Word-Of-Mouth Marketing in Health Sector: A Bibliometric Analysis

Özet

Purpose - By nature, human beings tend to share the positive or negative emotions they experience with their environment. This type of behavior also shows itself in shopping behavior. For example, if consumers who buys clothes experiences satisfaction or dissatisfaction with this clothing, they wants to share this with their circle and convey their positive or negative shopping experience. This is important for all sectors where marketing strategies are developed. Word-of-mouth marketing strategy is an important reference in terms of establishing correct communication with the consumer, especially in the healthcare sector, which has an expensive and complex structure. In this study, it is aimed to systematically examine the studies on the concept of word-of-mouth communication in the field of health through a literature review. Design/methodology/approach - All studies that included the concept of word of mouth communication were examined by scanning the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). A total of 1086 articles were scanned and a total of 173 articles related to the research topic were included in the study. The year of the research was not taken as a constraint in the study and all articles published until March 11, 2024 were scanned. The Bibliometrix r-package (Biblioshiny) application and VOSviewer was used for textual and grapgical represantations and visualization. Findings - It is shown that the studies were published between 1996 and 2024, and when their performance is examined, there has been a significant growth in the number of studies since 2019.When the data collection methods of the studies were examined, it was seen that the most dominant method was the survey. Very few studies collect data from online platforms and social media.Among the data analysis methods, the descriptive analysis method was mostly used. It is seen that the number of studies such as machine learning and algorithm development as data analysis methods in social media and online platforms is low.Most of the publications came from the USA and China. İt has been seen that the British Food Journal and the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing publish the most publications on word-of-mouth marketing in the field of healthcare. When the keyword analysis that the authors use the most following word of mouth marketing is examined, it is seen that the words social media, purchase intention, social marketing and health come to the fore. Discussion - There are limited bibliometric analysis studies on the subject. It can be said that the USA and China provide up-to-date continuity in the field of national health and marketing. The word social media stands out in the keywords, but although it is seen that the word 'electronic word of mouth marketing (e-WOM)' is rarely used due to the scarcity of data analysis studies on social media and online platforms, it is recommended to take into consideration that the increasing social media marketing and online platform data will create a very good sample for the authors of the relevant publications. The study was only scanned by the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). A similar study can be repeated by scanning different databases. In this study on word of mouth communication in the health sector, the sector can be examined in detail. For example, it can be discussed in which area the study is used more in the health sector (surgery, protective and preventive, cosmetics).