The Impact of Feedback on Word of Mouth

Abstract

This research focuses on how consumers are impacted by receiving feedback on word of mouth recommendations. In particular, I examine what occurs when a consumer recommends an experience to another person, and this other person has the experience and returns to say that they did or did not like it. I find that the valence of this feedback impacts subsequent word of mouth, and that impact in turn depends on whether the recommender is self-focused or other-focused when making their recommendation. When recommenders make other-focused recommendations, negative (versus positive) feedback acts as a threat that causes them to dissociate from the experience, decreasing their subsequent recommendation intentions. However, when recommenders make self-focused recommendations, this buffers them against the threat, and so they do not decrease their subsequent recommendation intentions after negative feedback.