Message Interactivity and Source Credibility in Online Dental Practice Reviews: Responding to Reviews Triggers Positive Consumer Reactions Regardless of Review Valence.

Online health reviews are powerful since people use them to glean information about medical professionals. Nonetheless, less is known about what strategies can cultivate positive relationships with consumers when the latter are exposed to patient reviews. A 2 (review valence: negative vs. positive) x 3 (message interactivity: low vs medium vs high) x 2 (review responding source: customer service representative vs. dentist) between-subjects (N = 410) online experiment was conducted. The results showed that positive reviews (vs. negative reviews) and increased organizational responsiveness led to more favorable prospective patient reactions toward the reviewed dental practice.Most importantly, this study detected a significant two-way interaction between review valence and message interactivity. As found, even in the presence of negative reviews higher levels of message interactivity on online review sites can significantly improve the health organization-public relationship (e.g., trust, commitment, satisfaction, control mutuality) as well as enhance organizational reputation and patient behavioral intentions.Mediation tests revealed that source credibility mediated the effects of the review responding source on the relational outcomes, organizational reputation, and consumer behavioral intentions. More specifically, when a dentist replied to the reviews prospective patients perceived favorably the dental clinic and were more likely to visit it in the future than when a customer service representative responded. Theoretical and practical implications for effective online relationship management in the healthcare industry are discussed.

Examining the Effects of Celebrity (Vs. Noncelebrity) Narratives on Opioid Addiction Prevention: Identification, Transportation, and the Moderating Role of Personal Relevance.

Celebrity disclosures and narratives are popular strategies in health promotion. However, less is known about their joint effects and the mechanisms through which they function. A 2 (narrative type: celebrity vs. layperson) x 2 (personal relevance: low vs. high) online experiment (N = 248) tested the impact of different narrative types in increasing awareness about prescription opioid abuse. Results indicated that a celebrity narrative is more persuasive than its layperson counterpart. Also, personal relevance toward opioid addiction moderated the influence of narrative type. Celebrity narratives evoked more positive attitudes toward opioid prevention and greater behavioral compliance intentions with the recommended action for low-relevance individuals. Transportation and identification mediated the effects of celebrity narratives on participants' issue attitudes and behavioral intentions, but only for low-relevance individuals. Practically, the data suggest that incorporating celebrities in health narratives about opioid addiction prevention facilitates behavioral compliance, especially for individuals to whom a pressing health issue like opioid misuse is currently of low relevance.

Effects of narratives, frames, and involvement on health message effectiveness.

An online 2 (evidence type: narrative vs. informational) × 2 (message frame: gain vs. loss) × 2 (involvement: low vs. high) between-subjects factorial experiment was conducted to examine their effects in skin cancer awareness campaigns. Results showed that loss-framed narratives were convincing for high-involved individuals, whereas both gain-framed informational and loss-framed narratives evoked higher issue attitudes and behavioral intentions for low-involved ones. Mediation analyses showed that identification with the story protagonist mediated narrative effects on the outcome variables. Theoretical and practical implications for sun protection awareness campaigns are discussed.