The Use of Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis in the Evaluation of Corporate Reputation of Municipalities: The Case of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality

Abstract

Purpose- In this study, the corporate reputation of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, the largest public institution of Antalya, is evaluated and interpreted through the comments of the citizens receiving services. Design/methodology/approach- The TextBlob library of the Python program was used for sentiment analysis of 606 comments obtained through Google Maps. Word frequencies were analysed with the text mining method and a word cloud was created. Findings- According to the sentiment analysis data for Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, 63% of the comments about Antalya Metropolitan Municipality are positive. This high level of positive comments indicates that the services and activities of the municipality are evaluated positively by a large segment of the population. This situation shows that the municipality is successful in terms of public relations and service delivery. The rate of negative feelings about the organization was calculated at 20%, and the rate of neutral comments was 17%. The comments about the municipality were categorized as positive, negative, and neutral. For each category, the most 20 frequently used words are listed on the table. When the most frequently used words about Antalya Metropolitan Municipality are analyzed, words such as successful, excellent, consultation, beautiful, location, and relevant are at the top of the list. The frequent use of these words indicates that citizens are generally satisfied with municipal services. When the words in the word cloud are analyzed, it is possible to say that Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has a positive image in the eyes of the public and creates satisfaction with the services it provides. Especially transport services, which directly affect the quality of life of the people, draw attention among the positive words among the works of the municipality. Discussion- It is recommended that Antalya Metropolitan Municipality take strategic steps to increase positive perceptions, decrease negative perceptions, and turn neutral sentiments into positive ones. It is thought that sustainable success can be achieved by analyzing negative and neutral comments in detail and identifying the problems from which these comments stem.