Is neutral really neutral? The effects of neutral user-generated content on product sales

Journal of Marketing

Volumn 78, Issue 4, 2014, Pages 41-58

  Tang, Tanya ^a   Fang, Eric ^b   Wang, Feng ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN   (United States)

^c HUNAN UNIVERSITY   (China)

Author keywords

Indifferent neutral user generated content; Mixed neutral user generated content; Opportunity motivation ability framework; Product sales; User generated content

Indexed keywords

EID: 84921361743     PISSN: 00222429     EISSN: 15477185     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1509/jm.13.0301     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Aiken, Leona S. and Stephen G. West (1991), Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
2. Baron, Reuben M. and David A. Kenny (1986), "ModeratorMediator Variables Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (6), 1173-82.
3. Berger, Jonah, Alan T. Sorensen, and Scott J. Rasmussen (2010), "Positive Effects of Negative Publicity: When Negative Reviews Increase Sales," Marketing Science, 29 (5), 815-27.
4. Boulding, William and Richard Staelin (1995), "Identifying Generalizable Effects of Strategic Actions on Firm Performance: The Case of Demand Side Returns to R&D Spending," Marketing Science, 14 (3), 222-36.
5. Bound, John, David A. Jaeger, and Regina M. Baker (1995), "Problems with Instrumental Variables Estimation When the Correlation Between the Instruments and the Endogenous Explanatory Variable Is Weak," Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90 (430), 443-50.
6. Chen, Yubo, Yong Liu, and Jurui Zhang (2012), "When Do Third-Party Product Reviews Affect Firm Value and What Can Firms Do? The Case of Media Critics and Professional Movie Reviews," Journal of Marketing, 76 (March), 116-34.
7. Chevalier, Judith A. and Dina Mayzlin (2006), "The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews," Journal of Marketing Research, 43 (August), 345-54.
8. Chintagunta, Pradeep K., Shyam Gopinath, and Sriram Venkataraman (2010), "The Effects of Online User Reviews on Movie Box Office Performance: Accounting for Sequential Rollout and Aggregation Across Local Markets," Marketing Science, 29 (5), 944-57.
9. Chowney, Vikki (2010), "Trust Issues," New Media Age, (September 30), 18-19.
10. Clemons, Eric K., Gordon Gao, and Lorin M. Hitt (2006), "When Online Reviews Meet Hyperdifferentiation: A Study of the Craft Beer Industry," Journal of Management Information Systems, 23 (2), 149-71.
11. Crowley, Ayn E. and Wayne Hoyer (1994), "An Integrative Framework for Understanding Two-Sided Persuasion," Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (4), 561-74.
12. eBizMBA (2013), "Top 15 Most Popular Movie Websites," (accessed October 20, 2013), [available at http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/movie-websites].
13. Elberse, Anita and Jehoshua Eliashberg (2003), "Demand and Supply Dynamics for Sequentially Released Products in International Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures," Marketing Science, 22 (3), 329-54.
14. eMarketer (2013), "Worldwide Social Network Users: 2013 Forecast and Comparative Estimates," (June 18), (accessed May 21, 2013), [available at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-Four-Around-World/1009976].
15. Feustel, Timothy C., Richard M. Shiffrin, and Aita Salasoo (1983), "Episodic and Lexical Contributions to the Repetition Effect in Word Identification," Journal of Experimental Psychology, 112 (3), 309-346.
16. Godes, David and Dina Mayzlin (2004), "Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication," Marketing Science, 23 (4), 545-60.
17. Goldfarb, Avi and Catherine Tucker (2011), "Advertising Bans and the Substitutability of Online and Offline Advertising," Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (April), 207-227.
18. Haak, Andrew (2012), "The User-Generated Content Landscape (and What Drives It)," (September 13), (accessed April 15, 2014), [available at http://blog.roblox.com/2012/09/the-user-generated-content-landscape-and-what-drives-it/].
19. Hallahan, K. (2000), "Inactive Publics: The Forgotten Publics in Public Relations," Public Relations Review, 26 (4), 499-515.
20. Hill, Kim, Debra Menk, and Adam Cooper (2010), "Contribution of the Automotive Industry to the Economies of all Fifty States and the United States," research report, Center for Automotive Research, (April), (accessed April 15, 2014), [available at http://www.cargroup.org/?module=Publications&event=View&pubID=16].
21. Hoffman, Donna L. and Marek Fodor (2010), "Can You Measure the ROI of Your Social Media Marketing?" MIT Sloan Management Review, 52 (1), 41-49.
22. Jacobson, Robert (1990), "Unobservable Effects and Business Performance," Marketing Science, 9 (1), 74-85.
23. Jonas, Klaus, Michael Diehl, and Philip Brömer (1997), "Effects of Attitudinal Ambivalence on Information Processing and Attitude-Intention Consistency," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33 (2), 190-210.
24. Kaplan, Kalman J. (1972), "On the Ambivalence-Indifferent Problem in Attitude Theory and Measurement: A Suggested Modification of the Semantic Differential Technique," Psychological Bulletin, 77 (5), 361-72.
25. Liu, Yong (2006), "Word of Mouth for Movies: Its Dynamics and Impact on Box Office Revenue," Journal of Marketing, 70 (July), 74-89.
26. Lynch, John G. and Thomas K. Srull (1982), "Memory and Attentional Factors in Consumer Choice: Concepts and Research Methods," Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (1), 18-37.
27. Machleit, Karen A., Thomas J. Madden, and Chris T. Allen (1990), "Measuring and Modeling Brand Interest as an Alternative Effect with Familiar Brands," Advances in Consumer Research, 17 (1), 223-30.
28. MacInnis, Deborah J., Christine Moorman, and Bernard J. Jaworski (1991), "Enhancing and Measuring Consumers' Motivation, Opportunity, and Ability to Process Brand Information from Ads," Journal of Marketing, 55 (October), 32-53.
29. McAlister, Leigh, Garrett Sonnier, and Tom Shively (2012), "The Relationship Between Online Chatter and Firm Value," Marketing Letters, 23 (1), 1-12.
30. Meyers-Levy, Joan and Prashant Malaviya (1999), "Consumers' Processing of Persuasive Advertisements: An Integrative Framework of Persuasion Theories," Journal of Marketing, 63 (Special Issue), 45-60.
31. Moe, Wendy W. and Michael Trusov (2011), "The Value of Social Dynamics in Online Product Ratings Forums," Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (June), 444-56.
32. Moon, Sangkil, Paul K. Bergey, and Dawn Iacobucci (2010), "Dynamic Effects Among Movie Ratings, Movie Revenues, and Viewer Satisfaction," Journal of Marketing, 74 (January), 108-121.
33. Mudambi, Susan M. and David Schuff (2010), "What Makes a Helpful Online Review? A Study of Customer Reviews on Amazon.com," MIS Quarterly, 34 (1), 185-200.
34. Nowlis, Stephen M., Barbara E. Kahn, and Ravi Dhar (2002), "Coping with Ambivalence: The Effect of Removing a Neutral Option on Consumer Attitude and Preference Judgments," Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (3), 319-34.
35. Pang, Bo and Lilian Lee (2008), "Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis," Foundations and Trends in Information Retrieval, 2 (1/2), 1-135.
36. Pauwels, Koen, Jorge Silva-Risso, Shuba Srinivasan, and Dominique M. Hanssens (2004), "New Products, Sales Promotions, and Firm Value: The Case of the Automobile Industry," Journal of Marketing, 68 (October), 142-56.
37. Petty, Richard E. and John T. Cacioppo (1981), Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.
38. Sashi, C.M. (2012), "Customer Engagement, Buyer-Seller Relationships, and Social Media," Management Decision, 50 (2), 253-72.
39. Shin, Hyun S., Dominique M. Hanssens, and Bharath Gajula (2011), "The Impact of Positive vs. Negative Online Buzz on Retail Prices," working paper, Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles.
40. Smith, Andrew N., Eileen Fischer, and Yongjian Chen (2012), "How Does Brand-Related User-Generated Content Differ Across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter?" Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26 (2), 102-113.
41. Sonnier, Garrett P., Leigh McAlister, and Oliver J. Rutz (2011), "A Dynamic Model of the Effect of Online Communications on Firm Sales," Marketing Science, 30 (4), 702-716.
42. Sridhar, Shrihari and Raji Srinivasan (2012), "Social Influence Effects in Online Product Ratings," Journal of Marketing, 76 (September), 70-88.
43. StatisticBrain.com (2013), "Social Networking Statistics," (accessed April 15, 2014), [available at http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/].
44. Stelzner, Michael (2012), "2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report," research report, Social Media Examiner, (April 2012), (accessed April 15, 2014), [available at http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2012.pdf].
45. Stephen, Andrew T., Yakov Bart, Christilene Du Plessis, and Dilney Goncalves (2013), "Does Paying for Online Product Reviews Pay Off? The Effects of Monetary Incentives on Consumers' Product Evaluations," working paper, INSEAD.
46. - and Jeff Galak (2012), "The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace," Journal of Marketing Research, 49 (October), 624-39.
47. Sun, Monic (2012), "How Does Variance of Product Ratings Matter?" Management Science, 58 (4), 696-707.
48. Thelwall, Mike, Kevan Buckley, and Georgios Paltoglou (2012), "Sentiment Strength Detection for the Social Web," Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 63 (1), 163-73.
49. Thornton, Judd R. (2011), "Ambivalent or Indifferent? Examining the Validity of an Objective Measure of Partisan Ambivalence," Political Psychology, 32 (5), 863-84.
50. Tirunillai, Seshadri and Gerard J. Tellis (2012), "Does Chatter Really Matter? Dynamics of User-Generated Content and Stock Performance," Marketing Science, 31 (2), 198-215.
51. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. (2009), Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach, 4th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
52. Yoo, Sung-Jin (2010), "Two Types of Neutrality: Ambivalence Versus Indifferent and Political Participation," Journal of Politics, 72 (1), 163-77.
53. Zhao, Xinshu, John G. Lynch Jr., and Qimei Chen (2010), "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths About Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, 37 (2), 197-206.
54. Zhu, Feng and Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang (2010), "Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Sales: The Moderating Role of Product and Consumer Characteristics," Journal of Marketing, 74 (March), 133-48.