu, J. and Zhang, J. (2008), “Do online reviews
affect product sales? The role of reviewer characteristics and
temporal effects”, Information Technology and Management,
Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 201-15.
Huang, J. and Chen, Y. (2006), “Herding in online product
choice”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 5,
pp. 413-28.
Johnson, T.J. and Kayne, B. (2004), “Wag the blog: how
reliance on traditional media and the internet influence
credibility perceptions of weblogs among blog users”,
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 81
No. 3, pp. 622-43.
Johnson, T.J., Braima, A.M. and Sothirajah, J. (1999),
“Doing the traditional media sidestep: comparing the
effects of the internet and other nontraditional media with
traditional media in the 1996 Presidential campaign”,
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 76
No. 1, pp. 99-123.
Jumin, L., Park, D. and Han, I. (2008), “The effect of
negative online consumer reviews on product attitude:
an information processing view”, Electronic Commerce
Research and Applications, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 341-52.
Kiecker, P. and Cowles, D. (2001), “Interpersonal
communication and personal influence on the internet:
a framework for examining online word-of-mouth”, Journal
of Euromarketing, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 71-88.
Ko, D.G., Kirsch, L.J. and King, W.R. (2005), “Antecedents
of knowledge transfer from consultants to clients in
enterprise system implementation”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 29
No. 1, pp. 59-85.
Lee, J., Park, D. and Han, I. (2008), “The effect of negative
online consumer reviews on product attitude:
an information processing view”, Electronic Commerce
Research and Applications, Vol. 7 Nos 3, special section:
New Research from the 2006 International, pp. 341-52.
Mehta, N., Chen, X. and Narasimhan, O. (2008),
“Informing, transforming, and persuading: disentangling
the multiple effects of advertising on brand choice
decisions”, Marketing Science, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 334-55,
538-539.
Nielsen Online (2008), “Eight in ten online holiday shoppers
read web reviews”, available at: www.marketingcharts.com/
interactive/eight-in-ten-online-holiday-shoppers-read-
online-customer-reviews-7281/nielsen-online-money-
already-spent-holiday-season-december-2008jpg/
(accessed March 2009).
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
Park, D., Lee, J. and Han, I. (2007), “The effectiveness of on-
line consumer reviews on consumer purchasing intention:
the moderating role of involvement”, International Journal of
Electronic Commerce, Vol. 11 No. 4, p. 125.
Pentina, I., Prybutok, V.R. and Zhang, X. (2008), “The role
of virtual communities as shopping reference groups”,
Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 9 No. 2,
pp. 114-36.
Petty, R.E. and Cacioppo, J.T. (1986), Communication and
Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change,
Springer-Verlag, New York, NY.
Pew Internet and American Life Project (2009), “New data
on internet use and demographics”, available at: www.
pewinternet.org/Commentary/2004/December/New-data-
on-internet-use-and-demographics.aspx (accessed August
2009).
Phillips, L.W. (1981), “Assessing measurement error in key
information reports: a methodological note on
organizational analysis in marketing”, Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 395-415.
Reddorbit.com (2008), “Kudzu.com survey of 600 users”,
available at www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1608468/
kudzucom_survey_reveals_online_reviews_ significantly_
impact_consumer_spending/ (accessed March 2009).
Rieh, S.Y. (2002), “Judgment of information quality and
cognitive authority in the web”, Journal of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology, Vol. 53 No. 2,
pp. 145-61.
Robinson, T. and Kaye, B. (2000), “Using is believing:
the influence of reliance on the credibility of online political
information among politically interested internet users”,
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 77
No. 4, pp. 865-79.
Sen, S. (2008), “Determinants of consumer trust of virtual
word-of-mouth: an observation study from a retail web
site”, Journal of American Academy of Business, Vol. 14 No. 1,
Cambridge, pp. 30-5.
Sen, S. and Lerman, D. (2007), “Why are you telling me this?
An examination of negative consumer reviews on the web”,
Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 51-69.
Steffes, E.M. and Burgee, L. (2009), “Social ties and online
word of mouth”, Internet Research, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 42-59.
Sternbrian, B., Sternthal, R. and Leavitt, C. (1978),
“The persuasive effect of source credibility: tests of
cognitive response”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 4
No. 4, pp. 252-61.
Thorsten, H., Gwinner, K.P., Walsh, G. and Gremler, D.
(2004), “Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion
platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate
themselves on the internet?”, Journal of Interactive
Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 38-52.
Warnick, B. (2004), “Online ethos: source credibility in an
authorless environment”, The American Behavioral Scientist,
Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 256-66.
About the authors
Fahri Karakaya is a Professor of Marketing at University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth. He has a PhD degree from
Clemson University. He has published over 100 papers. Some
of his publications have appeared in Journal of Marketing,
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of
Marketing Education, Journal of European Marketing, Journal of
456
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
Strategic Marketing, Psychology & Marketing and others. He is
the co-author of three books titled Barriers to Entry and
Market Entry Decisions, How to Utilize New Information
Technology in International Business, and Utilizing New
Information Technology in Teaching of International Business.
He currently serves on the editorial review boards of nine
journals and has been a guest editor for several journals. He
has done extensive consulting in various areas of marketing
for Massachusetts Governor’s Council in Economic
Development, Massachusetts Department of
Transportation, Small Business Development Center, and
for many private area businesses. He is the founder and
director of Southeastern Massachusetts E-commerce
Network, an economic outreach program at UMass
Dartmouth. Fahri Karakaya is the corresponding author and
can be contacted at: f1karakaya@umassd.edu
Nora Ganim Barnes is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing
and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She has worked as a
consultant for many national and international firms. Working
closely with businesses in the Northeast USA, she and her
students have provided marketing research assistance to
hundreds of small businesses. She has published articles in
academic and professional journals and proceedings, has
contributed chapters to books, and has been awarded
numerous research grants. Her work has been covered
online and in print by Business Week, the NY Times,
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Computer
World among others. She has been named a Senior Research
Fellow by the Society for New Communications Research.
Executive summary and implications for
managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the
material present.
The long standing importance marketers ascribe to the
credibility of information sources has accelerated further with
the growth of the internet. Many analysts believe that online-
based opinion significantly impacts on consumer purchase
decisions both online and within traditional outlets.
Commonly referred to as electronic word-of-mouth (e-
WOM), this mechanism incorporates positive or negative
communication among present, former or possible future
customers. The communication can relate to companies,
products or brands and is accessible by the public on the
internet.
Issues to consider
Various online information sources now exist and include
rating sites, blogs, social networking sites, government/
consumer advocacy sites. All of these sources provide
reviews, ratings and opinions for products and services and
customer care. Many researchers believe that consumers who
use these sites frequently are likely to attach greater
significance to the information relayed.
 Impact of online reviews of customer care experience
Fahri Karakaya and Nora Ganim Barnes
To date, research about the credibility of e-WOM is largely
inconclusive but much of this has not considered the
effectiveness of various online information source types. One
key study found that social interaction, economic incentives,
concern for others and improving self-worth were the four
main motivations for online communities engaging in e-
WOM. While the credibility of virtual communities was not
assessed, participants in other research attached more weight
to blogs than traditional sources. This invites the possibility
that the same credence might be afforded to other web-based
information channels.
Such belief is given additional support by findings that
domain names linked to institutions including gov, edu and
org were perceived as a sign of credibility. However, the
advent of web 2.0 technologies prompted assumptions that
sources connected with social media would be more trusted
than company and government web sites. It is thought that
the higher personal nature offered by social media may raise
credibility more than domain label can. For instance,
organizations and blogs might share the same.com domain
suffix but consumer perception of them is likely to differ
markedly. But research into online customer reviews has not
yet directly explored the relationship between a web site’s
social nature and perceived credibility. Nevertheless, different
studies in this area have noted that expert opinion was less
influential for online product choices than recommendations
from other consumers. In a similar vein, research also
discovered that knowing the identity of the online reviewer is
important. More specifically, it appears that the social
identification inherent within virtual communities increases
the likelihood of members influencing each other. Added to
this, empirical evidence exists that negative online reviews
influence purchase intention and possibly actual behavior.
How companies deal with customer complaints is an
additional factor to consider. The subject of quality and
quantity of reviews also appears significant, given recent
findings that an increase in both positively impacts on
purchase intention.
Survey and findings
Studies have so far largely concentrated on consumer reviews
of products. By comparison, investigations into the impact of
ratings from different online sources about the customer care
provided by firms are limited. One supposition is that
customer reviews on a company web site may be perceived as
less credible than those on social networks because of scope
for companies to post selectively. Fahri Karakaya and Nora
Ganim Barnes therefore explore the issues in relation to
customer care in an online survey using respondents obtained
through various sources such as blogs, newsletters, forums
and word of mouth. The final sample of 320 was
demographically diverse and reflective of typical internet
users. Most respondents were aged between 25 and 55 and
females accounted for 55 percent of the sample.
Participants were asked to rate different online information
sources consisting of socially based media and non-socially
based media. However, poor reliability subsequently led to
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
457
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2010 · 447 –457
non-socially based media being removed from analysis.
Findings from the survey revealed that:
.
Consumer perception that online media can positively
impact on customer care becomes greater when the
importance placed on socially based media increases.
.
It is extremely likely that consumers who value social
media will use the source to acquire and share information
about customer care offered by firms.
.
Belief that online media can make a difference in customer
care leads to higher levels of consumer participation in
online activity.
.
Consumers who actively participate in obtaining and
sharing online customer care experiences are very likely to
use the information obtained to choose their companies,
brands and products.
In addition, the demographic variables age and education did
not determine brand or company choice. Further analysis did
show, however, that respondents earning over $100,000 per
annum placed more reliance on comments from other
consumers about customer care than those with salaries
below this amount.
The evidence here provides some agreement with earlier
research to suggest that various non-social media like
company web sites, search engines and government/
consumer advocacy sites do not influence consumer
opinion. Karakaya and Barnes share the opinion of others in
believing that this is probably down to trust.
Current findings also provide further support for previous
investigations into the impact of socially-based web sites,
although the earlier studies focused just on blogs. That
consumers seemingly attach such credibility to these online
sources is presumed to be down to the impartiality of the
reviews and opinions.
Recommendations for marketing and additional study
Marketers are urged to use the information generated by
consumers on different social networks and other web sites to
address customer concerns and take the appropriate remedial
actions. The authors believe that companies who take this
approach will be better positioned to alleviate and perhaps
recover disillusioned customers. A policy of targeting heavy
users of these sites is also advised. In this respect, it is
suggested that addressing issues raised and providing
incentives to these users can help to sustain or increase their
loyalty to the company or brand.
Karakaya and Barnes acknowledge the exploratory nature
of the study and encourage additional investigations using an
increased number of variables associated with customer care
experiences and brand choice. Future work might also further
explore demographic variables in relation to social media use
and subsequent choice of company or brand.
(A précis of the article “Impact of online reviews of customer care
experience on brand or company selection”. Supplied by Marketing
Consultants for Emerald.)