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L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Do Websites Such as TripAdvisor Affect Consumer Behaviour with the use of Word-‐of-‐Mouth? By Rodrigue Eid
08 Fall
ii
Authors Deceleration
I certify that all quotes and passages from other peoples work that have been
used for the purpose of this dissertation have all been acknowledged by
referencing both the author and their work. I also certify that I am the sole
author of this dissertation and that it does not infringe or violate any copyright
laws. I understand that plagiarism will be considered as failure towards the
dissertation module and also this degree as a whole.
Rodrigue Eid
iii
Dedication & Acknowledgments
I would like to dedicate this page to say thank you to all the people who have
helped me in overcoming the stress and anxiety that I went through to complete
this dissertation. My biggest gratitude goes to my grandfather, not only for
encouraging me to go to university but also for believing in me and always being
so proud of me for whatever I have done.
I would also like to express my appreciation to my supervisor Anita Peleg, as
without your guidance and perseverance I would not have been able to complete
this by myself. I would like to thank her for all the advice, recommendation and
amounts of times she told me to redo certain sections till we were satisfied with
the work produced.
Thank you to all my family and friends who also believed in me and supported
me during the production of this mammoth research project, as without their
constant words of encouragement and their help I would not of been able to
complete this project. I would like to also thank my mother who had to sit
through endless hours of me talking at her about my dissertation. I would also
like to express my thankfulness to my best friend Johanna El-‐Tohami who has
also helped me greatly in executing this dissertation by checking my grammar
and spelling.
This dissertation has Definitely proven to be challenging; however it has
definitely been a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you again to everyone who
has helped in making this project come to life, and I hope that this piece of
research will help people in the future with similar activities they carry out.
“There isn’t a person anywhere who is not capable of doing more than he thinks
he can. “ Tom Ford
iv
Abstract Purpose: This study has been carried out to answer the question as to whether
consumer behaviour is affected my word of mouth when it comes to websites
such as TripAdvisor.
Methodology/Literature review: These sections of the study provide an
extensive read surrounding the different methods of research used to obtain
information that is needed to execute the report. Looking at published literature,
data, and information from academics, government and others surrounding the
topic of consumer behaviour, word of mouth and their importance.
Findings: This section of the study is where all information is drawn together.
The major findings made in this section derived from my sample population
taking part in posting reviews and partaking in word of mouth. The majority of
the sample surveyed stated that they did post positive comments online however
were they honest about the information they shared. Another discovery made
had to do with the relation of good and bad comments. It was apparent that
people from the sample were more likely to talk about bad word of mouth than
good word of mouth. This finding can also be related to some of the literature
that was found from people such as Blythe (2008) and Evans et al (2006) and
Blackwell et al (2006). The general recommendation that highlighted in the
findings was a method in which the accuracy of reviews can be checked before
they went live on the website.
Recommendation and Conclusion: In this section of the report, everything in this
study is brought together, after all the analysis that was made and the findings.
Recommendations were also made in order to help answer the objectives that
were set out in chapter 1 in order to help websites such as TripAdvisor and
others keep their customer happy. The conclusion and recommendations were
reached in several ways, firstly through the secondary findings from the
literature review and secondly through the primary findings made by the survey.
v
Format of Study
Chapter 1: Introduction This is where the background of the study will be outlined and any details about
the research problem will be defined. This section will also include the reasons
why this study is important to carry out and also the objectives that it is aiming
to answer.
Chapter 2: Methodology This section of the report will look at the various methods in which research can
be carried out in order to help make this research more effective. An exploration
of both primary and secondary research methods will be looked at and decided
upon for the purpose of this study. In addition to this, both quantitative methods
and qualitative methods will be explored to aid this research. This section will
also look at the risk of bias data and limitations to obtaining data.
Chapter 3: Literature Review This section will look at various theories and previous texts that have been
published surrounding some of the main topics that will affect my study. In order
to better understand what this research and to ensure that the right path is taken
it was necessary to look at various texts that explained what consumer
behaviour is, or what word of mouth is, how these variable can be affected by
consumers and so on. It is for this reason that this section is necessary, as
without it there would be no background or understanding about the various
topics that this study is aiming to answer.
Chapter 4: Research Findings In this section of the study all data collated from the survey would be analysed
and put into tables and pie charts in order to help the reader get a better view of
the findings. This section is all about getting the relevant information that is
required that will help in finding answers to the objectives that have been set out
In chapter 1. This section is also important as it helps in seeing if what the
vi
previous published texts actually reflect the findings, or if times have changed
and new findings and theories may need to be drawn by a more vast extensive
research.
Chapter 5: Recommendation and Conclusion This section of the report is all about what conclusions and recommendations
can be drawn from the findings in the study that will help both answer the
objectives set out in chapter 1 but also hopefully help organisations in seeing
what this sample population had to say about they way things are currently
operating.
References and Bibliography This will contain a list of books, papers, and websites that were used and
referred to for the purpose of this research.
Appendices This will contain any extra information that was also referred to within the body
of the study that was either too large or not important to include. However, these
have been included in this section to be referred to if needed.
vii
Contents
Page Chapter 1 -‐ Introduction 1 1. Background 2-‐3 1.2. Research Problem 3-‐4 1.2.1. Research Objectives 4 1.3. Importance of Study 4-‐5 Chapter 2 – Methodology 6 2. Introduction 7 2.1. Secondary Research 7 2.2. Primary Research 7-‐9 2.3. The Quantitative Approach 9 2.4. Justification of Survey Selection 9-‐10 2.4.1. Why Other Methods Were not Chosen 10-‐11 2.4.2. Survey Design 11-‐12 2.4.3. Pre-‐test Survey 13 2.5. Sampling 13-‐14 2.5.1. Response Rate 14 2.6. Collection Method 14 2.7. Sampling Error 14-‐15 Chapter 3 – Literature Review 16 3. Consumer Behaviour 17 3.1.1. Consumer Decision Process Model 17-‐18 3.2. Search for Information 18-‐19 3.3. Post Consumption Evaluation 20 3.3.3. Importance of Customer Satisfaction 20-‐21 3.4. Word of Mouth 21-‐22 3.4.1. Good vs. Bad 23 3.4.1.1. The Minus Levels 23 3.4.1.2. The Plus Levels 24 3.4.1.3. Level Zero 25 3.5. Cognitive Dissonance 25-‐26 3.6. Summary 26-‐27 Chapter 4 – Research Findings 28 4. Introduction 29 4.1. Microsoft Excel 29 4.2. Response Rate 29 4.3. The Respondents 29-‐30 4.4. Before Purchasing a Holiday 30
viii
4.5. Recent Holidays 31-‐32 4.6. TripAdvisor 32-‐33 4.7. Existing Reviews 33-‐36 4.8. Word of Mouth 36-‐39 4.9. Recommendations from Respondents 39 Chapter 5 – Recommendations and Conclusion 40 5. Introduction 41 5.1. Conclusion 41-‐43 5.2. Recommendations 44 5.3. Areas for Possible Research 44-‐45 Appendix 46-‐74 Bibliography 75-‐76
L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Introduction Chapter 1 Background 2; Research Problem 3; Research Objectives 4; Importance of Study 4
Chapter 1
08 Fall
INTRODUCTION 1
2
1. Background The Tourism industry has seen a surge in the amount of online user-‐generated content with regards to word of mouth reviews. TripAdvisor,
which is owned and operated by Expedia Inc., has led this revolution. With
technology improving on a day-‐to-‐day basis, the Internet has now become a
central hub for communicating through social networking sites, travel sites,
and blogs enabling customers to talk freely about their experiences of
holidays they have been on. Smith and Taylor (2002), describe word of
mouth as the most potent and robust tool in advertising. Highlighting that
many of the textbooks share the opinion, Smith and Taylor (2002), state that
no matter how good a marketing campaign may be, or how much of an expert
seller a person may be, they alone cannot compete with the power of a
recommendation made by a colleague or friend.
In the fourth quarter of 2011 TripAdvisor published an increase its revenue
by 30% to $137.8 million, making its full years revenue $637.1 million1. This
was a 31% increase from 20102. TripAdvisor has approximately 20 million
users in around 26 countries including China3. With access to over 40 million
reviews and opinions, TripAdvisor services are available free of charge to its
users, allowing them to post comments and compare holidays free of charge4,
and also share them with other users through social networking sites, such as
Facebook or Twitter. TripAdvisor makes it revenue through the use of click-‐
based advertising, display based advertising and also subscriptions. This is
where service providers use trip advisor as a distribution channel for their
service or product for publicity5.
With over 53% of holidays being booked online in 2010, according to a
survey done by Target Group Index, more people are now taking the time to
1 TripAdvisor reports fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results 2 TripAdvisor reports fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results 3 TripAdvisor reports fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results 4 TripAdvisor reports fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results 5 TripAdvisor reports fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results
INTRODUCTION 1
3
post reviews online about their experiences. According to a Mintel report in
July 2011, around 24% of the population sampled posted positive reviews
about their holiday, where as 12% posted negative reviews. In addition to
this Mintel6, also brought to light that 6% of those people sampled, also made
positive reviews whilst on holiday whilst 4% posted negative reviews.
However, recent events regarding the accuracy of these word of mouth
reviews have been put under the spotlight. In 2010, legal action was taken
against TripAdvisor after it had published ‘Dirtiest hotel’ list, where the
British Hotel Association wanted to enforce legislation making it illegal to
post unverified posts7. According to Mintel8, a website launched under the
name TripAdvisor-‐warning.com posted 200 fake reviews in the months
leading to the 2nd of June 2011 in order to help expose the infectiveness with
regards to accuracy on TripAdvisor.
Is TripAdvisor now finding its purpose being doubted and challenged with
regards to the accuracy of its reviews? More than 48% of the sample people
questioned, by Target Group Index, found that they read travel reviews
generated by other travellers. However are any of these reviews to be
trusted? Around 28% of the sample question by Target Group Index, agreed
that they trust Internet reviews and blogs written by other people they do
not know, where as 53% of the sample neither agreed nor disagreed9.
1.2. Research Problem
With broadband penetrating more than 70% of households10, the Internet
has expanded rapidly over the past ten years; this in turn has affected the
way word of mouth is communicated. It is also evident that from the
background (section 1) that the trend in consumer behaviour is shifting
from the regular “purchase from the high street shop” attitude and
6 July 2011 7 Mintel, July 2011 8 July 2011 9 July 2011 10 Mintel September 2011
INTRODUCTION 1
4
instead making most of their purchases online. This trend is what makes
website like TripAdvisor successful. However is TripAdvisor a victim of
its own success? Exposure to the Internet has increased rapidly in the
past couple of years with it having the ability to be accessed from a
number of platforms. In addition to home broadband penetrating the
70% barrier, people now have access to the Internet through their
Smartphones, TV sets and even hand held game devices11.
By focusing on the tourism industry, and in particular TripAdvisor, the
problem that this research is trying to tackle to what extent do people
believe and trust these reviews, how accurate these reviews are
especially when it comes to reviews that have been generated by other
users.
1.2.1. Research Objectives Objective 1 – How does word of mouth affect consumer purchase
behaviour when it comes to websites such as TripAdvisor or similar
websites?
Objective 2 -‐ What intentions do consumers have when it comes to using
websites such as TripAdvisor?
Objective 3 – How is consumer-‐purchasing behaviour affected by good
and bad reviews on websites such as TripAdvisor?
Objective 4 – What recommendations can make websites such as
TripAdvisor make their reviews more accurate?
1.3. Importance of Study The importance of this study is to help get a better understanding on how
word of mouth can affect consumer behaviour in the market. The study is
11 Mintel, September 2011
INTRODUCTION 1
5
will help TripAdvisor gaining a better insight into consumer’s perceptions
of their service. This study will provide a better understanding on
consumer satisfaction as it is this element that shapes word of mouth and
a companies reputation.
This study hopes to give companies a foundation surrounding the effects
that negative word of mouth directed towards a company through the
findings and recommendations the study is seeking to make.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 6
L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Research Methodology Chapter 2 Introduction 7; Secondary Research 7; Primary Research 7; The Quantitative Approach 9; Justification of Questionnaire Selection 9; Why Other Methods Were Not Chosen 10; Questionnaire Design 11; Pre-‐test of Questionnaires 13; Sampling 13; Response Rate 14; Collection Method 14; Sampling Error 14.
Chapter 2
08 Fall
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
7
2. Introduction In this section of the report, different research methods will be explored to determine which will be effective to gather the relevant information that will
help make recommendations. Data collected for this study needs to be
relevant, accurate and reliable. Both primary and secondary research will be
utilised to collate the information required. Quantitative and qualitative
methods will be explored in order to determine which method/ methods will
be best suited to collate primary data.
2.1. Secondary Research Lewis et al (2009) states that secondary research can be both raw data
and published summaries. Secondary data is found from many areas, such
as the Internet, government reports, published journals or newspapers.
Secondary research is fundamental as it provides a useful source where
answers or partial answers can be found for the study being carried out.
The advantages for using secondary research are, firstly resources are not
wasted, as it is very time effective and cost effective, making data very
easy and quick to find. This is particularly helpful when a report has to be
conducted in such a short space of time. It also provides the study with a
lot of comparative and contextual information that will help reinforce the
report.
However secondary research may not be relevant to the study, either
being unsuitable or out of date, also depending on the subject some of the
information may be hard to access.
2.2. Primary Research Primary research involves a process where raw data is extracted through
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
8
activities such as surveys, investigations, and even interviews12. Raw data
tends to be data that does not previously exist. Some of the examples of
primary research include:
• Observations – This is where observations are made that are
concerned with what consumers do, it is done through
observing behaviour recording descriptions, analysing and
interpreting consumer behaviour13. This would be suitable
for this study as it involves looking at the way consumers
behave online with regards to the content generated on
websites such as TripAdvisor
• In-‐depth, group and semi-‐structured interviews – This is
where a discussion is held by two or more people to help
gather information about the study14. Information obtained
is generally in depth and reliable. However, this will not be
suitable for this research due to time constraints and access
to people.
• Surveys – This is where a survey is drawn up for the
purpose of the study and a sample is picked in order to try
and get the best answers that represent the population15.
This will be useful for this study because a lot of
information can be obtained through a survey. It is also
very cost effective and cheap to carry out.
For the purpose of this study a survey will be conducted in order to help
answer objectives set out in section 1.2.1. This method was chosen above
others because a survey was seen as the best way to collect data quickly
in a standardised way making the findings more objective than other
forms of research such as interviews. However this could also be a
disadvantage that data is standardised, as it is not possible to explain any 12 Lewis et al, 2009 13 Lewis et al, 2009 14 Lewis et al, 2009 15 Lewis et al, 2009
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
9
points that participants might be misinterpreted. A survey will help in
answering the objectives set out in section 1.2.1. As the questions which
will be included in the survey will be asked in relation to the objectives
and worded in the best way to answer the objectives.
2.3. The Quantitative Approach The quantitative approach would best fit this report and the survey as
most questions due to the survey being carried out. Most information
collated will be from close-‐ended questions. However, some data will also
be collated with the use of open-‐ended questions.
For the purpose of this survey a mixture of both close ended and open-‐
ended questions will be used as part of the survey. There are two types of
data that can be collected.
• Quantitative data is drawn from close-‐ended questions, normally
numerical, one-‐word answers or statements. This will be
beneficial, as it will help this study in finding accurate and relevant
information that can be quantified.
• Qualitative data is drawn from open ended questions, normally
where the respondent is asked to write a couple of lines to express
their opinion about a statement or question. The benefits for using
this method in a survey will help reinforce findings by providing
the study with some statements and opinions made by the sample.
By incorporating both quantitative and qualitative questions into the survey
will ensure a non-‐biased approach is being taken, as people will be allowed to
voice their opinions with the use of open-‐ended questions.
2.4. Justification of Survey Selection There are various reasons why a survey was selected as the method to
collate and obtain data:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
10
1. Quickest – Due to time constraints this was deemed the most
effective and quickest way to obtain the information required to
complete this study.
2. Resources – As this study is not funded, a survey was seen as a
good method because it will not cost a fortune in order to carry out
the research.
3. Sample size – A survey was also deemed the best way to collate
data from the sample of 150 people as any other methods would
have been very time consuming and also may have been an
overload of information.
2.4.1. Why Other Methods Were Not Chosen There are several reasons why other methods were disregarded from this
study. The primary reason was because interviews were not designed to
cope with a large number of respondents, as this would have been very
time consuming. Furthermore, the information collected would not be
standardised and therefore it would have taken a great deal of time to
analyse the information. Other reasons taken into consideration had to do
with the interviewer and how they would affect the consistency of the
interview and also if they were to make it biased in the form they asked
the questions.
Observations were not considered effective for this study because it
requires a long time to implement and apprehend data. In addition to this
if the consumer had awareness of that their actions are being observed
this may have an effect on findings being accurate, as the consumer may
acted or responded in an infrequent way.
In addition to these reasons, the study also felt that these methods were
not as appropriate to use, as they would not be the most effective way to
collate data to help answer the objectives set out in 1.2.1. The risk in using
these methods may have meant that data collated would not be as vast
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
11
and strong to support any recommendations that will be made in the end
of this study.
2.4.2. Survey Design In order to find out the relevant information that is needed, it is necessary
for a survey to be implemented. This should help in finding out consumer
attitudes towards websites such as TripAdvisor, their thoughts
surrounding such websites, what their intentions are when it comes to
using those sites, and also what recommendations they can suggest to
improve such sites.
To help construct this survey, Bourque and Clarke (1994) have
highlighted three approaches that can be employed to design the survey:
1. Adopt questions
2. Adapt questions
3. Develop questions
Furthermore, the design of the questions themselves play a vital role, as
there are several types of questions that can be used:
1. Closed questions – DeVaus (2002) define closed questions as
force-‐choice questions providing the respondents a number of
alternative answers from which they can choose.
2. Open questions – these types of questions are where
respondents are given the opportunity to answer questions in
their own way (Fink, 2003).
3. List questions – This is where the respondent is provided with a
list of options from which they can choose more than one
answer (Lewis et al, 2009).
4. Category questions – Lewis et al (2009) states that category
questions are designed so that each respondent can be grouped
into one category.
5. Rating questions – these questions are used to collect opinion
data (Lewis et al, 2009) by asking the respondents whether
they agree or disagree with a statement.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
12
There are other elements that need to be considered when designing a
survey; two factors are the order and flow of questions and the layout.
These factors need to be considered because it is vital that the survey is
user friendly, engaging and short in length.
The structure of this survey was pretty simple. The main considerations
that were implemented into it were to make it short, quick and easy but at
the same time effective to extract as much information as possible. There
were also some other considerations that were considered such as not
asking too much personal information surrounding the respondent. The
first section of the survey was simply to know what the respondents age
group they fit and what gender they were.
Questions three to five revolved around getting a better understanding
about the respondents travel purchase behaviour. This was necessary, as
it would help get a better understanding about the various websites the
respondent uses to purchase or plan to purchase a holiday.
The final part of the survey was designed to consider the respondents
attitude towards reviews, their opinions surrounding such activities and
also to see if they took part in such activities themselves. Question six and
seven also helped to get a better understanding of these reviews would
affect any future purchases to be made by the consumer.
Question eight in the survey asked to consideration what consumers
thought that websites, such as TripAdvisor, needed to change or improve
in their service. This question was necessary because it will help the study
in reaching recommendations that consumers will actually respond to,
after all this is a service which caters to them.
A copy of the questionnaire used for this study can be found under
appendix A.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
13
2.4.3. Pre-‐test of Surveys In order to ensure that the survey was fit for purpose, and complied with
the design methods outlined in sections 2.4.1.1. pre-‐test surveys were
distributed to five individuals to complete. This helped determine the
effectiveness of the survey and whether any changes need to be made to
the survey before it went live. Pre-‐tests also help to get a general idea of
what findings of the sample is going to be like. This also helps in seeing
what the respondents also thought about the layout of the survey and
whether there needs to be any improvements made to its layout to make
it more user friendly. Changes made to the survey can be found in
appendix E.
2.5. Sampling Collecting responses from an entire population can be very difficult. A
sample population provides an alternative to obtain findings from a
representative number of people. There are several advantages
highlighted by Lewis et al, (2009) to using sample population:
1. More practical and feasible
2. Budget constraint
3. Time constraints
Lewis et al, (2009) states that there are two types of sampling techniques:
1. Probability sampling – Mostly used for survey-‐based research
where inferences are made from the sample about a population
to answer questions to meet the objectives.
2. Non-‐probability sampling – This provides an alternative
technique to select samples based on subjective judgements. It
is mainly used in cases of pilot surveys.
As this a survey based activity, probability sampling was seen to best fit
the technique that should be used for the purpose of collating data. The
sample size of this survey will consist of 150 respondents. Statistical
probability may be difficult to implement in this study due to the number
of respondents not being large enough. The sample will include both
female and male respondents from various age groups. The main target
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
14
group is 25-‐55. The respondents must also be users of TripAdvisor or
similar websites.
2.5.1. Response Rate The main disadvantage of using a survey is the number of low response
rates that they receive. This study aims to obtain at least a 40% response
rate. In order to encourage a higher response rate, £20 Love2Shop
vouchers will be awarded to three of the respondents, at random, for
taking part in the questionnaire.
2.6. Collection Method Where: Oxford Street, Bond Street, and Tottenham Court Road
Dates: January 9th, 2012 until January 13th, 2012
Time: 30 surveys will be filled out on each day of the week from the
hours of 9 am to 5 pm. 15 of the surveys need to be from TripAdvisor
consumers and the remainder from consumers that use websites similar
to TripAdvisor
Justification: Due to the amount of people who commute around these
locations they were seen best fit to carry out this research. Also there is a
mixed diversity of people that will be exposed to this survey and
therefore make the collection of data more simple and less time
consuming.
2.7. Sampling Error This report acknowledges the room for sampling error is a high risk. This
in itself has a drawback for not being representative of the population.
Had more time been allocated to obtaining data the study would have
sought after a much larger sample size and extended to getting responses
online, and from other areas of the United Kingdom and not just the
capital.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2
15
This study accepts that the results obtained may not be entirely valid,
consistent and reliable as they may be deemed as biased, as other
respondents from the Internet or other areas of the United Kingdom may
have different perceptions of TripAdvisor and similar websites.
16 LITERATURE REVIEW
L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Literature Review Chapter 3 Consumer Behaviour 17; Consumer Decision Process Model 17; Search for Information 18; Post-‐Consumption Evaluation 20; Importance of Customer Satisfaction 20; Word-‐Of-‐Mouth 21; Good vs. Bad Reviews 23; The Minus Levels 23; The Plus Levels 24; Level Zero 25; Cognitive Dissonance 25; Summary 26;
Chapter 3
08 Fall
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
17
3. Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour derives from activities consumers undertake when they obtain, consume and dispose a product or service16. From the definition
Blackwell et al (2006) highlights the three activities that form the consumer
behaviour process:
1. Obtaining – Blackwell et al (2006) defines this as the activities that
lead up to the purchase of a product or service, and also the actual
purchase of the product.
2. Consuming – This activity revolves around how, where, when and
under what circumstances the product or service obtained was
consumed17.
3. Disposing – This action is where the product or service is consumed
and the consumer wishes to dispose of the product or service18.
3.1.1. Consumer Decision Process Model Deriving from The John Dewey model (Dewey, 1910) Blackwell et al
(2006) describes the decisions making process as a road map of
consumers minds that marketers can use to help them guide the product
mix. The purpose of this model (figure 1) is to capture the activities that
occur when decisions are made, showing how internal and external
forces affect the way consumers think, evaluate, and act.
From this model it is evident that consumers go through seven different
stages. The stages that will be explored further for the purpose of this
study are the need to search for information and also post consumption
evaluation. In order to better understand why consumers use
TripAdvisor and similar websites it is important to explore why there is a
need to search for information before making purchases and also why
people take part in post consumption evaluations.
16 Blackwell et al, (2006) 17 Blackwell et al, (2006) 18 Blackwell et al, (2006)
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
18
Figure 1: Decision Making Process
Adapted from Blythe, 2008
3.2. Search for Information This activity takes place before making a purchase, and where websites
such as TripAdvisor play a huge role in making purchases. Both Blythe
(2008) and Blackwell et al (2006) agree that this activity draws
information from internal and external sources (figure 2). Internal
sources tend to derive from the consumers memory, having purchased
that item previously or from previous experience. However if this is not
the case, then internal sources may not be sufficient, which then makes
way for secondary sources.
Blythe (2008) and Blackwell et al (2006) agree that information sought
by consumers can either be marketer-‐dominated or non-‐marketer
dominated:
1. Marketer domination – Blythe (2008) describes this as
information that is shared via advertising, brochures, websites,
sales people and so forth.
2. Non-‐marketer domination – This is information is shared via
friends, family, opinion leader and so forth (Blythe, 2008). This
Need Recognition
Search for information
Pre-‐Purchase, evalation of alternatives
Purchase Post-‐
Purchase evaluation
Divestment
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
19
type of information is shared through word of mouth and word
of mouse methods.
Pre-‐purchase activities such as internal and external research are
important for consumers as people often discuss their experiences when
purchasing, using and disposing a product. These discussions are vital to
TripAdvisor and similar websites as they are the spine of the
organisation.
Blythe (2008) and Blackwell et al (2006) state that non-‐marketer
dominated information is more powerful that market dominated
communications as word of mouth interactions it involves discussion
between a number of parties, allowing a two way communication. There
is also a belief that sources such as family and friends are more trusted
because they have a non-‐profit motive.
Figure 2: Information Searching
Adapted from Blythe, 2008
Information gaps
reduced but not
eliminated
Internal search
Marketer generated
Non-‐marketer generated
External search
Information gap / new purchase problem
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
20
3.3. Post-‐Consumption Evaluation As seen from the Consumer Decision Process Model (figure 1) a
fundamental part of our purchasing process involves the need to search
for information about products and services. This information has to
originate from somewhere, thus making way for post-‐consumption
evaluation. This step of the model takes place after the consumer has
purchased and consumed the product or service. Blackwell et al (2006)
states that depending on consumption experience the consumer will
either change their attitude towards the object or reinforce it.
These attitudes, as discussed by Blythe (2008) and Blackwell et al (2006)
tend to revolve around the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the product or
service that the consumer has experienced. Therefore, there is a great
importance that organisations pay great attention to ensuring the
consumers are always satisfied. If organisations fail to comply with this
then the damage can be severe for the organisations image.
3.3.1. Importance of Customer Satisfaction There is now a great importance for companies to be concerned about
customer satisfaction. Why this great importance? The most obvious
reason as highlighted by Blackwell et al (2006) is the need for repeat
business. However there are also other important points that Blythe
(2008), Blackwell et al (2006) and Evans et al (2006) need to be
considered:
1. Influence – Not only is the individual’s satisfaction and repeat
business important but also it is the individual’s influence over
other people purchasing habits. In other words if a consumer
has a bad experience not only is he unlikely to go purchase or
use that organisations service again but he will also deter other
people within his friends, family and peers circle from
purchasing from that organisation as well. This in turn can be
very costly for an organisation, as Blackwell (2006) states that
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
21
it costs an organisation twenty times more to attract new
customers than to retain loyal customers.
2. Satisfaction shapes Word-‐of-‐Mouth and Word-‐of-‐Mouse – This is
by far the most important factor as not only does satisfaction
shape future purchase but also the way it controls the way
people communicate about the product and service. As stated
in the first point a consumer with a bad experience will be
more likely to discourage friends, family and peers from
purchasing from an organisation if they have a bad experience.
Blackwell et al (2006) also highlights that consumers are more
likely to discuss bad experiences and go to great lengths to do
so than sharing positive experiences.
3. Complaints and lawsuits – In addition to deterring customers
and stirring bad word of mouth, satisfaction can also lead an
organisation to be faced with unwanted complaints and
lawsuits. Not only is this damaging to an organisation but also
it brings some unwanted attention to the company causing
even more negative word of mouth. However this time it would
be more public and more people will hear and talk about it.
3.4. Word-‐of-‐Mouth Blythe (2008), Fill (2011), and Silverman (2001) all agree that word of
mouth is the most powerful force in the marketplace. To reinforce this
statement, Silverman (2001) includes a quote from Dr. Paddi Lund where
he says:
“Even those deaf to the bragging cries of the marketplace will listen to a
friend”
Silverman (2001) defines word of mouth as the communication about
products and services between independent consumers who have
nothing to do with the organisation. This communication also takes place
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
22
in a medium that is independent from the organisations, either as one-‐
way testimonials or conversations.
The development of the Internet, as discussed in section 1 of this study,
has meant that word of mouse communication is now being used as a
platform for consumers to communicate about their experiences. Fill
(2011) has also highlighted that this will be the future of word of mouth.
Mintel (2011) has also state that more people are now finding themselves
within easy access to the Internet.
Both Blythe (2008) and Silverman (2001) state that word of mouth is a
powerful persuader, as it is not canned like most company’s
communications. They both also believe that it is the most honest
medium as it is customer driven and there is no beneficial gain when
communicating their experiences. The greatest advantage to using word
of mouth is that it feeds on itself. This opinion is also shared with Blythe
(2008), Fill (2011) and Silverman (2001). For example if ten consumers
had ten experiences, in total they would have had a hundred experiences
and so on. This is very effective as it helps create a dissonance effect
because “everybody is talking about it”, which in turn helps provide
additional confirmation to a consumer looking to purchase a product.
It is also worth mentioning that Blythe (2008), Fill (2011) and Silverman
(2001) all highlight that word of mouth can also be either good or bad.
They state that bad reviews travel faster than good reviews. People are
also more likely to talk about their bad experiences more so than their
good experiences. A finding from the Coca Cola Company in 198119 found
that 12% of people told 20 or more people about the companies response
to their complaints, where are those who were satisfied only told a
median of four to five others about their experiences.
19 Blythe, 2008
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
23
3.4.1. Good vs. Bad reviews By now this study has discovered that word of mouth is not the same as it
comes in different forms, either negative or positive. Silverman (2001)
expands this further by introducing the idea that word of mouth has got
nine different levels. These levels range from minus four (negative word of
mouth) to plus four (positive word of mouth).
3.4.1.1. The Minus Levels -‐4. Minus four – Described by Silverman (2001) as the level where
people are all complaining about a product or services. These
complaints are so severe that they are in fact a public scandal.
A recent example of this type of level was the Toyota scandal
where several of their cars had to be recalled due to faulty gas
pedals. This level is very hard to survive, and often the only
ways companies survive is because the company is so trusted
or favoured that nothing can taint their image.
-‐3. Minus three – Silverman (2001) states that although it is similar
to minus four, in this level people and ex-‐consumers go out of
their way to spread bad word of mouth about a product or
service, however the level of scandal is not as public as minus
four.
-‐2. Minus two – This level involves customers having rants about a
product or service mainly bad mouthing the brand (Silverman,
2011). This level still has a negative effect on sales making
them erode however not as fast as minus three and minus four,
as consumers are still not actively seeking to spread bad word
of mouth.
-‐1. Minus one – At this stage Silverman (2001) explains that people
are not complaining about a product or service. Unless they are
questioned about the product or service, only then will the talk
about their bad experience with the product. This level is also
not as damaging as the other minus levels as people still
purchase the product despite the negative word of mouth.
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
24
3.4.1.2. The Plus Levels 1. Plus one – Silverman (2001) states that this level is where
consumers only say nice things about a product or service
when asked. This level good for conventional marketing,
because if executed correctly it could increase the product from
a level one to a level 2.
2. Plus two – At this level people are raving about a product or
service and are actively seeking to inform people about how
wonderful a product or service was (Silverman, 2001). At this
level an organisation would damage it resources to invest in
conventional marketing. As discussed before nothing beats the
word of mouth recommendations from a friend, family or peer.
Therefore any money spent on conventional marketing at this
stage would be wasted.
3. Plus three – This level is similar to level two however Silverman
(2001) highlights that at this level people start going out of
their way to communicate their positive experience about a
product or service. Silverman (2001) also states that at this
level people will be talking about products and services at
places such as social gatherings, business gatherings and other
important events.
4. Plus four – This level is the optimum level that a product and
service would like to experience. Silverman (2001) highlights
that at this level a product or service is being continually talked
about that people are asking each other about and also getting
more than one good review about the product from various
people. There is also a great number of publicity surrounding
the product encouraging people to purchase the product or
service. Silverman (2001) also states that although this is
where every product aims to be, this is where most products
reach the destruction and demise, as it is pivotal that people
expectations are managed and that the product or service will
be expected to deliver more than expected from now on.
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
25
3.4.1.3. Level Zero At this level Silverman (2001) sates that people are buying your
product but there is either a bad or a good attitude towards the
product. However, anything bad affecting the image can cause it to
lapse into the negative levels causing its destruction. On the other
hand with the correct marketing it could also help push the
product into the first two plus levels of the scale making people
talk about the product more and increasing sales.
3.5. Cognitive Dissonance Blythe (2008) describes cognitive dissonance as the psychological tension
that two distinctive decisions or ideas can affect consumer behaviour. In
1950, Carl Festinger conducted an experiment to see what motivated
people to lie. In this experiment students were asked to do a boring task
and then later recruit their friends to do the same experiment. However,
they were paid sums of money to lie whilst recruiting telling people that
the activity was fun. Carl Festinger justified these actions by stating that
students could not justify their statements as they themselves believed
this lie as they got paid.
In order to reduce cognitive dissonance Blythe (2008) and Evans et al
(2006) have highlighted various ways that can be considered when it
comes to dissonance.
Figure 3: Model on Cognitive Reduction
Expected outcome
Post-‐purchase dissonance
Actual outcome
Ignore dissonant information and seek constant information
Distort the dissonant information
Minimize the importance of the issue
Change ones behaviour
Adapted from Blythe, 2008
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
26
1. Ignore dissonant information and seek constant information –
According to Blythe, (2008) this outcome is where a consumer has
made a purchase and then informs a friend or family member of
how bad the services or product is. However, the friend here
choses to ignore this new information and perform their own
research surrounding the product or service to confirm the
reputation of the supplier. This outcome can be linked to the
minus one level from the word of mouth levels theory by
Silverman (2001)
2. Distort dissonant information – Blythe (2008) states that this
outcome is somewhat similar to the first however, here the
consumer agrees with the information that is said about the
supplier’s bad reputation, and thinks that this bad reputation will
not have an effect on the products performance. This can be
related to TripAdvisor they are currently experiencing some
negativity towards their brand, however a large number of people
still use it.
3. Minimize the importance of the issue – This again is very similar to
the previous outcome, however at this stage the consumer agrees
that the supplier has a bad reputation, but believes that this has no
effect on the product itself that is manifested perfectly all right
(Blythe, 2008).
4. Change one’s behaviour – This outcome is where the consumer is
completely not satisfied with the product or service and goes back
for a refund and makes no further purchases of it in the future
(Blyhe, 2008).
3.6. Summary In summary it is fair to say that word of mouth is a very important aspect
for any organisation that wishes to strive in the economy. It is also
evident that customer satisfaction helps shape the way word of mouth is
communicated in terms of negative and positive reviews. Websites such
as TripAdvisor are directly affected by word of mouth, as any bad
LITERATURE REVIEW 3
27
repercussions can damage the image of the organisation. From chapter 1
section 1, it was evident that companies and consumers about the validity
of their reviews and their accuracy are attacking TripAdvisor.
By conducting this literature review this study has learned a lot about the
effects of bad reviews and customers satisfaction, which in turn has
helped in answer initial questions revolving objectives 1 and objectives 3,
which can be found in section 1.2.1. This literature review has made it
more clearly how consumer-‐purchasing behaviours are affected via good
and bad reviews through the nine levels defined by Silverman (2001). In
addition to this, the study has also discovered that consumers tend to
trust reviews and recommendation made by family, friends and other
peers over market-‐dominated methods as highlighted by Blythe (2008)
and Blackwell et al (2006).
RESEARCH FINDINGS 28
L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Research Findings Chapter 4 Introduction 29; Microsoft Excel 29; Response Rate 29; The Respondents 29; Before Purchasing a Holiday 30; Recent Holidays 31; TripAdvisor 33; Existing Reviews 33; Word of Mouth 36; Recommendations from Respondents 39
Chapter 4
08 Fall
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
29
4. Introduction
During this chapter of the study, an outline of the data software package used will be provided with a reason as to why it was chosen. This section will also
focus on findings from the survey carried out on the sample population
highlighted in chapter 2.
In addition to interpreting the data collated, this chapter will also focus on
evaluating these findings and integrating them with the secondary research
carried out in chapter 3 in order to help give an in depth analysis from which
recommendations and a conclusion can be drawn.
4.1. Microsoft Excel In order to illustrate the findings from the survey in a presentable way that
looked both professional and easy to read the software package Microsoft Excel
was utilised (Appendix B). Excel was chosen over other software’s as it is a very
straightforward to use, presenting data in a professional and easy to read
manner.
4.2. Response Rate As set out in chapter 2, the response that this study was seeking was 40%,
however with 130 respondents, the response rate to the survey was in fact 87%.
Stopping people in the middle of Oxford Street, Bond Street and Tottenham
Court Road proved extremely difficult with many people rushing to go where
they needed to be. However, as the interviewer was approachable, this made the
task simpler to carry out.
4.3. The Respondents (Appendix B, page 50-‐51) This section of the study will focus on the respondents that were surveyed. The
majority of the respondents that took part in this survey were mainly female.
They represented 66% of the sample population, as they were more responsive
to the survey. The main age group that most of the people surveyed derived from
people aged 40-‐44 as they represented 24% of the sample population. Although
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
30
the survey was targeted towards people aged 25-‐44, there was a number of
people aged 18-‐24 sampled, representing 4% of the findings. Other age groups
all represented more or less equal share in the survey with each group having
around 13-‐15% input into the findings from the survey.
4.4. Before Purchasing a Holiday (Appendix B, page 52-‐53) These questions as a whole were aimed at finding out which websites the sample
population used to conduct their research surrounding holidays before they
made a purchase. Overall the survey found that around 89% of the sample
conducted research-‐surrounding holidays before they made a purchase by
looking at reviews. In addition to this, the survey also found that 55% of the 89%
of people who conducted research used TripAdvisor as their main source for
information. It is fair to say that TripAdvisor was the most popular as the
majority of the respondents used it, and any other competitor was far behind.
With 10% of the sample choosing Thompson, this was the only other popular
website that the survey used for research. The rest of the competitors all had less
than 10% proving to be less popular with the sample.
There are various reasons surrounding this, for example TravelRepublic and
IceLolly are both budget websites displaying “Party Destination” holidays,
therefore proving to be more popular with the younger generations, aged 18-‐24.
This demographic was not represented fairly in the survey as they only
represented 4% of the sample. TripAdvisor certified to be more popular with
people aged 30 plus.
The 11% of the sample population sampled who did not take part in researching
for holidays online more or less shared the same reasons. From analysing their
comments, the majority of people sampled stated that the do not research the
holiday because it is a destination that they have previously been to, and/or their
home country. Others stated that they do not conduct research online, as they
preferred to go into travel agents and book their holiday from them as they feel
that they cannot trust the Internet for booking holidays.
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
31
4.5. Recent Holidays (Appendix B, page 54-‐58) The purposes of these questions were to help get a better understanding
about the respondents recent holidays and how they went about
purchasing a holiday. From the sample questioned, 72% of the people
surveyed claimed that they had been on holiday in the past 12 months,
with 94% of them researching about the holiday before purchasing.
However, this conflicts findings made in question three where 89% of the
people said they researched a holiday before purchasing. This may
because people may have interpreted question 4a as any type of research
and not just online reviews.
This question was also designed to find out overall what the sample
population thought about the information that they found before
purchasing. The general attitude amongst the sample population was very
positive, with 85% of the sample rating information they found at a 6 and
above. From the people sampled, 20% claimed that they were very
satisfied with information they found compared to the 2% that were
dissatisfied. When the sample was asked if this information played a role
in their decision to purchase the holiday, 57% of the respondents said
yes, and 28% said partly.
The survey also found that the majority of people surveyed also stated
that the reviews that they found were positive. Around 22% of the people
surveyed said that reviews were mostly good. The relation from how
satisfied the respondent was with the information found online to how
good the information was provides a strong correlation (figure 4). The
majority of people sampled (84%) thought that the feedback that they
found online was mainly positive and good.
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
32
Figure 4. Relation Between how satisfied the sample were with information they
found online compared to how good/bad the information was
Only 2% of the people sampled thought that the reviews were mainly bad,
this may be related to the websites that they used for example those less
popular as highlighted in section 4.4. There could also be a strong relation
between TripAdvisor and those people in the sample who have been
pleased with the information they found as it was the most popular
website to use.
4.6. TripAdvisor (Appendix B, page 59) When asked whether or not the sample population used TripAdvisor to
conduct any research towards purchasing a holiday, 51% of the sample
stated that they did not use TripAdvisor. The findings for this question
were more or less 50-‐50, this helped the study getting a good view as to
what people thought when it came to why they did and why they did not
use TripAdvisor.
1 -‐ Very Disati`ied / Mostly Bad
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -‐ Very Sastis`ied / Mostly Good
Satisfaction Information Linear (Satisfaction) Linear (Information)
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
33
There was 49% of the sample population who used TripAdvisor to
research holidays before making a purchase. In summary to the opinions
expressed the majority of people who used TripAdvisor did so because
they had been recommended by a friend to use the website. Others also
said that it was one of the first options that appeared after using a search
engine such as Google. A minority of people sampled said they had
previously used the website and were pleased with information they
found. They also said that after returning from holiday they went back to
TripAdvisor to add their own feedback to help others.
Various people from the sample also stated that they liked using
TripAdvisor and websites that are similar because they felt that the
information was more accurate than of what you would find in a travel
agent. This was due to them thinking that travel agents are more likely to
be biased to selling and making profit, whereas people posting reviews
online had not financial gain from this.
The remaining 51% of the sample that did not use TripAdvisor stated that
they did not trust the website after hearing some negative things being
said about the website from friends and family. Three to four people
stated that they did not even know what TripAdvisor was. However the
majority of people shared the opinion that the information on
TripAdvisor is biased to push and encourage sales, claiming that people
put on false information just to get people to buy. This was backed up by a
couple of people who stated that they had seen good review about a trip
however, the trip turned into a total nightmare.
4.7. Existing Reviews (Appendix B, page 60-‐65) The following question was designed to see how strongly the respondents
agreed or disagreed with a certain statement or sentence. There were six
different statements in this questions whereby respondents had to select
whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement.
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
34
1. Q6a (Appendix B, page 60) – This statement asked the sample how
strongly they agreed or disagreed to being more likely to purchase
a product after reading a positive review about a product. The
outcome was pretty positive, 30% of people strongly agreed that
they were more likely to purchase a product after reading a
positive review compared to the 11% who strongly disagreed.
There was a moderate amount of people (24%) who neither
agreed nor disagreed. With the majority of people agreeing and
strongly agreeing with this statement it is evident that people do
trust good reviews they find on products, and only a minority of
people that doubt these feedbacks and chose to ignore them.
2. Q6b (Appendix B, page 61) – This statement questioned whether
the sample agreed or disagreed that after reading a bad review
about a product they are less likely to buy it. Relating back to
Silverman (2001) theory on the nine levels of word of mouth, the
findings from this statement can be related to the theory. There
was a number of people strongly agreed with this statement, in fact
27% of the population strongly agreed, and 21% of the population
just agreed. These people can relate well to the minus 4 and 3
levels of Silverman (2001) for being put off purchasing a product
due to all the negative and public scandals. However, 20% of
people neither agreed nor disagree with this statement. A further
19% disagreed with this statement, and 13% strongly disagreed.
These people relate to levels minus 2, and 1 of the Silverman
(2001) theory as although there is bad word of mouth surrounding
the product they are still likely to purchase it.
3. Q6c (Appendix B, page 62) – The main purpose of TripAdvisor is to
provide people with reviews about holidays, however if people do
not trust these reviews then what is the purpose of them. This
statement was asked in order to find out the sample populations
thoughts and attitudes towards reviews found on TripAdvisor.
Less than half of the population sample strongly agreed to trust
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
35
reviews made online on TripAdvisor. In actual fact around two
thirds of the sample both agreed and strongly agreed with
statement. Only 9% of the population strongly disagreed with this
statement, and a further 11% just disagreed. This is relatively low
compared to the amount of people that trust online reviews. This
conflicts findings in question five where people stated that they did
not use TripAdvisor because they felt like they did not trust the
website, whereas in this question 48% of people strongly agreed
with trusting online reviews. However, did the respondents solely
not trust TripAdvisor?
4. Q6d (Appendix B, page 63) – Feedback and reviews can be found in
many places, such as tour advisors, organisations and online. When
the sample population were asked whether or not they trusted
online feedback over feedback provided from an organisation 66%
of them strongly agreed with the statement. This was contrary to
the 1% that completely disagreed and 2% whom just disagreed.
From this it is evident that the people sampled for this survey
preferred to find their information online rather than go into the
store. This can be related to findings from question 5a where some
of the sample population actually stated that organisations are
more likely to be biased with feedback, as they need to make
profits. Whereas, a person posting a review online is less likely to
be biased or lie because they are not gaining anything financially
from the feedback.
5. Q6e (Appendix B, page 64) – In order to help reinforce the previous
statement and ensure that the sample population had answered
correctly, this statement was asked in order to confirm that the
sample believed that online reviews are trustworthy and honest.
This statement also targeted the beneficial aspects that
organisations may have for making biased statements. In fact 43%
of the sample population strongly agreed that online reviews are
honest and trustworthy because people posting them do not have a
financial motive behind the statements. On the contrary, only 10%
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
36
of the sample disagreed with this statement. This therefore
reinforces the idea that people do tend to trust others when it
comes to recommendations and also Blythe (2008) and other
theorist’s idea that word of mouth is very powerful. It also helps
back up Silverman (2001) levels theory surrounding word of
mouth where he stated that organisations at the plus level 2 stage
or above cannot reply on conventional marketing, as it is word of
mouth only that can increase their profits.
6. Q6f (Appendix B, page 65) – In order to help expand on the
previous two statements and find out whom in particular the
sample population trust more this statement seemed to best to fit
to do so. The general outcome of this question was that the
majority of the sample (48%) stated that they neither agreed nor
disagreed that they are more likely to trust a family member than
an unknown user. This means that the sample population are likely
to trust both their family or friends and also unknown users online.
A small selection of the population (10%) of the population
strongly agreed that they trusted recommendations made by
family and friends over unknown users. This was relatively a small
amount compared to the 21% of the sample who said they strongly
disagreed with this statement. From this statement and finding it is
evident that people do base a lot of trust on people they know and
others they do not when it comes to getting recommendations
about products they want to purchase.
4.8. Word of Mouth (Appendix B, page 66-‐71) This question was placed in the survey in order to get an understanding
about the respondent has knowledge and understanding of word of
mouth. Some of the statements were also designed to find out whether
the respondent took part in word of mouth. There were six statements
that were asked in this question where the respondents had to strongly
agree or strongly disagree with a statement.
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
37
1. Q7a (Appendix B, page 66) – This statement was used in order to
get a better understanding whether or not the respondent had any
knowledge about word of mouth and what it is. Overall 36% of the
people fro the sample strongly agreed that they had a knowledge
about the word of mouth concept compared to the 1% whom
strongly disagreed. This meant that overall people from this
sample had a good general understanding of word of mouth and
were confident in their knowledge. Only 23% neither agree nor
disagreed, which implied that they somewhat know what word of
mouth is but they are unsure about it. 2. Q7b (Appendix B, page 67) – One of the issues that were raised in
the literature review section was the way word of mouth is spread.
It became evident that it was less likely for a person to share their
positive experiences with people. In order to see if this was still
viable the respondents were asked whether they strongly neither
agreed nor disagreed with sharing their positive feedback with
their peers, family or friends. The overall findings showed that
62% of people neither agreed nor disagreed with this statement.
This can also be linked to Silverman (2001) and his theory with
the various levels of word of mouth, where people in level 1, do not
go out of their way to really share information unless they are
asked. Only 10% of the sample population actually said that they
strongly agreed with this statement meaning that they probably fit
into level 3 or even 4 of the levels highlight in Silvermans (2001)
theory. Others however, felt strongly about disagreeing with
statement as 27%, almost three time more people, from the
sample said that they do not bother in sharing information. 3. Q7c (Appendix B, page 68) – Expanding on the previous statement,
there was also a point mentioned in the literature review that bad
reviews are more likely to be spread. In order to verify this
statement, the respondents were asked to what extend do they
strongly agree or strongly disagree that they bad feedback about
bad experiences. It was found that 48% of the population surveyed
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
38
strongly agreed that they are more likely to talk about bad
experiences, compared to the 10% who strongly disagreed. This
therefore confirms the theories surrounding how important
customer satisfaction is, to ensure bad word of mouth is kept away
from an organisation. 4. Q7d (Appendix B, page 69) – This statement was asked in order to
get a view on whether the sample population took part in writing
out good reviews themselves about product or services. Similar to
7b, the responses to this statement were more or less similar. The
majority of respondents (44%) neither agreed of disagreed with
the statement. Only 20% of the sample strongly agreed to post
positive feedback on websites as an anonymous user. The reason
why they are both similar was because relatively the same amount
of people neither agreed nor disagreed on sharing positive
feedback about services to their peers, friends and family. 5. Q7e (Appendix B, page 70) – In order to find out if the respondents
took part in writing bad reviews as anonymous users, this
statement was included in the survey. In relation to 7c, the
similarity between both statements again was very close. In fact
44% of people strongly agreed with sharing bad information about
experiences with products and services, in contrast to the 9% that
said they did not. This again goes to show how much of an
importance customers satisfaction is to organisations, because if a
customer is not satisfied then bad feedback and word of mouth
will spread like wildfire. 6. Q7f (Appendix B, page 71) -‐ The final statement was designed to
help find out how accurate the sample population who posted
comments were. There seems to be a conflict concerning the
accuracy of online reviews and feedback with regards to the
sample, this is why this statement was necessary. Two thirds of the
sample population strongly agreed they provide accurate and
honest information when posting online. From the sample
population only 6% of the respondents admitted to making false
RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
39
word of mouth when posting anonymously online. This statement
also helps put into prospective the amount of accurate information
that people may find with reviews online. It is fair to say that from
the people sampled in this survey that most reviews and feedback
we find online is likely to be accurate. This finding should also help
reassure people who do not trust reviews and feedback online by
providing them with a reason to believe otherwise.
4.9. Recommendations from respondents The final question that the respondents were asked was to do with what
they thought websites such as TripAdvisor, and TripAdvisor itself need to
change or implement to ensure that consumers are always satisfied with
their service. The main concern amongst the majority of the respondents
was accuracy and how true comments and feedback were on the
websites. Therefore one of the main points highlighted by the sample
population was a method to analyse the accuracy for comments posted
before they went live on the website for people to see.
Other people stated TripAdvisor and similar websites needed to prohibit
anyone from posting comments on the websites, unless they are verified
members and have the right to do so. There was a small minority of
people who left this section of the survey blank.
L o n d o n S o u t h B a n k – M a y 2 0 1 2
Recommendations and Conclusion Chapter 5 Introduction 41; Conclusion 41; Recommendations 44; Areas for Possible Research 44
Chapter 5
08 Fall
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5
41
5. Introduction
In this final section of the study an overall conclusion will be written, hopefully tying in both findings made from the survey and also information
found from the literature review. This section will not only help in bringing
the study together but also help give an overall feel of everything that has
been discovered in the study and also answer the objectives that were set out
in chapter 1.
5.1. Conclusion Overall the results from this study have managed to fulfil the objectives
that were first set out in chapter 1 (Section 1.2.1.). A greater
understanding surrounding word of mouth and its affects on consumer
behaviour has also been gained from this study. By studying consumers
attitudes and opinions, this study has helped to illustrate, how a small
sample of people are influenced by word of mouth when it comes to
purchasing not only their holidays but also products and services.
There was a lot of information that was obtained with regards to existing
theories surrounding the topics of interest, such as word of mouth,
consumer behaviour, customer satisfaction and so forth.
From the secondary research gathered it was highlighted that word of
mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools that an organisation
can have on its side. In addition to the statements made by Blythe (2008),
Evans et al (2006) and Silverman (2001), the consumers sampled as part
of this studies primary research also confirmed this. The general findings
from the consumers sampled were that they were less likely to purchase a
product with bad reviews. This study also found that from the sample
population, consumers are more likely to believe a friend or colleagues
recommendation for a product or service a product. The study also found
that the majority of the people sampled are likely to take on board
comments from anonymous users about a product or service.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5
42
Secondary research also found that word of mouth has various levels of
influence on consumer that were highlighted by Silverman (2001). The
minus levels being where companies have got mild to severe bad word of
mouth surrounding their organisation and the plus levels is the contrary.
Primary research helped put this theory in perspective, as many people
agreed that they are likely to purchase and talk about a product with good
reviews, which confirm Silverman (2001) and his theory surrounding the
positive levels of word of mouth. Furthermore, it also confirmed that
people are more likely to talk badly about products and services causing a
scandal, which ties in with the minus levels of his theory.
Primary research also helped in finding out what the sample population’s
intentions on using websites such a TripAdvisor were. With the majority
of people stating that they these websites simply for researching and
finding reviews on holidays that they have not been on before. Many
people however also stated that they did not use these websites as they
did not trust them, or because the holidays that they had been on were
either for business purpose or a destination that they have previously
been to. Another discovery that was made was the fact tat people did not
trust travel agents for advice as they felt they were biased with
information due to the financial benefit of selling. Although TripAdvisor
has received some bad press in recent times many people did state that
they were recommended to use the website via a friend or colleagues.
It became apparent, from the primary research, that many of the
consumers from the sample also took part in writing comments and
feedback themselves. The main finding here however was that the
respondents were more likely to talk about bad reviews than good
reviews. Fellow colleagues or consumers can link this to level plus one
where people who have a good experience are only likely to talk
positively if asked. Whereas, with regards to the bad experience that can
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5
43
be linked to levels negative two and even three with people just spreading
bad comments about a product or service.
Theorist also highlighted customer satisfaction as a main point. They
stated that a customer is more likely to keep in mind bad experiences and
talk about it then they are to do the same for good experience. Primary
research from the sample population confirmed this as respondents
stated that they are more likely to post bad reviews online then good
reviews.
It is evident that by now it is clear that the main finding is that people are
more likely to talk about their bad experiences more freely than those
who have a good experience. In addition to this, this statement can be
applied for services, products and organisations. The more bad word of
mouth each of those elements receives, the more likely they are to spiral
down on the minus levels ladder of word of mouth. Whereas if these
elements are receiving more positive word of mouth, the more likely it is
that consumers are more willing to purchase from them and in turn help
them reach that pinnacle place of the plus levels on the word of mouth
ladder.
Primary research also helped this study in getting some general ideas and
opinions from the sample population on what they felts websites such as
TripAdvisor should implement to make their services better. The general
feedback was to implement some sort of accuracy measure for every
comment that was getting posted, to be checked and verified by someone
before it goes live on the website. However, this study also found that the
majority of people from the sample also felt that nothing could be
recommended. This was due to the fear of negative comments being
disregarded completely and then comments becoming biased to selling
holidays and not actually showing consumers the truth.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5
44
5.2. Recommendations The main purpose of this study was to come up with some
recommendations that TripAdvisor and companies alike can take on
board and hopefully expand on and implement into their services. With
all the research that has been carried for this study hopefully the
following recommendations will be suitable for websites such as
TripAdvisor to use.
1. There was much concern over the accuracy of reviews and
feedback. In order to reduce this distress TripAdvisor and
companies alike need to introduce some form of security measure
where comments are checked and verified by people that work for
the organisation to ensure that the comments are accurate and
truthful. However, there should also be a balance for this to ensure
that the organisation does not make comments biased to sell more.
2. It was also evident that not many people feel the need to spread
good news about experiences. In order to help promote this
companies such as TripAdvisor should put in place some sort of
incentive to encourage people to provide positive feedback on
their websites. In addition to this they must also ensure that that
these comments are truthful and not simply there because the user
is going to benefit.
5.3. Areas for possible research As this was a small study there are plenty of possible areas that can be
research further.
1. Conduct that same research or similar to this one on a much larger
scale. This will help in expanding on findings and also potentially
reach more recommendations and also learn more about
consumer behaviour with regard to word of mouth.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5
45
2. The media can influence people’s word of mouth. The media tends
to talk mainly about negative stories. This research will therefore
be interesting to see how these stories affect word of mouth and
also word of mouth. This research will also help expand on the
nine levels of word of mouth theory by Silverman (2001).
3. This research was mainly targeted towards holidays; therefore an
expansion on this would be to potentially look at other markets
and how word of mouth affects consumer behaviour in those
markets. This would help get a better understanding of other
markets and possibly reach new findings and conclusions.
46
Appendix A -‐ Consumer Attitude to Online Reviews
This questionnaire has been designed to measure consumer attitudes to online
reviews, and in particular TripAdvisor and similar websites. It would be greatly
appreciated for your co-‐operation in completing this questionnaire as honestly
as you can and to the best of you ability. Your responses will remain anonymous
and will only be used for the purpose of this study. Thank you for your co-‐
operation.
1. Gender (Please select one)
2. Age group (Please select one)
3. Before purchasing a holiday, do you conduct any research surrounding the
product, i.e. look at reviews? (Please select one answer)
3a. If so which website are you familiar with or have used previously? (Tick the answer that apply)
Male
Female
18 – 24
25 -‐ 29
30 – 34
35 – 39
40 – 44
45 – 49
50 – 54
55 +
Yes (Go to question 3a)
No (Go to questions 3b)
TripAdvisor
Expedia
Thompson
Opodo
Icelolly
Travel Republic
ComparetheMarket.com
Cheap Flights
Other:___________________________
47
3b. If not, briefly explain why.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Have you been on holiday either in the United Kingdom or abroad in the past
12 months? (Please select one option)
4a. Did you do any research about the holiday before purchasing? (Please select one option)
4b. How satisfied were you with the information you found online? (Please select which best represents your satisfaction)
4c. Did the information play a role in the decision to purchase the holiday? (Please select one option)
4d. Where these reviews mostly good or bad? (Please select which best
represents your opinion) 5. Have you ever used TripAdvisor as a way to conduct research about
holidays? (Please select one option)
Yes
No (Go to question 5)
Yes
No (Go to Question 5)
Yes
No
Partly
Mostly Bad Mostly Good
Yes (Go to Question 5a)
No (Go to question 5b)
48
5a. If yes, please state why you used TripAdvisor?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5b. If no, please state why you do not use TripAdvisor.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. To your knowledge or experience, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements. (Please choose which best represents your opinion)
a. I am more likely to purchase a product after reading positive reviews about the product
b. I am less likely to purchase a product after reading bad reviews about the product
c. I trust online reviews from websites such as TripAdvisor
d. I trust online reviews more than information provided by organisations
e. I believe that online reviews are honest and trustworthy because people posting them have no beneficial motives
f. I trust family and friends recommendations about products more than recommendations made online by unknown users
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
49
7. To your knowledge or experience, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statement. (Please choose which best represents you opinion)
a. I have a general understanding of the word of mouth concept
b. I inform my friends/family of good experiences regarding products or services face to face
c. I inform my friends/family of bad experiences regarding products or services face to face
d. I write good reviews online as an anonymous user about products and services
e. I write bad reviews online as an anonymous user about products and services
f. I am always honest when writing reviews online as an anonymous
user
8. What suggestions would you recommend for websites such as TripAdvisor,
and similar websites, need to consider ensuring the reviews on their
websites remain accurate and trustworthy?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your co-‐operation
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Q1 -‐ Gender Question)1)) Respondents))
Male)) 44"Female)) 86"
Total:) 130""
34%
66% Male
Female
Appendix B – Results, Tables and Graphs
50
Q2 – Age Group
Question)2)) Respondents))18)–)24) 6"25)–)29)) 10"30)–)34)) 17"35)–)39)) 17"40)–)44)) 31"45)–)49)) 19"50)–)54)) 19"55)+)) 11"
Total:)) 130""
4%
8% 13%
13%
24%
15%
15% 8%
18 – 24
25 – 29
30 – 34
35 – 39
40 – 44
45 – 49
50 – 54
55 +
51
Q3 – Before purchasing a holiday, do you conduct any research surrounding the product, i.e. look at reviews?
Question)3) Respondents))Yes)) 116#No)) 14#
Total:) 130##
89%
11%
Yes
No
52
Q3a – If so which website are you familiar with or have used previously?
Question)3a) Respondents))TripAdvisor)) 64#Expedia) 9#Thompson) 12#Opodo) 3#IceLolly) 8#Travel)Republic)) 8#ComparetheMarket.com) 2#Cheap)Flights) 6#Other) 4#
Total:) 130##
55%
8%
10%
3%
7%
7%
2%
5% 3% TripAdvisor
Expedia
Thompson
Opodo
IceLolly
Travel Republic
ComparetheMarket.com
Cheap Flights
Other
53
Q4 – Have you been on holiday in the United Kingdom or abroad in the past 12 months?
Question)4) Respondents))Yes)) 94#No) 36#
Total:) 130##
72%
28%
Yes
No
54
Q4a – Did you do any research about the holiday before purchasing?
Question)4a) Respondents))Yes) 90#No) 4#
Total:) 94##
96%
4%
Yes
No
55
Q4b – How satisJied were you with the information you found online?
!Question)4b) Respondents))1)–)Very)Dissatisfied)) 2!2) 4!3) 6!4) 2!5) 1!6) 24!7) 11!8) 9!9) 11!10)–)Very)Satisfied)) 20!
Total:) 90!
2%
5% 7%
2%
1%
27%
12% 10%
12%
22%
1 – Very DissaVsfied
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 – Very SaVsfied
56
Q4c – Did the information play a role in the decision to purchase the holiday?
Question)4c) Respondents))Yes) 51#No) 14#Partly) 25#
Total:)) 90##
57% 15%
28%
Yes
No
Partly
57
Q4d – Where these reviews mostly good or bad?
Question)4d) Respondent))1)–)Mostly)Bad) 2"2) 3"3) 7"4) 1"5) 2"6) 23"7) 12"8) 11"9) 9"10)–)Mostly)Good) 20"
Total:) 90""
2%
3% 8% 1%
2%
26%
14% 12%
10%
22%
1 -‐ Mostly Bad
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 -‐ Mostly Good
58
Q5 – Have you used TripAdvisor as a way to conduct research about holidays?
Question)5) Respondents))Yes) 64#No) 66#
Total:) 130##
49% 51%
Yes
No
59
Q6a – I am more likely to purchase a product after reading positive reviews about the product
11%
17%
24% 18%
30%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly agree
Question)6a)) Respondents))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 15#2) 22#3) 31#4) 23#5)–)Strongly)Agree) 39#
Total:) 130##
60
Q6b – I am less likely to purchase a product after reading bad reviews about the product
13% 19%
20% 21%
27%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
Question)6b) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 17#2) 25#3) 26#4) 27#5)–)Strongly)Agree) 36#
Total:) 130##
61
Q6c – I trust online reviews from websites such as TripAdvisor
9% 11%
13%
19%
48%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
Question)6c) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 12#2) 14#3) 17#4) 24#5)–)Strongly)Agree) 62#
Total:) 130##
62
Q6d – I trust online reviews more than information provided by organisations
Question)6d) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 2"2) 2"3) 6"4) 34"5)–)Strongly)Agree) 86"
Total:) 130""
1% 2% 5%
26%
66%
1 -‐ Strongly disagree 2
3 4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
63
Q6e – I believe that online reviews are honest and trustworthy because people posting them have no beneJicial motives
10% 11%
10%
26%
43%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
Question)6e) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 13#2) 14#3) 13#4) 34#5)–)Strongly)Agree) 56#
Total:) 130##
64
Q6f – I trust family and friends recommendations about products more than recommendations made online by unknown users
!
Question)7b) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 27!2) 10!3) 62!4) 18!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 13!
Total:) 130!
21%
7%
48%
14% 10%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree 2 3 4 5 -‐ Strongly Agree
65
Q7a – I have a general understanding of the word of mouth concept
!
Question)7a) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 2!2) 26!3) 23!4) 32!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 47!
Total:) 130!
1%
20%
18%
25%
36%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
66
Q7b – I inform my friends/family of good experiences regarding products or services face to face
21%
7%
48%
14% 10%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
!
Question)7b) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 27!2) 10!3) 62!4) 18!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 13!
Total:) 130!
67
Q7c – I inform my friends/family of bad experiences regarding products and services face to face
!
Question)7c) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 10!2) 13!3) 17!4) 28!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 62!
Total:) 130!
8% 10%
13%
21%
48%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Disagree 68
Q7d – I write good reviews online as an anonymous user about products and services
!
Question)7d) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 13!2) 22!3) 57!4) 12!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 26!
Total:) 130!
10% 17%
44%
9%
20%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree 69
Q7e – I write bad reviews online as an anonymous user about products and services
9% 20%
10% 17%
44%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
!
Question)7e) Respondent))1)–)Strongly)Disagree)) 12!2) 26!3) 13!4) 22!5)–)Strongly)Agree) 57!
Total:) 130!
70
Q7f – I am always honest when writing reviews online as an anonymous user
6% 7%
11% 10%
66%
1 -‐ Strongly Disagree
2
3
4
5 -‐ Strongly Agree
Question)7f) Respondents))1)–)Strongly)Disagree) 8"2) 9"3) 14"4) 13"5)–)Strongly)Agree) 86"
Total:) 130""
71
72
Appendix C – Rubric (Sampling covering letter)
Consumer Attitude to Online Reviews
Dear respondent,
My name is Rodrigue Eid. In order to successfully graduate as an honours
student, I am required to carry out a dissertation as a compulsory element for
my degree. I am also hoping that findings from my research will further
contribute towards areas of consumer behaviour and word of mouth.
I would be very grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete this survey
in order to help me with this study and my findings.
If you require any more information or any more details please do not hesitate to
ask me.
Kind Regards,
Rodrigue Eid
73
Appendix D – Prize Incentive
As part of my survey three respondents were chosen at random to win one of
three £20 Love2Shop vouchers for taking part. The winners of the vouchers were
chosen after they defaced a hologram box at the end of the questionnaire to
reveal either a win or lose sign.
The terms and conditions to this competition were as follows:
• Respondents must complete the questionnaire and not miss out any
answers
• Although the winner will be revealed on the day the survey is completed
(on the spot) the voucher will be sent out by post after the 2nd May 2012
• It is the responsibility of the winner to claim the prize, due to this survey
being anonymous no information will be taken from the respondent
• Any claims must be e-‐mailed to [email protected], alongside a postal
address and survey identification number to verify the claim. This can be
obtained on the day of when the survey is completed
• It is the responsibility of the winner to ensure that survey identification
number is kept safe, any lost numbers cannot be retraced
• It is the sole responsibility of the winner to ensure that any winning
survey numbers are claimed by the 30th May 2012, any claims after that
date will be void
• Along with these terms and condition, the winner must also bear in mind
the terms and conditions, which have already been set out by Love2Shop.
These can be found on http://www.highstreetvouchers.com/gift-‐
vouchers/terms-‐conditions.jsp
• The vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash
• The cash value of these vouchers is 0.0001p
Thank you,
Kind Regards,
Rodrigue Eid
74
Appendix E – Pilot Survey Modifications
These were the various modifications that were made to the survey following the
feedback provided by the pilot study group.
• Add age group 18-‐24
• Take out some of the personal questions that were in the questionnaire
such as job status and income as they were seen as irrelevant
• Amend layout of the questionnaire to make it more user friendly
• Include instructions on how to answer the questionnaire and questions
• Check for some spelling and grammatical errors made in the survey
• Reduce font size from 16 to 12
Some of the positive feedback from the group about the questionnaire included:
• The structure was well thought out
• They really like the agree and disagree section of the questionnaire and
the various statements
• They did not feel that the questionnaire was long to fill out and that it was
very user friendly
• They thought that I made good use with some of the questions that were
asked
75
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76
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