To respond or not to respond? The reviewer- and review content-related influencers on managerial response decision towards customer reviews

Over the last decade, managerial response has gained increasing attention in the hospitality industry as an important strategy to manage online reviews and hotel-to-consumer communication. To help hotels navigate this terrain, this study investigates the influencers related to reviewers and review content that affect a company’s managerial decision on whether to respond or not respond to a specific review. The results indicate that companies are more likely to respond to experienced reviewers’ negative reviews (i.e., 1-star, 2-star, and 3-star reviews) than to their positive reviews (i.e., 4-star and 5-star reviews). They are also more likely to respond to negative (positive) reviews associated with fixed (changeable) product attributes. Additionally, companies are more likely to respond to negative and positive reviews covering more topics in the review’s content than to the reviews covering fewer topics. This study makes important theoretical and practical contributions to the research on the management of online reviews.