The moderating effect of agglomeration on horizontal differentiation and online reviews: the case of Paris hotels

Purpose - Hotels are immersed in a very competitive environment and hoteliers have to plan and redesign their strategies to stay in the hospitality industry while faced with a steady rise in competition. Hoteliers can employ horizontal differentiation strategies and pricing decisions to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. The goal of our work is to analyse the effect of pricing and horizontal differentiation strategy of a hotel on its online reputation and to analyse if the hotel location and agglomeration of competitors moderates their relationship with online reputation. Design/methodology/approach - With a sample of 264 hotels from Paris, an empirical study is developed that aims to analyse, using regression techniques, the impact of price, differentiation, location and competitive environment on online ratings given by consumers in the hospitality context. Findings - The paper provides empirical evidence of how a good location improves the online reputation of a company and how pricing strategies should take into account the location and number of competitors since a good location allows premium prices to be valued positively by consumers while an inappropriate location can produce the opposite effect. Depending on location, the number of competitors can intensify or reduce the effect of price on online reputation. Finally, online reputation only benefits from horizontal differentiation strategies when the degree of agglomeration is low. Originality/value - This work provides insights about how hotels can strengthen their online reputation through pricing and differentiation strategies, incorporating elements of their environment such as location and competition in this decision-making process. 研究目的 - 酒店處於一個競爭非常激烈的經營環境中，營運者要面對競爭日益加劇的挑戰，在這情況下，他們必須計劃並重新設計其策略，以在酒店服務業中仍能繼續其業務。營運者可採用水平分化策略和定價決策，以取得比同業更大的競爭優勢。本研究旨在分析，若酒店採用價格及水平差異之策略，這對它們的網上聲譽會起什麽效應；研究亦探討酒店所處的位置及競爭者的凝聚會否減弱其與網上聲譽的關係。 研究設計/方法/理念 - 研究樣本為來自巴黎264間酒店。研究人員採用實驗研究法，透過迴歸分析法，去分析在酒店服務的背景下，價格、差異化、地點和競爭環境如何影響消費者所給予的網上評分。 研究結果 - 本文提供了經驗性證據，證明良好的地點會改善公司的網絡聲譽； 同時，亦證明釐定價格策略時，經營者應考慮競爭者的位置和數目，這是因為良好的地點會讓消費者正面評價溢價，而不合適的地點則會導致相反的效應。根據所在的地點，消費者的數目能增強或減弱價格對網絡聲譽的影響。最後，本文也證明了網絡聲譽只會在凝聚程度低的情況下才會受惠於水平分化策略。 研究的原創性/價值 - 本研究提供啟示，使我們更明瞭酒店如何能透過價格及差異化策略，同時亦透過把它們的環境元素如地點和競爭等納入決策程序中，來強化網絡聲譽。