The effect of online reviews on consumer-based brand equity: Case-study of the Polish restaurant sector

Q: Do online reviews affect restaurant brand equity?

Yes. In 777 Polish consumers ordering meals online, positive reviews raised brand awareness, associations, perceived quality and loyalty, and negative reviews lowered perceived quality (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

Q: Are negative reviews more harmful than positive reviews are helpful?

Not in this study: positive reviews had larger and broader effects (β = 0.39 to 0.61) than negative reviews, which mainly affected perceived quality (β = −0.19) (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

Q: What is consumer-based brand equity?

The value a brand has in consumers’ minds, usually measured through brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty (Aaker, 1991).

Q: How many people read reviews before ordering food online?

In this sample, 54.7% checked online reviews and ratings before ordering a meal, including 10.9% who always did (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

Brzozowska-Woś, Magdalena; Schivinski, Bruno

doi:10.7206/cemj.2658-0845.1

Magdalena Brzozowska-Woś, Bruno Schivinski

Central European Management Journal, volume 27, issue 3, pages 2–27, 2019

Open access
777 Polish consumers
Online survey
Structural equation modelling
Restaurants and food delivery
Poland
Open access

Read the article

Keywords

consumer-based brand equity
eWOM
restaurant sector
online reviews
positive online reviews
negative online reviews
electronic word of mouth
brand awareness
brand associations
perceived quality
brand loyalty
online meal delivery platforms
food delivery apps
restaurant marketing
Pyszne.pl
stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model
Christodoulides et al. CBBE scale
e-WOM scale (Goyette et al.)
online survey
snowball sampling
confirmatory factor analysis
structural equation modelling (SEM)
Mplus
Poland

Good online reviews lift every part of a restaurant’s brand equity, but bad reviews mainly hurt perceived quality. In a survey of 777 Polish consumers who order meals online, positive reviews raised brand awareness, associations, perceived quality and loyalty, while negative reviews lowered perceived quality and, weakly, loyalty.

Key findings

Positive reviews strengthen every dimension of brand equity. Among 777 Polish consumers who order restaurant meals online, positive online reviews raised brand awareness (β = 0.39), brand associations (0.47), perceived quality (0.60) and brand loyalty (0.61) (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).
Negative reviews mainly damage perceived quality. Negative online reviews lowered perceived quality (β = −0.19, p < .001) and showed a weak negative link with loyalty (β = −0.10, p = .09) (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).
Bad reviews do not change awareness or associations. Negative reviews had no effect on brand awareness (β = 0.03) or brand associations (β = −0.01) of the restaurant (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).
Most diners check reviews before ordering. 54.7% of respondents checked online reviews and ratings before ordering a meal, and 10.9% did so every time (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

At a glance

Design: Online survey (CAWI) with snowball sampling through social media and email; each respondent named a restaurant they order from online
Participants: 777 valid responses from 1,023 Polish consumers who read restaurant reviews and order meals online (60.2% women; aged 18 to 64, median age group 18–24)
Measures: Positive and negative eWOM (three items each, adapted from Goyette et al., 2010); brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty (three items each, Christodoulides et al., 2015); 7-point scales
Analysis: Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling with robust maximum likelihood (MLR) in Mplus 7.2
Model fit: MLR χ²(120) = 548.82, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.06

Figure 1. The effects of eWOM on CBBE, with the estimates reported in Table 2

Redrawn from Figure 1 of the article with the standardised coefficients of Table 2. Positive reviews (gold labels) raise all four dimensions of brand equity; negative reviews lower perceived quality. Grey dashed paths are not significant at p < .05; n = 777.

Effects of online reviews on the dimensions of brand equity

Standardised coefficients from Table 2 of the article (n = 777). Negative reviews: perceived quality −0.19 (p < .001), loyalty −0.10 (p = .09), awareness 0.03 and associations −0.01 (n.s.).

Tables

Table 1. Reliability and validity scores of the conceptual model

Latent variable	CR	FD	AVE	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Negative eWOM	0.80	0.92	0.58	0.76	(−14.50)	(−6.55)	(−9.16)	(−14.49)	(−11.00)
2. Positive eWOM	0.82	0.92	0.60	−0.63	0.77	(12.58)	(18.83)	(22.82)	(18.26)
3. Brand awareness	0.81	0.93	0.59	−0.29	0.52	0.77	(15.48)	(12.58)	(9.09)
4. Brand association	0.77	0.94	0.53	−0.44	0.69	0.64	0.73	(25.35)	(16.74)
5. Perceived quality	0.91	0.96	0.78	−0.56	0.70	0.52	0.70	0.88	(24.51)
6. Brand loyalty	0.88	0.95	0.72	−0.46	0.63	0.35	0.59	0.65	0.85

Square roots of the average variance extracted on the diagonal (in italics); correlations below the diagonal, their t-values in brackets above it. CR = composite reliability, FD = factor determinacy, AVE = average variance extracted. MLR χ²(120) = 548.82, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92 (0.91 in the text and Table 2), RMSEA = 0.06 (90% CI [0.06–0.07]); n = 777.

Table 2. Standardized structural coefficients of the conceptual model

Hypothesis	β	t	p	Acceptance/rejection
H1a. Positive eWOM → Brand awareness	0.39	6.50	0.001	Accepted
H2a. Positive eWOM → Brand associations	0.47	7.90	0.001	Accepted
H3a. Positive eWOM → Perceived quality	0.60	8.62	0.001	Accepted
H4a. Positive eWOM → Brand loyalty	0.61	8.27	0.001	Accepted
H1b. Negative eWOM → Brand awareness	0.03	0.68	0.49	Rejected
H2b. Negative eWOM → Brand associations	−0.01	−0.15	0.87	Rejected
H3b. Negative eWOM → Perceived quality	−0.19	−3.22	0.001	Accepted
H4b. Negative eWOM → Brand loyalty	−0.10	−1.67	0.09	Accepted

MLR χ²(120) = 548.82, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.06 (90% CI [0.06–0.07]); n = 777. Decisions as printed.

Table A. Descriptive statistics for constructs and measurements

Construct and item	Loading	t	Mean	SD	Skewness	Kurtosis	R²
Positive eWOM (adapted from Goyette et al., 2010)
Many people recommend this restaurant online.	0.77	32.44	4.78	2.02	−0.60	−0.89	0.59
People are proud to say to others that they are this restaurant’s customer.	0.73	29.83	4.31	1.99	−0.27	−1.12	0.53
People have spoken favorably of this restaurant to others online.	0.79	33.11	5.06	1.98	−0.83	−0.55	0.63
Negative eWOM (adapted from Goyette et al., 2010)
Many people don’t recommend this restaurant online.	0.85	39.88	2.60	1.98	0.98	−0.34	0.73
People are not proud to say to others that they are this restaurant’s customer.	0.68	22.84	2.92	2.03	0.67	−0.87	0.47
People have spoken unfavorably of this restaurant to others online.	0.80	30.63	2.44	1.91	1.10	−0.10	0.64
Brand awareness (adapted from Christodoulides et al., 2015)
I have heard of this restaurant.	0.66	22.42	5.23	1.73	−0.98	0.01	0.43
I am quite familiar with this restaurant.	0.82	36.36	5.48	1.60	−1.16	0.56	0.68
I can recognize this restaurant among other restaurants.	0.83	37.42	5.77	1.64	−1.48	1.35	0.70
Brand associations (adapted from Christodoulides et al., 2015)
This restaurant has strong associations.	0.64	18.52	5.27	1.69	−0.93	0.03	0.41
This restaurant has favorable associations.	0.80	37.96	5.39	1.75	−1.10	0.21	0.65
It is clear what this restaurant stands for (e.g. image, values).	0.74	25.87	5.53	1.68	−1.15	0.46	0.55
Perceived quality (adapted from Christodoulides et al., 2015)
This restaurant is good quality.	0.89	65.69	5.46	1.80	−1.20	0.32	0.80
This restaurant has excellent features.	0.86	51.98	5.11	1.75	−0.94	−0.13	0.75
Compared to other restaurants in its category, this restaurant is of very high quality.	0.90	69.92	5.22	1.83	−0.96	−0.21	0.82
Brand loyalty (adapted from Christodoulides et al., 2015)
I feel loyal to this restaurant.	0.86	52.41	4.36	1.94	−0.35	−1.02	0.75
This restaurant is my first choice.	0.77	34.56	4.56	1.90	−0.49	−0.85	0.59
I am committed to this restaurant.	0.91	75.41	4.47	1.93	−0.44	−0.91	0.82

Standardised factor loadings; items rated from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree.

The question

Consumers increasingly choose restaurants on online meal delivery platforms, where positive and negative reviews appear side by side. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response model, we asked how positive and negative online reviews affect each dimension of consumer-based brand equity, brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty, for restaurants that sell meals online in Poland.

Implications

Practical implications

Restaurant managers should encourage satisfied customers to post reviews, since positive reviews build every part of brand equity, and should monitor and respond to negative reviews, which mainly erode perceived quality. Review management on delivery platforms can be part of the brand strategy of local and family-owned restaurants.

Theoretical implications

The study adds evidence on how positive and negative eWOM, presented together as on real platforms, relate to each dimension of consumer-based brand equity, and shows an asymmetry: positive reviews matter for all dimensions, negative reviews only for quality and loyalty.

Limitations and future research

The sample was not random and does not represent all Polish consumers.
The eWOM scales may need further development, and respondents may have chosen restaurants they like.
The quantity and quality of reviews were not studied directly.

Questions this paper answers

Do online reviews affect restaurant brand equity?

Yes. In 777 Polish consumers ordering meals online, positive reviews raised brand awareness, associations, perceived quality and loyalty, and negative reviews lowered perceived quality (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

Are negative reviews more harmful than positive reviews are helpful?

Not in this study: positive reviews had larger and broader effects (β = 0.39 to 0.61) than negative reviews, which mainly affected perceived quality (β = −0.19) (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

What is consumer-based brand equity?

The value a brand has in consumers’ minds, usually measured through brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty (Aaker, 1991).

How many people read reviews before ordering food online?

In this sample, 54.7% checked online reviews and ratings before ordering a meal, including 10.9% who always did (Brzozowska-Woś & Schivinski, 2019).

Key concepts

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM): Positive or negative statements about a product or company made by consumers and shared online, such as reviews and ratings.
Consumer-based brand equity (CBBE): The value of a brand from the consumer’s perspective, built from brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty.
Stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model: A model in which environmental stimuli shape internal evaluations, which in turn drive responses (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974).
Online meal delivery platform: A service that lets consumers compare restaurants, read reviews and order meals for delivery online.

Open science and materials

Published version Central European Management Journal (open access)

Study materials

Scale items: All 18 items with standardised loadings, t-values, means, standard deviations, skewness, kurtosis and R² are in Table A below.

How to cite

Brzozowska-Woś, M., & Schivinski, B. (2019). The effect of online reviews on consumer-based brand equity: Case-study of the Polish restaurant sector. Central European Management Journal, 27(3), 2–27. https://doi.org/10.7206/cemj.2658-0845.1

Open access under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence.

Related publications

All publications