Managerial response strategies to negative eWOM
Hreblay, Hélia (2024)
2024
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-05-10
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404234241
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404234241
Tiivistelmä
Online platforms have become essential for individual's daily lives. The investigation of eWOM within the hospitality and tourism context is pivotal for this thesis. While theme parks attract many consumers and offer multifaceted experiences, they can generate many customer reviews. Customer reviews in this context reflect visitors' thoughts, perceptions, and descriptions of tourism destinations, which they share on platforms such as TripAdvisor. Thus, negative feedback from consumers has been a serious concern for firms.
This master’s thesis aims to explore theme park companies' responses to negative eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) on social networking sites (SNS). This examination aids tourism businesses in tailoring their online strategies within the dynamic landscape of the theme park industry. By implementing a well-defined response strategy, tourist companies can publicly manage their online reputation. Researchers can uncover specific strategies and tactics employed in the face of online criticism.
Utilizing a multiple case study design, this thesis analyzes the online managerial response strategies of Disneyland Paris, Universal Studios (Orlando, US), and Legoland Windsor in the UK, on TripAdvisor. Examining responses across these varied aspects of the customer experience allows for a comprehensive analysis. It explores various response strategies, including accommodative and defensive strategies, and their review content. For the study, a netnography analysis of the theme park’s response was conducted. 100 company’s responses attached with negative customer reviews only on TripAdvisor were collected and analyzed per case. The data analysis employed a method known as reflexive thematic analysis, utilizing inductive and deductive coding. This approach was chosen to enable the researcher to leverage the strengths of each method, ensuring the validity of findings by aligning them with existing theoretical frameworks.
The key findings of this multiple case study encompass two main themes of response strategies: accommodative and defensive strategies. Theme park companies aim to effectively respond to negative eWOM, demonstrating responsiveness, accountability, and a commitment to guest satisfaction and striving for continuous improvement. The findings reveal that Disneyland Paris focuses on guest experience and operational transparency, Universal Studios (Orlando, US) prioritizes efficient service and guest communication, and Legoland Windsor (UK) emphasizes cleanliness, and responsiveness. Each park tailors its strategies to its unique operational challenges and guest expectations, ultimately aiming to enhance guest satisfaction. These distinctions and similarities illustrate how each park tailors its response strategies to its specific operations and guest needs.
The thesis offers contributions to the existing literature by integrating existing theoretical frameworks on accommodative and defensive strategies and speech acts. By expanding upon these theories within the context of the theme park industry, speech acts represent the specific linguistic actions within the responses, and accommodative and defensive strategies encompass the overarching approaches used by theme park companies in responding to negative eWOM. The thesis also contributes to practical implications for theme park managers to enhance guest satisfaction such as with webcare management. Furthermore, the thesis acknowledges limitations in research design, methodology, and scope, including challenges in accessing data and ensuring validity and reliability. Lastly, the thesis offers specific future research recommendations for expanding the number and diversity of theme park cases including small, medium, and large-scale parks in different locations. Comparing theme park managerial response strategies with those of other industries within the broader tourism and hospitality sector could highlight similarities and differences in approaches.
This master’s thesis aims to explore theme park companies' responses to negative eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) on social networking sites (SNS). This examination aids tourism businesses in tailoring their online strategies within the dynamic landscape of the theme park industry. By implementing a well-defined response strategy, tourist companies can publicly manage their online reputation. Researchers can uncover specific strategies and tactics employed in the face of online criticism.
Utilizing a multiple case study design, this thesis analyzes the online managerial response strategies of Disneyland Paris, Universal Studios (Orlando, US), and Legoland Windsor in the UK, on TripAdvisor. Examining responses across these varied aspects of the customer experience allows for a comprehensive analysis. It explores various response strategies, including accommodative and defensive strategies, and their review content. For the study, a netnography analysis of the theme park’s response was conducted. 100 company’s responses attached with negative customer reviews only on TripAdvisor were collected and analyzed per case. The data analysis employed a method known as reflexive thematic analysis, utilizing inductive and deductive coding. This approach was chosen to enable the researcher to leverage the strengths of each method, ensuring the validity of findings by aligning them with existing theoretical frameworks.
The key findings of this multiple case study encompass two main themes of response strategies: accommodative and defensive strategies. Theme park companies aim to effectively respond to negative eWOM, demonstrating responsiveness, accountability, and a commitment to guest satisfaction and striving for continuous improvement. The findings reveal that Disneyland Paris focuses on guest experience and operational transparency, Universal Studios (Orlando, US) prioritizes efficient service and guest communication, and Legoland Windsor (UK) emphasizes cleanliness, and responsiveness. Each park tailors its strategies to its unique operational challenges and guest expectations, ultimately aiming to enhance guest satisfaction. These distinctions and similarities illustrate how each park tailors its response strategies to its specific operations and guest needs.
The thesis offers contributions to the existing literature by integrating existing theoretical frameworks on accommodative and defensive strategies and speech acts. By expanding upon these theories within the context of the theme park industry, speech acts represent the specific linguistic actions within the responses, and accommodative and defensive strategies encompass the overarching approaches used by theme park companies in responding to negative eWOM. The thesis also contributes to practical implications for theme park managers to enhance guest satisfaction such as with webcare management. Furthermore, the thesis acknowledges limitations in research design, methodology, and scope, including challenges in accessing data and ensuring validity and reliability. Lastly, the thesis offers specific future research recommendations for expanding the number and diversity of theme park cases including small, medium, and large-scale parks in different locations. Comparing theme park managerial response strategies with those of other industries within the broader tourism and hospitality sector could highlight similarities and differences in approaches.