IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v154y2023ics0148296322008141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Service failures in times of crisis: An analysis of eWOM emotionality

Author

Listed:
  • Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E.
  • Mafael, Alexander
  • Ulqinaku, Aulona
  • Biraglia, Alessandro

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt consumer experiences as well as service operations. Despite the magnitude of this exogenous shock, little is known about the pandemic’s impact on consumers. Building on engagement theory, this study examines consumers’ emotional responses to service failures on social media. Contributing to the brand equity literature, we test whether electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) emotionality is contingent on brand strength. To do so, we analyzed 327,205 tweets directed at airline brands over the first 12 months of the pandemic in addition to data from a nonaffected period. The models show that consumers’ overall emotionality in tweets was lower during the pandemic than before it. Over the course of the pandemic, levels of joy were lower while levels of sadness and anger were more prominent in tweets directed at weaker brands. Thus, brand strength still acts as a “buffer” if service failures are caused by exogenous shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E. & Mafael, Alexander & Ulqinaku, Aulona & Biraglia, Alessandro, 2023. "Service failures in times of crisis: An analysis of eWOM emotionality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322008141
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113349
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322008141
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113349?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mansur Khamitov & Yany Grégoire & Anshu Suri, 2020. "A systematic review of brand transgression, service failure recovery and product-harm crisis: integration and guiding insights," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 519-542, May.
    2. Hsu, Liwu & Lawrence, Benjamin, 2016. "The role of social media and brand equity during a product recall crisis: A shareholder value perspective," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 59-77.
    3. José M. R. Murteira & Joaquim J. S. Ramalho, 2016. "Regression Analysis of Multivariate Fractional Data," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 515-552, April.
    4. Perez-Cepeda, Maximiliano & Arias-Bolzmann, Leopoldo G., 2022. "Sociocultural factors during COVID-19 pandemic: Information consumption on Twitter," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 384-393.
    5. Kübler, Raoul V. & Colicev, Anatoli & Pauwels, Koen H., 2020. "Social Media's Impact on the Consumer Mindset: When to Use Which Sentiment Extraction Tool?," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 136-155.
    6. Ashlee Humphreys & Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang & Eileen FischerEditor & Linda PriceAssociate Editor, 2018. "Automated Text Analysis for Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(6), pages 1274-1306.
    7. Wakefield, Lane T. & Wakefield, Robin L., 2018. "Anxiety and Ephemeral Social Media Use in Negative eWOM Creation," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 44-59.
    8. Vanitha Swaminathan & Sayan Gupta & Kevin Lane Keller & Donald Lehmann, 2022. "Brand actions and financial consequences: a review of key findings and directions for future research," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 639-664, July.
    9. Folkes, Valerie S, 1984. "Consumer Reactions to Product Failure: An Attributional Approach," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(4), pages 398-409, March.
    10. Papke, Leslie E. & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2008. "Panel data methods for fractional response variables with an application to test pass rates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1-2), pages 121-133, July.
    11. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Khan, Zaheer & Wood, Geoffrey, 2021. "COVID-19 and business failures: The paradoxes of experience, scale, and scope for theory and practice," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 179-184.
    12. Sharma, Amalesh & Adhikary, Anirban & Borah, Sourav Bikash, 2020. "Covid-19′s impact on supply chain decisions: Strategic insights from NASDAQ 100 firms using Twitter data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 443-449.
    13. William Greene, 2004. "Fixed Effects and Bias Due to the Incidental Parameters Problem in the Tobit Model," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 125-147.
    14. Tam Thien Vo & Xinning Xiao & Shuk Ying Ho, 2019. "How Does Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Influence Word of Mouth on Twitter? Evidence from the Airline Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 525-542, June.
    15. Pantano, Eleonora & Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios & Devereux, Luke & Pizzi, Gabriele, 2021. "Tweets to escape: Intercultural differences in consumer expectations and risk behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in three European countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 59-69.
    16. Latinovic, Zoran & Chatterjee, Sharmila C., 2022. "Achieving the promise of AI and ML in delivering economic and relational customer value in B2B," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 966-974.
    17. Hazée, Simon & Van Vaerenbergh, Yves & Armirotto, Vincent, 2017. "Co-creating service recovery after service failure: The role of brand equity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 101-109.
    18. Esmeralda A. Ramalho & Joaquim J.S. Ramalho & José M.R. Murteira, 2011. "Alternative Estimating And Testing Empirical Strategies For Fractional Regression Models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 19-68, February.
    19. Saura, Jose Ramon & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Zegarra Saldaña, Pablo, 2022. "Exploring the challenges of remote work on Twitter users' sentiments: From digital technology development to a post-pandemic era," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 242-254.
    20. Alexander Mafael & Sascha Raithel & Stefan J. Hock, 2022. "Managing customer satisfaction after a product recall: the joint role of remedy, brand equity, and severity," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 174-194, January.
    21. Vanitha Swaminathan & Sayan Gupta & Kevin Lane Keller & Donald Lehmann, 2022. "Correction to: Brand actions and financial consequences: a review of key findings and directions for future research," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 665-665, July.
    22. Brady, Michael K. & Cronin, J. Joseph & Fox, Gavin L. & Roehm, Michelle L., 2008. "Strategies to offset performance failures: The role of brand equity," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 151-164.
    23. Alantari, Huwail J. & Currim, Imran S. & Deng, Yiting & Singh, Sameer, 2022. "An empirical comparison of machine learning methods for text-based sentiment analysis of online consumer reviews," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-19.
    24. Liao, Shuling & Cheng, Colin C.J., 2014. "Brand equity and the exacerbating factors of product innovation failure evaluations: A communication effect perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2919-2925.
    25. Marie Kivi & Isabelle Hansson & Pär Bjälkebring & Derek M Isaacowitz, 2021. "Up and About: Older Adults’ Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Swedish Longitudinal Study," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(2), pages 4-9.
    26. Fangfang Li & Jorma Larimo & Leonidas C. Leonidou, 2021. "Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 51-70, January.
    27. Amemiya, Takeshi, 1984. "Tobit models: A survey," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1-2), pages 3-61.
    28. Grégoire, Yany & Salle, Audrey & Tripp, Thomas M., 2015. "Managing social media crises with your customers: The good, the bad, and the ugly," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 173-182.
    29. Hansen, Nele & Kupfer, Ann-Kristin & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, 2018. "Brand crises in the digital age: The short- and long-term effects of social media firestorms on consumers and brands," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 557-574.
    30. Jalali, Nima Y. & Papatla, Purushottam, 2019. "Composing tweets to increase retweets," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 647-668.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali Besharat & Kimberly A. Whitler & Saim Kashmiri, 2024. "When CEO Pay Becomes a Brand Problem," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 941-973, April.
    2. Harald Oberhofer & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2014. "Two-Part Models for Fractional Responses Defined as Ratios of Integers," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Monastyrenko, Evgenii, 2017. "Eco-efficiency outcomes of mergers and acquisitions in the European electricity industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 258-277.
    4. Dalman, M. Deniz & Chatterjee, Subimal & Min, Junhong, 2020. "Negative word of mouth for a failed innovation from higher/lower equity brands: Moderating roles of opinion leadership and consumer testimonials," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-13.
    5. Pandit, Mahesh & Paudel, Krishna P. & Hinson, Roger A., 2013. "Market Channel Analysis of Ornamental Plants using Clustering Procedures," 2013 Annual Meeting, February 2-5, 2013, Orlando, Florida 143067, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    6. Steven Chen, 2023. "A counterinsurgent (COIN) framework to defend against consumer activists," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 275-301, July.
    7. Grewal, Dhruv & Herhausen, Dennis & Ludwig, Stephan & Villarroel Ordenes, Francisco, 2022. "The Future of Digital Communication Research: Considering Dynamics and Multimodality," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 224-240.
    8. Harun, Ahasan & Rokonuzzaman, Md, 2021. "Pursuit of loyalty in service recovery: The roles of brand equity and cognitive reappraisal as moderators," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Paudel, Krishna P. & Park, Timothy A. & Pandit, Mahesh, 2017. "U.S. Farmers' Decision to Choose Direct Sales Channel: A Fractional Seemingly Unrelated Semiparametric Model," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258370, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Becker, Gideon, 2014. "The portfolio structure of German households: A multinomial fractional response approach with unobserved heterogeneity," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 74, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    11. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    12. Raju, Sekar & Rajagopal, Priyali & Murdock, Mitchel R., 2021. "The moderating effects of prior trust on consumer responses to firm failures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 24-37.
    13. Torberg Falch, 2010. "The Elasticity of Labor Supply at the Establishment Level," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 237-266, April.
    14. Jaya Prakash Pradhan & Mohammad Zohair, 2015. "Subnational Export Performance and Determinants," Review of Market Integration, India Development Foundation, vol. 7(2), pages 133-174, August.
    15. Jianhong Mu & Bruce McCarl & Anne Wein, 2013. "Adaptation to climate change: changes in farmland use and stocking rate in the U.S," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 713-730, August.
    16. Kadić-Maglajlić, Selma & Lages, Cristiana R. & Pantano, Eleonora, 2024. "No time to lie: Examining the identity of pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination supporters through user-generated content," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    17. Juliana D. Araujo & Povilas Lastauskas & Chris Papageorgiou, 2017. "Evolution of Bilateral Capital Flows to Developing Countries at Intensive and Extensive Margins," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(7), pages 1517-1554, October.
    18. Kathleen Cleeren & Marnik G. Dekimpe & Harald J. Heerde, 2017. "Marketing research on product-harm crises: a review, managerial implications, and an agenda for future research," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 593-615, September.
    19. Bacchetta, Philippe & Cordonier, Rachel & Merrouche, Ouarda, 2023. "The rise in foreign currency bonds: The role of US monetary policy and capital controls," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    20. Stephan Brunow & Luise Pestel & Mark Partridge, 2019. "Exports of firms and diversity: an empirical assessment for Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 151-175, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:154:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322008141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.