An empirical investigation of electronic word-of-mouth: product recall and crisis response strategy in social media

ABSTRACT Product recall crises can damage reputation, result in financial losses, and generate negative word-of-mouth from customers. Appropriate response strategies on social media platforms can help companies minimise losses and save electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). This study analysed 32,697 customer comments from Facebook to explore customer perceptions and examine the performance of different response strategies. Findings showed that the accommodative response strategy improves overall eWOM compared to the indifferent response strategy. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the impact of social media crisis response strategies on eWOM and offers evidential managerial insights for better customer perceptions.