New Product Buzz: Measurement, Mode of Action and Influence of Dynamic, Collective Anticipation in Digital Social Media; first funding phase: Trash-Talk and Firestorm: Influences of Negative Customer Comments in Digital Social Networks on Brand Value

在B1的第一个资助阶段，我们总共发表了六篇学术论文，对负面口碑的影响和管理，特别是社交媒体风暴，达成了全面的理解。在第一步中，我们通过实验证明，与pWOM相反，nWOM在功能性品牌社区中受到重视，但在DSM的社交导向型品牌社区中会引发负面反应。第二步，我们分析了品牌管理者对新口碑发生的反应策略。在这里，我们表明，没有一般的最优策略，但在需求侧管理中处理消费者批评的有效性取决于管理层反应的音调和用户的目标，从而使反应策略的优选依赖于上下文。第三步解决了社交媒体风暴现象。我们通过实验表明，参与风暴的人数和他们表达的愤怒增加了，特别是当风暴的原因涉及道德失败时，这反过来又增加了参与风暴是社会合适的看法，以及与其他参与者有相似之处的看法。这场风暴的原因也是解释社交媒体风暴对消费者和品牌影响的核心驱动因素。使用一次和二次数据的独特组合，我们展示了火暴的强度、它的生动程度和它的原因解释了哪些火暴对品牌认知产生负面影响，哪些火暴在发生数年后仍被人们记住-以及哪些火暴早晚会被遗忘。在即将到来的B1项目中，我们希望利用这些获得的关于DSM中的火暴的知识来调查相关的“新产品嗡嗡”(NPB)现象。我们将NPB定义为消费者行为的集合，这些行为表达了对新产品的预期，并可被其他人观察到。这场消费者运动本质上也是集体的和动态的，与风暴不同的是，它的特点是前瞻性预期，因此通常具有内在的积极性质。在B1的第二个资金阶段，我们首先想为NPB结构引入一种基于理论的测量方法。在此基础上，调查NPB对个人消费者的心理影响将是非常有趣的-NPB为消费者提供了什么样的价值，是什么使NPB具有影响力？这种影响是如何随着时间的推移而演变的--是否存在饱和点，NPB是否会“过多”？最后，我们想要分析NPB的经济后果，并确定其驱动因素。预期的结果将涵盖非营利组织的相关方面，供学者和实践者参考，并为非营利组织及其管理的进一步研究提供重要的启示。

In the first funding phase of B1, with a total of six academic papers, we arrived at an encompassing understanding of the effect and management of negative word of mouth (nWOM) in general and social media firestorms in particular. In the first step, we i. a. experimentally showed that nWOM –contrary to pWOM—is valued in functional brand communities, but triggers negative reactions in socially-oriented brand communities in DSM. In a second step, we analyzed reaction strategies to the occurrence of nWOM of brand managers. Here we showed that there is no generally superior strategy, but that the effectiveness of handling consumer criticism in DSM depends on the tonality of the management’s response and the goals of the users, thus making the preferable choice of reaction strategy context-dependent. The third step addressed the social media firestorm phenomenon. We showed experimentally, that the number of firestorm participants and their expressed outrage increases particularly if the reason of the firestorm involves a moral failure which, in turn, increases the perception that firestorm participation is socially appropriate as well as the perception of shared similarity with other participants. The firestorm reason is also a central driver for explaining the effects of social media firestorms on consumers and brands. Using a unique combination of primary and secondary data, we showed that the strength of the firestorm, its vividness, and its reason explain which firestorms affect brand perceptions negatively and which firestorms are remembered even years after their occurrence – and which are forgotten sooner rather than later.In the upcoming project of B1, we want to use this gained knowledge on firestorms in DSM to investigate the related phenomenon of “new product buzz” (NPB). We define NPB as the aggregation of consumer behaviors that express anticipation for a new product and are observable by others. This consumer movement, which is also collective and dynamic in nature, is –in contrast to firestorms—characterized by forward-looking anticipation and is thus typically inherently positive in nature. In the second funding phase of B1, we first want to introduce a theory-based measurement approach for the NPB construct. Building on that, it will be very interesting to investigate the psychological effect of NPB on the individual consumer – what kind of value does NPB provide to consumers, what makes NPB impactful? How does this impact evolve over time – are there satiation points, can there a “too much” of NPB? Finally, we want to analyze the economic consequences of NPB and identify its drivers. The expected findings shall cover the relevant aspects of NPB for scholars and practitioners and provide important implications for further research on NPB as well as its management.