earticle

영어

This study presents a detailed examination of how varying combinations of tone of voice, negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) response strategies (defensive, accommodating, or no action), and prior organizational reputation can cultivate a positive public response. In turn, we offer insights into effective communication strategies for managing and responding to NWOM content posted on social media. As part of this process, an online experiment was conducted using a consumer sample. The resulting findings indicate that strategic communication effectively counters NWOM and elicits positive responses via two distinct pathways—the emotional pathway and the rational pathway. Overall, we found that using a conversational tone as opposed to a corporate tone enhanced perceived humanness in corporate communication, in turn generating more positive relational and corporate outcomes. The challenge of reducing organizational attribution (i.e., increasing external attribution) by integrating appropriate tone of voice and NWOM responses for different reputational conditions can be rather intricate. While reputable companies enjoy greater flexibility in their ability to employ various strategies, with one such example being the adoption of a defensive strategy with a firm corporate voice, companies with a negative reputation should be more careful when making their strategy selection to ensure that they avoid causing further damage.