Abstract
While existing research has investigated electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) from a consumer behavior perspective, comparatively few studies have been paid to the impact of eWOM on firm performance, especially on innovative performance. Moreover, network structure increasingly becomes important in the context of eWOM. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of network centrality on the effects of eWOM on financial and innovative performance using online review data of gaming companies in Taiwan. The results provide empirical evidence to challenge the notion that negative eWOM always harms firm performance. More specifically, the study demonstrates that network centrality attenuates the adverse impact of negative eWOM on innovative performance, whereas network centrality strengthens the impact of positive eWOM on financial performance. The results enrich the body of eWOM research to social network literature through a big data analytics approach and extend the marketing literature from consumer perspective to firm perspective.