The Review Response Genre: Structures, Language, and Functions

By: Victor Ho

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Synopsis: Expanding the scope of the metadiscourse construct, Ho offers a comprehensive analysis of the online review response genre using hotel managers' responses to negative reviews posted by dissatisfied customers on TripAdvisor. He adopts a robust research methodology that involves both quantitative and qualitative analyses of three different types of data: managerial responses to negative comments, questionnaire responses from dissatisfied customers who wrote the reviews, and interview responses from hotel managers who wrote the responses. By drawing upon the genre theory and the construct of rapport and metadiscourse, the analysis shows that hotel management’s attempts at service recovery can be materialized through the move structures of the managerial responses, and the strategies used in managing rapport with dissatisfied customers and in persuading both existing and potential customers to purchase accommodation services from the hotels. An essential reading for students and researchers of pragmatics and professional communication, along with anyone interested in the role of language in persuading customers, neutralizing criticisms, and managing interpersonal relationships, particularly in the context of open forums online.