Service innovations and electronic word-of-mouth: is it worth listening to?

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate what discussants in internet based discussion forums talk about. Investigates electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) as a potential source of information for service innovation. The aim is to derive four core categories of unique dialogues that provide valuable information to service innovation. Design/methodology/approach - Apart from Harrison-Walker's effort to develop a scale of measuring WOM, disclosing the inside of electronic word-of-mouth has never been done before. For this reason a qualitative approach using Netnography was adopted. The paper analyzes the content of all postings taking place during 100 days in five defined discussion forums on the internet. Findings - The results indicate that conversations taking place in electronic discussion forums can be divided into four core categories, i.e. information request, usage experience, business practice issues, and comments pertaining to new product launches. Research limitations/implications - The study focused on building a typology of conversations taking place in discussion forums on the internet. As such, these findings may not be generalized to the offline environment. Practical implications - Disclosing details of electronic word-of-mouth through four core categories has a number of implications. Perhaps more importantly, an understanding of WOM communication allows managers to develop new, and to improve current, services that better meet customers' current and future needs. Originality/value - Disclosing details of electronic word-of-mouth and linking it to service innovation has never done before. As such this is a truly unique study.