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Marketing decisions, customer reviews, and business performance: The use of the Toprural website by Spanish rural lodging establishments

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  • Nieto, Jannine
  • Hernández-Maestro, Rosa M.
  • Muñoz-Gallego, Pablo A.

Abstract

Modern travelers often rely on reviews provided by other consumers online, or electronic word of mouth (eWOM), to choose their accommodations. This study considers the effects of marketing decisions by rural lodging establishment owners (i.e., price and advertising expenditures) on eWOM (i.e., ratings and number of reviews), as well as the effects of eWOM on business performance. The results rely on marketing data and customer reviews obtained from a leading rural tourism infomediary website, related to 202 Spanish rural lodging establishments. A complementary survey also provided information about the lodging establishments' performance. The study thus reveals that price and advertising expenditures affect eWOM; in turn, eWOM affects business performance. Moreover, owners' experience with the infomediary slightly moderates the link between eWOM and performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Nieto, Jannine & Hernández-Maestro, Rosa M. & Muñoz-Gallego, Pablo A., 2014. "Marketing decisions, customer reviews, and business performance: The use of the Toprural website by Spanish rural lodging establishments," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 115-123.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:115-123
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.009
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    3. Wenlong Liu & Rongrong Ji, 2018. "Examining the Role of Online Reviews in Chinese Online Group Buying Context: The Moderating Effect of Promotional Marketing," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Chung-Yi Lin & Shu-Yi Liaw & Chao-Chun Chen & Mao-Yuan Pai & Yuh-Min Chen, 2017. "A computer-based approach for analyzing consumer demands in electronic word-of-mouth," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(3), pages 225-242, August.
    5. Dolega, Les & Rowe, Francisco & Branagan, Emma, 2021. "Going digital? The impact of social media marketing on retail website traffic, orders and sales," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Casidy, Riza & Wymer, Walter, 2016. "A risk worth taking: Perceived risk as moderator of satisfaction, loyalty, and willingness-to-pay premium price," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 189-197.
    7. Socrat Ghadban & Maya Shames & Jad Abou Arrage & Amal Abou Fayyad, 2017. "Rural tourism in Lebanon: what does the market reveal?," CEPN Working Papers 2017-19, Centre d'Economie de l'Université de Paris Nord.
    8. Sergio M. Fernández-Miguélez & Miguel Díaz-Puche & Juan A. Campos-Soria & Federico Galán-Valdivieso, 2020. "The Impact of Social Media on Restaurant Corporations’ Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-14, February.
    9. Phillips, Paul & Zigan, Krystin & Santos Silva, Maria Manuela & Schegg, Roland, 2015. "The interactive effects of online reviews on the determinants of Swiss hotel performance: A neural network analysis," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 130-141.
    10. Pulina, Manuela & Santoni , Valentina, 2018. "Hotel online pricing policy: A review and a regional case study," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 42, pages 93-111.
    11. Milagros Fernández-Herrero & Rosa María Hernández-Maestro & Óscar González-Benito, 2022. "Antecedents of tourist trip planning autonomy: The moderating effects of a global economic crisis," Tourism Economics, , vol. 28(5), pages 1153-1173, August.
    12. Boccali, Filippo & Mariani, Marcello M. & Visani, Franco & Mora-Cruz, Alexandra, 2022. "Innovative value-based price assessment in data-rich environments: Leveraging online review analytics through Data Envelopment Analysis to empower managers and entrepreneurs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

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