Content and sharing · Meta-analysis of empirical eWOM-sales research
The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on Sales: A Meta-Analytic Review of Platform, Product, and Metric Factors
Babić Rosario, A., Sotgiu, F., De Valck, K., & Bijmolt, T. H. A. (2016). Journal of Marketing Research, 53(3), 297–318.
Plain-English take
Looking across the studies, stronger online word of mouth effects for tangible goods that are new to the market; product life cycle did not moderate the effect for services. For your marketing: Measure the amount and sentiment of customer discussion separately and connect both to sales outcomes.
How much weight to give this
3.5/5 Useful evidence with meaningful caveats
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
A synthesis can show patterns across studies; its strength depends on the included evidence.
A usable sample size is not stated in the profile's accessible source.
No single control group; check inclusion criteria, study quality, and variation across settings.
This profile could be checked against an abstract or metadata, not the full paper.
Double-blind? Not applicable in the same way as a participant-treatment experiment.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How do platform, product and measurement choices moderate the relationship between electronic word of mouth and sales?
Design
A meta-analysis synthesizes empirical studies of eWOM and sales and tests whether platform, product type and eWOM metrics explain differences in prior findings.
Sample and setting
Cross-study evidence covering online platforms, product types and eWOM measures; the publisher abstract reviewed here does not report the number of studies.
Reported result
What the study found
The synthesis reports stronger eWOM effects for tangible goods that are new to the market; product life cycle did not moderate the effect for services. eWOM volume had a stronger effect on sales than valence in the analyzed studies.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Meta-analytic estimates depend on the included studies, platform era and definitions of sales and eWOM. The results concern broad product/service categories and do not predict a particular SaaS review program.
Possible founder application
Measure the amount and sentiment of customer discussion separately and connect both to sales outcomes. Treat review volume and valence as distinct signals, not interchangeable scores.
Evidence access
Publisher abstract and author record
Journal of Marketing Research publisher abstract; claims are confined to its stated moderators and reported results.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.