The effect of online reviews on product sales: A joint sentiment-topic analysis

This research examines the business impact of online reviews. It empirically investigates the influence of numerical and textual reviews on product sales performance. We use a Joint Sentiment-Topic model to extract the topics and associated sentiments in review texts. We further propose that numerical rating mediates the effects of textual sentiments. Findings not only contribute to the knowledge of how eWOM impacts product sales, but also illustrate how numerical rating and textual reviews interplay while shaping product sales. In practice, the findings help online vendors strategize business analytics operations by focusing on more relevant aspects that ultimately drive sales.     

Moderating effects of time pressure on the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention in social E-commerce sales promotion: Considering the impact of product involvement

How does customer perceived value influence purchase intention in online flash sales on social e-commerce platforms? This study investigates the role of time pressure and product involvement in the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention. Drawing on survey data from wjx.com in China, we found that perceived value is positively related to purchase intention, whereas time pressure negatively moderates the effect of emotional/social value on purchase intention. The three-way interaction among time pressure, perceived functional/emotional/social value, and product involvement was also statistically significant. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results.     

To email or not to email: The impact of media on psychophysiological responses and emotional content in utilitarian and romantic communication

Lean asynchronous computer mediated communication is often considered poor for communicating emotion, yet individuals continue to use it for business, personal, and even romantic communication. We used a lab experiment to investigate the influence of media (email and voicemail) and task type (romantic and utilitarian) on both the psychophysiological responses of senders and the content of the resulting messages. Message senders had more arousing physiological responses when sending emails than when leaving voicemails. An interaction exists between media and task such that the content of romantic email messages was more positive than romantic voicemails; while the opposite was true for utilitarian tasks. Thus the choice of media triggers different emotional responses in the sender and leads to different message content.     

The impact of the social context on value and expectancy beliefs in an online graduate program: The role of social presence

This study examines the influence of perceived social presence on online graduate students' value and expectancy beliefs. Forty-nine participants enrolled in an online teacher leadership graduate program completed questionnaires that measured perceived social presence and value and expectancy beliefs. A series of simple linear regression analyses revealed that social presence positively predicted students' value for online learning. Social presence did not predict participants' expectations of future success in teacher leadership. Results partially supported the assumption of the expectancy-value model that motivational beliefs are influenced by the information students receive from social partners. Moreover, the study tested and confirmed the application of the model in online settings and for students pursuing graduate education.     

Moving beyond the direct impact of using CRM systems on frontline employees' service performance: The mediating role of adaptive behaviour

Despite substantial investments in customer‐relationship‐management (CRM) systems, companies continue to experience pain rather than profit. Meanwhile, the concept of “adaptive behaviour” of frontline employees has received little attention in the literature related to CRM systems in which the frontline employees are the primary users. In this study, we propose that with the aid of CRM systems, individual employees are able to immediately access information about customers and service offerings, thus enabling their adaptive behaviours to provide personalized service to individual customers. Based on coping theory, we develop a CRM system‐driven adaptive behaviour model that explains how CRM systems facilitate individual employees' service performance by enabling adaptive behaviour during their service encounters. Multisourced data from a financial company in China largely support our proposed model, showing that employees' postadoption of CRM systems (routinization and infusion of use) enables interpersonal and offering adaptive behaviours, which in turn enhance employees' service performance. In addition, forming a postadoption behaviour of CRM systems relies on the frequent use. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of adaptive behaviour in service encounters with the aid of CRM systems.