Intensive WOM-behavior in the healthcare sector – the case of an Austrian hospital’s Facebook site

Abstract

Patients frequently use Facebook for health-related reasons, like seeking of information or the recommendation of practitioners or hospitals. In this way, Facebook provides a powerful communication platform for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Hospitals increasingly use Facebook to positively influence the perception of their brand reputation and performance. The present explorative study provides detailed information regarding eWOM behavior of persons on the Facebook page of an Upper Austrian hospital. Data of the hospital’s Facebook page was gathered and analyzed with NodeXL. By using a text analysis, we categorized the hospitals’ posts. Reactions towards the different types of postings were analyzed by counting emojis, the number of shares and comments. Within the study, there was an in-depth evaluation of communication data (313 posts of the hospital, more than 14,000 eWom actions by 3327 women, men and organizations). The study shows how heterogeneous users are in their eWOM behavior and that a variety of topics on the Facebook page stimulates electronic recommendations. One major finding of the study is that a significant part of the eWOM is done by only a few users. According to this, a so-called Intensive WOM Behavior (IWB) can be identified. Users of the IWB-group behave heterogeneously. Most react either with an emoji, a comment or a share. Only a few IWB-users respond with a combination of these eWOM-reactions. By providing first insights into the existence of IWB-users as well as their eWOM-behavior, this study offers new insights to eWOM in Facebook.

Influence of word of mouth (WOM) in physician selection by the patients in Bangladesh

“…According to another study, one explanation for its success is that the majority of WOM information is gained from someone the user knows or is familiar with personally. Another study refers to this type of search behavior as “personal view” behavior (Martin, 2020; Snipes et al , 2015). Information coming from the family, friends, peers, relatives are considered to be the most trusted source to a person (Moore et al , 2020; Oguro et al , 2021).…”

“…Therefore, physicians need to be aware of the WOM outcome from patients (Abrantes et al , 2013; Martin, 2020). This research has noteworthy implications for physicians to ensure compassionate and responsive care for the patients.…”

The influence of electronic word of mouth on green cosmetics purchase intention: evidence from young Vietnamese female consumers

“…Health-conscious consumers are concerned with the desired state of health outcomes and spend time and effort maintaining a healthy lifestyle and consumption (Martin and Grüb, 2020). Consumers frequently use eWOM platforms such as the internet, including social networks, for health-related reasons, such as seeking information or recommendations of experts or other consumers (Bushara et al, 2023).…”

“…Health awareness leads people to engage in healthy behaviors. Health-conscious consumers are concerned with the desired state of health outcomes and spend time and effort maintaining a healthy lifestyle and consumption (Martin and Grüb, 2020).…”

The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility on Digital Platforms, Electronic Word-of-Mouth, and Consumer-Company Identification: An Application of Social Identity Theory

“…Hence, possessing a good eWOM for a hospital is of utmost importance. The importance of eWOM is also acknowledged by different extant researchers in the healthcare context [35][36][37]. The second logic for choosing HCS is that most of the hospitals in Pakistan are engaged in CSR activities related to philanthropic orientation; for instance, treating the poor free of cost or providing medicines to needy patients, etc.…”