• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.18-36
• /
• 2024

This study delved into the complex nature of medical services as experience goods and trust services, investigating the profound impact of online word-of-mouth on medical consumers' decisions to visit hospitals. Considering the restrictive legal framework for medical advertising, consumers are increasingly dependent on unrestricted sources of information like online reviews. This research aimed to provide empirical evidence for the significant role online word-of-mouth plays in hospital selection. Utilizing data from Naver reviews, hospital choice factors were classified based on the Kano model, revealing the subtle yet significant influence that word-of-mouth has on consumers' hospital visit intentions beyond merely positive or negative messages. In particular, the study provided insights into how the categorized positive and negative information, along with the presence or absence of emotional expression, affects the efficacy of word-of-mouth. The experiment targeted medical consumers aged over 20 and, through analysis using the SPSS statistical program, yielded important findings. The direction of online word-of-mouth, the presence of emotional expression, and the interaction of Kano attributes all created significant differences in hospital visit intentions. Notably, emotional expression included in negative word-of-mouth concerning one-dimensional attributes markedly decreased visit intentions, whereas the absence of emotional expression in attractive attributes actually enhanced reliability and increased visit intentions. These findings offer critical implications for redefining strategies in medical marketing and online review management. The discoveries of this study underscore the importance of active engagement and strategic management of online reviews by medical service providers, urging careful consideration of the various elements of online word-of-mouth that influence medical consumers' hospital visit intentions.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of banking service quality on consumer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth. A total of 330 bank consumers were investigated between Sept. 11 and Oct. 11, 2006. After sorting through the data, the responses of 299 consumer ( > 24 yrs old) were used for analysis. SERVPERF, the performance component of the Service Quality scale (SERVQUAL), was used to measure the four dimensions of reliability, responsiveness/empathy, assurance, and tangibles. Responses were partitioned by age and gender. The major findings were as follows; The effect of service quality by SERVPERF on consumer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth did not differ according to gender. However, positive recommendation in males was directy related to the technical quality evaluate. In females, higher the functional quality evaluate was directly related to higher positive word-of-mouth recommendation. The effect of service quality by SERVPERF on consumer satisfaction was not revealed differently according to age. However, with respect to respondents under the age of 45, tangibles and assurance had a positive relationship with word-of-mouth recommendation. Furthermore, the higher the functional quality evaluate, the higher the level of positive word-of-mouth. Responsiveness/empathy was the most significant factor on positive word-of-mouth recommendation in respondents over the age of 45. In this age group, the higher the technical quality evaluate, the higher the level of positive word-of-mouth recommendation. These results have implications for banking service managers, particularly in improving service quality to increase consumer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth. Future research is needed to replicate this study using more broad and representative samples in order to test the generalization of these findings.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.269-278
• /
• 2018

This study analyzed the outcome of 120 persons who used mobile game in order to investigate the influence that heuristic type which affects users' selection has on word of mouth, the influence that word of mouth has on users' behavioral intention and whether word of mouth will play the role of mediation between heuristic type and behavioral intention or not. First, heuristic(representatives, adjustment) type is found to have positive(+) influence on word of mouth (favorableness, reliance, persuasiveness). Second, while reliance word of mouth is found to have significant influence on behavioral intention, favorableness, persuasiveness and word of mouth is not found to have significant influence on behavioral intention. Third, heuristic (representative, adjustment) type is found to have significant influence on behavioral intention. Fourth, only reliance, word of mouth is found to play the role of mediation in the role of heuristic type and behavioral intention. The outcome of this study will help to understand users' behavioral intention selecting game in mobile game market.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.31 no.3 s.162
• /
• pp.410-419
• /
• 2007

The purposes of this study were to segment consumers by on-line word of month and to find the differences among the segmented groups in regard to fashion involvement, internet perceived risk, and internet purchase behavior. The subjects of this study were female consumers who were members of online cafe in Korea. The data were collected during October, 2004. The respondents returned the questionnaires through internet and 480 questionnaires were finally used in the data analysis. The statistical analyses used for the study were factor analysis, cluster analysis, t-test, and $X^2-test$. The results showed that word-of·mouth communication on internet(e-WOM) is composed of two factors, word-of-mouth transmission and word-of-mouth acceptance. These two factors were put under cluster analysis and were classified into two groups of the word-of·mouth communication: WOM group and non-WOM group. T-test showed that word-of-mouth communication groups were significantly different in regard to fashion involvement, internet perceived risk, and internet purchase behavior. For example, WOM group was more uncertain of their clothing choices, put more weight on the internal factors of clothing selection, and was a frequent purchaser of internet fashion products. Internet fashion business needs to implement the proper marketing strategies based on the results of the study.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.218-224
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate the infiluence of positive and negative word-of-mouth informations on visiting intention of hairshop customers. Data were collected from 342 adult females and analyzed by using frequencies, factor analysis and regression utilizing SPSS/PC+. The results showed that positive word-of-mouth informations such as shop employees' skill/attitudes, physical benefit, comfortable facilities, time saving/consistent service, kindness and rational price had influence on the visiting intention of hairshop customers. The negative word-of-mouth informations that consumers had experienced using hairshop were categorized as untrustworthy face-to-face customer management, non-customer service oriented mind, and unskilled employees/inefficient hairshop environment. The negative word-of-mouth informations had no effect on the visiting intention.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.91-104
• /
• 2008

This study notes the growing importance of online community as a means of building customer relationships. The author aims to identify how to communicate in an online community on preannounced new products, and test social influence that influence word-of-mouth of consumers, and confirm moderate effect of market maven between social influence and word-of-mouth activity in on-line community. The main findings are that social influence such as internalization and conformity positively influence word-of-mouth communication on online community. And moderate effect of market maven confirm between social influence(internalization and confirmity) and word-of-mouth activity.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.41 no.11
• /
• pp.189-200
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate that positive and negative word-of-mouth informations getting hairshop customers have influence on visiting intention of potential consumers. Data were collected from 354 university or college women. The results showed as follows; First, positive word-of-mouth informations that consumers have experienced in using hairshop were employee altitude/technique, consideration in customer's situation, kindness, saving of time/additional service, facilities, rational price, gift service/benefit in conditions of location. Second, negative word-of-mouth informations that consumers have experienced in using hairshop were inconsistent service, service focus on non-customers, irrational price/technique insufficiency/ inadequate compensational system, irrelevance of face-to-face management. Third, in getting positive word-of-mouth informations, consideration in customer's situation, rational price and gift service/benefit in conditions of location, consumers had visiting intention, and in getting negative informations, irrational price/technique insufficiency/inadequate compensational system, consumers had no visiting intention.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.106-110
• /
• 2014

Little is known about the impact of ambience on customers' emotions, satisfaction, and word of mouth recommendation within the context of coffee shops. This study examined the relationships among ambience, emotions, customer satisfaction, and word of mouth recommendation in a coffee shop setting. A total of 303 visitors at 5 coffee shops in a Southwestern state in the U.S. completed questionnaires. Utilizing a structural equation modeling technique, this study demonstrated that ambience significantly influenced emotions and customer satisfaction. In addition, emotions significantly affected customer satisfaction and word of mouth recommendation.

• Industry Promotion Research
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.9-16
• /
• 2022

In the midst of increasing interest in the environmental responsibility of companies, this study investigates how eco-friendly activities affect the creation of management performance. To this end, the effect of companies' green marketing on consumers' word-of-mouth intention, the mediating effect of brand reliability, and the moderating effect of consumers' pro-environmental behavior were verified. The results of the collected data analysis are as follows. First, companies' green marketing has a positive (+) effect on consumers' word-of-mouth intention. Second, brand reliability takes a positive (+) mediating role in the relationship between companies' green marketing and consumers' word-of-mouth intention. Third, consumers' pro-environment behavior has a moderating role between Brand Reliability and their word-of-mouth intention. Therefore, companies' eco-friendly strategies and their implementation will help enhance both brand reliability and consumers' word-of-mouth intention. By revealing the effect of companies' eco-friendly strategies and their implementation on brand reliability and consumers' word-of-mouth intention it is meaningful to analyze the relationship between green marketing and the possibility of consumers' spontaneous word-of-mouth intention. The results suggest to companies that it is necessary to establish an eco-friendly marketing strategy for sustainable growth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.690-704
• /
• 2014

This study examined the risk perception in internet shopping by Chinese and analyzed the effects of risk perception on internet word-of-mouth acceptance and transmission. This analysis was conducted with data collected from 373 Chinese individuals in their 20s. Data were analyzed with factorial analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA, multiple regression analysis, Chi-square test, and Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ using SPSS 18.0. The results were: 1) The factor analysis of risk perception extracted four factors: fashion/social psychological risk, product risk, transaction risk, and economic risk. The cluster analysis classified them into: Group with low-risk, Group with high-risk, Group with economic risk, and Group with medium-risk. 2) Group with high-risk and Group with economic risk had a higher word-of-mouth acceptance than other groups. The Group with a high-risk had more word-of-mouth transmission than other groups. 3) It was found that when word-of-mouth was accepted, the factual information about fashion products (size and material) was most referred to, and that the overall evaluation of satisfaction and dissatisfaction was most conveyed when word-of-mouth was conveyed. 4) Internet word-of-mouth acceptance was affected by product risk, economic risk, and transaction risk. Internet word-of-mouth transmission was affected by economic risk, and fashion/social psychological risk, product risk, and transaction risk.