Impact of User-Generated Internet Content on Hospital Reputational Dynamics

Abstract

In pursuit of notable reputations, organizations commonly engage their stakeholders using various online mechanisms. While “reputation signaling” via online user engagement is commonplace, its implications in the context of user-generated content (UGC) remain largely unaddressed. This study empirically explores the impact of UGC on hospital reputational dynamics. A unique panel dataset was analyzed using a lagged model approach to determine the effects of signals of quality, awareness, and content variance on hospital prominence and quality as well as the impact of reputation on financial performance. The findings suggest that quality signals significantly impact patient-perceived quality ratings, and signals of awareness and content variance significantly impact prominence rating. Also, in contrast to prominence, perceived quality significantly impacts financial performance. Given the ready availability of user-generated feedback, these findings can inform patient-provider online engagement strategies and related budget allocations. Furthermore, they highlight the unique role of Facebook ratings as an antecedent to quality and prominence dimensions of reputation.

Key words and phrases:

• hospital reputation
• healthcare
• online prominence
• quality signals
• content variance
• user-generated content
• hospital utilization
• financial performance
• online engagement

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge Laurel DiBrog (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center) and Walter Ludwig (Kenmore Mercy Hospital) for their feedback related to the model development; and Pascal van Kooten for his substantial input in data collection. We also acknowledge the generous financial support for the research from the School of Management at the University at Buffalo.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anton Ivanov

Anton Ivanov ([email protected]; corresponding author) is a Research Associate in the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Ivanov’s research stands at the intersection of information systems, data science, and healthcare analytics with an emphasis on user-generated content.

Raj Sharman

Raj Sharman ([email protected]) is a professor in the Management Science and Systems Department at the University at Buffalo. He has served as the director of the Master’s degree program in Management Information Systems (MIS) and as the Ph.D. faculty adviser for the Department of Management Science and Systems at the University at Buffalo. He received his doctoral degree in Computer Science and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana State University. He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and a Master’s degree in Industrial Management from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. His interests are in the areas of artificial intelligence, disaster response management, information assurance, and health information technology. He has published widely in scholarly journals and is the recipient of numerous grants from the university and external agencies, including the National Science Foundation.