Gap Analysis of the Online Reputation

Abstract

Online reputation is a strategic element of firms' competitiveness. Companies need to manage their reputations and the image that they communicate through the Internet. This paper proposes a model to determine the main aspects that define a competitive online reputation: coherence, veracity, and intensity. The traditional methods that have been used to determine service quality must be adapted to new digital developments and their effects on customers' behavior. Therefore, a gap analysis is performed to define the key aspects that must be managed in order to create and maintain a powerful reputation and image in the companies' communication. Since this subject is too complex to be implemented in distinct sectors and ambits, different lines of research are proposed to expand this new critical line of study.As online reputation is becoming a critical factor for the level of income of companies, it is necessary to develop a communication strategy to achieve the economic sustainability of tourism or e-commerce firms [36,37] and tourist destinations [38,39]. At present, it is necessary to consider the model for measuring the quality of customer service due to technological and communications development. While the method for measuring quality has been based on internal surveys of companies carried out among their customers [9], the rise of opinion portals on the Internet has led to a new way of measuring the quality of service in an open way and shared with other users. In addition, the impact on demand is so high that it is critical for managers to guide their decisions to improve their online reputation [3,5,7].The objective of this study is to propose a model to determine the gaps that managers must take into account to achieve an effective reputation on the web. This methodology is designed to improve the analysis and decisions made by practitioners and serve as a source of information for researchers. The methodology and evaluations proposed can be applied to sectors with high Internet communication activity, such as hospitality and e-commerce. In order to achieve this objective, the next section presents a literature review with the aim of formulating a model for gap analysis of the online reputation in the methodology section. Finally, the main conclusions and future research focused on developing this line of research are presented.

Investigating Key Attributes in Experience and Satisfaction of Hotel Customer Using Online Review Data

“…The eWOM is a new method to identify the main attributes of service quality from a customer's perspective. The eWOM is the result of a summary of the customer's experience and is usually written voluntarily without any economic cost or external stimulus [3]. This eWOM is used by customers who have experienced a particular service to help other customers make the right choice.…”

Analyzing the Online Reputation and Positioning of Airlines

“…Online reputation is generated through an open and dynamic process based on the ratings of a product, service, brand, or company that customers share on the Internet [2,54], creating an image that conditions the buying attitude of other potential customers [1,17]. To the extent that the online reputation is generated through the assessment of scales of variables and opinions, it can be measured with three essential concepts: perceived service quality, perceived value, and satisfaction.…”

“…Likewise, companies can take advantage of the synergies produced by shared opinions, obtaining high visibility and impact in different social media [15,16]. The online reputation gap analysis proposed by Rodriguez-Díaz et al [17] suggests tools or methods designed to ensure that the online reputation coincides as closely as possible with the perceptions customers have when they receive a service or buy a product.…”

Analysis of the Online Reputation Based on Customer Ratings of Lodgings in Tourism Destinations

“…Torres (2014) states that comments are qualitative evaluations that measure the level of customer satisfaction while the quality of service perceived is usually measured by quantitative variables. Quantitative evaluations are based on scales of variables that measure specific concepts, which, due to their great impact on purchasing behavior, have been widely studied in the academic literature (Ye et al 2014;Rodríguez-Díaz andEspino-Rodríguez 2018a, 2018b). Scales aimed at measuring opinions about tourist lodgings generally focus on two basic concepts: perceived value and the quality of service.…”

“…In the field of tourism, the scientific research has already accepted that, compared to conventional questionnaires and interviews, online evaluations provide a new and effective way to investigate customer perceptions not only for researchers but also for managers and directors seeking practical applications applied to tourism (Ye et al 2014;Prebensen et al 2012;Rodríguez-Díaz et al 2015;Rodríguez-Díaz andEspino-Rodríguez 2018a, 2018b). In addition, this methodology, despite being based on scales made up of a small number of variables, is satisfactory for determining the level of clients' evaluations of tourist lodgings and destinations.…”