This study investigates the practice of responding to online reviews among hoteliers and makes an effort in seeking productivity improvements in managing this task from the perspective of the service quality-productivity-profitability triangle in the hotel sector. A mixed-method approach including systematic review and interviews is used. The systematic review looks at two branches of literature namely (1) the relationship between service quality and productivity in the context of management responses to online reviews and (2) different management response strategies, especially rote responses. Next, the interviews on ten hotel managers coupled with document analysis on 300 guests’ reviews and managerial responses of the hotels are used to explore the practices of responding to online reviews from the angle of productivity improvements and its relation to their business profitability. Findings show that existing literature on management responses primarily focuses on two dimensions namely the volume of responses (i.e., full responses, strategic responses, and no response) and the customization of responses (i.e., high tailoring and low tailoring responses). Interview results reveal that hoteliers often adopt a full response strategy, utilizing templates for generic and positive reviews, while customizing responses for specific and negative reviews. However, challenges such as workforce allocation and limitations from review platforms can hinder effective response management. This is the first study to look at management responses from productivity approach and how they fit into the service quality-productivity-profitability triangle. A novel framework of management responses for hotel industry with a particular focus on at responding productivity has been given.
ReviewPro (2022a). Q2 2022 Global Hotel Review Benchmark.Barcelona: Shiji Information Technology Spain, S.A
2.
AhmadFGuzmánF (2021) Negative online reviews, brand equity and emotional contagion. European Journal of Marketing55(11): 2825–2870.
3.
AndersonC (2012) The Impact of Social Media on Lodging Performance. Washington, DC: Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.
4.
AndersonCKimesS (2011) Revenue Management for Enhanced Profitability: An Introduction for Hotel Owners and Asset Managers.In: Michael C. Sturman, Jack B. Corgel and Rohit Verma (eds) The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice, New York: The Cornell University, 192–206.
5.
BarneyJ (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management17(1): 99–120.
6.
BarrosCPAlvesC (2004) An empirical analysis of productivity growth in a Portuguese retail chain using Malmquist productivity index. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services11(5): 269–278.
7.
Ben AissaSGoaiedM (2016) Determinants of Tunisian hotel profitability: The role of managerial efficiency. Tourism Management52: 478–487.
8.
BoonEBoneraMBigiA (2013) Measuring hotel service quality from online consumer reviews: A proposed method. In: Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2014: Proceedings of the International Conference in Dublin, Ireland, January 21–24, 2014, pp.367–379.
9.
BradleyGLSparksBAWeberK (2015) The stress of anonymous online reviews: a conceptual model and research agenda. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management27(5): 739–755.
10.
BrownJRDevCS (2000) Improving productivity in a service business. Journal of Service Research2(4): 339–354.
11.
CalabreseA (2012) Service productivity and service quality: A necessary trade-off?International Journal of Production Economics135(2): 800–812.
12.
CrickJM (2021) Qualitative research in marketing: what can academics do better?Journal of Strategic Marketing29(5): 390–429.
13.
Demirci OrelFKaraA (2014) Supermarket self-checkout service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty: Empirical evidence from an emerging market. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services21(2): 118–129.
14.
DixitSJyoti BadgaiyanAKhareA (2019) An integrated model for predicting consumer’s intention to write online reviews. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services46(October): 112–120.
15.
DunneC (2011) The place of the literature review in grounded theory research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology14(2): 111–124.
16.
FernandesSPandaRVenkateshVG, et al. (2022) Measuring the impact of online reviews on consumer purchase decisions – A scale development study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services68: 103066.
17.
FiginiPViciLVigliaG (2020) A comparison of hotel ratings between verified and non-verified online review platforms. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research14(2): 157–171.
18.
FiliatraultPHarveyJChebatJC (1996) Service quality and service productivity management practices. Industrial Marketing Management25(3): 243–255.
19.
FischerEOtnesCC (2006) Breaking new ground: Developing grounded theories in marketing and consumer behavior. In: Russell W. Belk (ed) Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 19–30.
20.
GlaserBStraussA (2017) Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York: Routledge.
21.
GoffmanE (2023)The presentation of self in everyday life. In: WesleyLonghoferDanielWinchester (eds). Social theory re-wired. New York: Routledge, 450–459.
22.
GouldingC (2002) Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for Management, Business and Market Researchers. London: Sage.
23.
GuBYeQ (2014) First step in social media: Measuring the influence of online management responses on customer satisfaction. Production and Operations Management23(4): 570–582.
24.
GunasekarSKumarDSPuraniK, et al. (2021) Understanding service quality attributes that drive user ratings: A text mining approach. Journal of Vacation Marketing27(4): 400–419.
25.
HancockDRAlgozzineB (2006) A Practical Guide for Beginning Researchers Doing Case Study Research. New York: Teachers College Press.
26.
HuBACaiLA (2014) Hotel labor productivity assessment: A data envelopment analysis. In: ZhengGu (ed) Management Science Applications in Tourism and Hospitality. New York: Routledge, 27–38.
27.
LiCCuiGPengL (2017) The signaling effect of management response in engaging customers A study of the hotel industry. Tourism Management62: 42–53.
28.
LiuSWangNGaoB, et al. (2021) To be similar or to be different? The effect of hotel managers’. rote Response on Subsequent Reviews. Tourism Management86(April): 104346.
29.
LovelockCJochenWChewP (2012) Essentials of Service Marketing. 2nd ed. London: Pearson Education.
30.
LuiTWBartosiakMPiccoliG, et al. (2018) Online review response strategy and its effects on competitive performance. Tourism Management67: 180–190.
31.
MägiAJulanderCR (1996) Perceived service quality and customer satisfaction in a store performance framework: An empirical study of Swedish grocery retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services3(1): 33–41.
32.
MorganH (2022) Conducting a qualitative document analysis. Qualitative Report27(1): 64–77.
33.
MthuliSARuffinFSinghN (2022) ‘Define, explain, justify, apply’ (DEJA): An analytic tool for guiding qualitative research sample size. International Journal of Social Research Methodology25(6): 809–821.
34.
NguyenKACoudounarisDN (2015) The mechanism of online review management: A qualitative study. Tourism Management Perspectives16: 163–175.
35.
ParasuramanA (2002) Service quality and productivity: A synergistic perspective. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal12(1): 6–9.
RobertsonJVellaJDuncanS, et al. (2024) Beyond surveys: leveraging automated text analysis of travellers’ online reviews to enhance service quality and willingness to recommend. Journal of Strategic Marketing32(4): 516–535.
38.
RoyGDattaBMukherjeeS, et al. (2020) Effect of eWOM stimuli and eWOM response on perceived service quality and online recommendation. Tourism Recreation Research46(4): 457–472.
39.
ReviewPro (2022b) Shiji Information Technology Spain, S.AGlobal Hotel Review Benchmark 2022: The Year in Reviews.Barcelona: Shiji Information Technology Spain, S.A
40.
SalehFRyanC (2013) The Service Industries Analysing Service Quality in the Hospitality Industry Using the SERVQUAL Model. August 2013.
41.
SamiBAMohamedG (2014) Determinants of tourism hotel profitability in Tunisia. Tourism and Hospitality Research14(4): 163–175.
42.
Sanliöz ÖzgenHKKozakM (2015) Social media practices applied by city hotels: a comparative case study from Turkey. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes7(3): 229–241.
SarkarBDeyBK (2023) Is online-to-offline customer care support essential for consumer service?Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services75: 103474.
45.
SchwartzZAltinMSingalM (2017) Performance measures for strategic revenue management: revPAR versus GOPPAR ra. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management16(4): 357–375.
46.
SimpaoKJS (2018) Labour productivity measurement and control standards for hotel. Journal of Service Science Research10(1): 25–76.
47.
SparksBAPerkinsHEBuckleyR (2013) Online travel reviews as persuasive communication: The effects of content type, source, and certification logos on consumer behavior. Tourism Management39: 1–9.
48.
StakeRE (2013) Multiple Case Study Analysis. New York: Guilford press.
49.
StewartMCArnoldCL (2018) Defining social listening: Recognizing an emerging dimension of listening. International Journal of Listening32(2): 85–100.
50.
ThakurR (2018) Customer engagement and online reviews. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services41(November 2017): 48–59.
51.
ThomasG (2016) How to Do Your Case Study. 2nd ed.London: Sage Publications Ltd.
52.
WangLRenXWanH, et al. (2020) Managerial responses to online reviews under budget constraints: whom to target and how. Information and Management57(8): 103382.
53.
WangYChaudhryA (2018) When and how managers?Responses to Online Reviews Affect Subsequent Reviews. Journal of Marketing Research55(2): 163–177.
54.
WangZLinXLiH (2023) Impact of reputation on hospitality profitability: impact of service failure online exposure on revenue performance – Evidence from the hotel industry in China. Tourism Review20720191004
55.
WeiWMiaoLHuangZ (2013) Customer engagement behaviors and hotel responses. International Journal of Hospitality Management33(1): 316–330.
56.
XieKKwokLWangW (2017) Monetizing managerial responses on TripAdvisor: Performance implications across hotel classes. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly58(3): 240–252.
57.
XieKLZhangZZhangZ (2014) The business value of online consumer reviews and management response to hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management43: 1–12.
58.
ZeithamlVABitnerMJGremlerDD (2018) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm. New York: McGraw-Hill.
59.
ZeithamlVParasuramanABerryL (1993) More on improving service quality measurement. Journal of Retailing69(1): 140–147.
60.
ZhangXLaLHuangGQI, et al. (2024) Strategies and conditions for crafting managerial responses to online reviews. Tourism Management103: 104911.
61.
ZhangXQiaoSYangY, et al. (2020). Exploring the impact of personalized management responses on tourists’ satisfaction: A topic matching perspective. Tourism Management76: 103953.
62.
ZhaoYWenLFengX, et al. (2020) How managerial responses to online reviews affect customer satisfaction: An empirical study based on additional reviews. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services57: 102205.
