Online sentiment analysis in marketing research : a review

Purpose: The explosion of internet-generated content, coupled with methodologies such as sentiment analysis, present exciting opportunities for marketers to generate market intelligence on consumer attitudes and brand opinions. The purpose of this paper is to review the marketing literature on online sentiment analysis and examines the application of sentiment analysis from three main perspectives: the unit of analysis, sampling design and methods used in sentiment detection and statistical analysis. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews the prior literature on the application of online sentiment analysis published in marketing journals over the period 2008-2016. Findings: The findings highlight the uniqueness of online sentiment analysis in action-oriented marketing research and examine the technical, practical and ethical challenges faced by researchers. Practical implications: The paper discusses the application of sentiment analysis in marketing research and offers recommendations to address the challenges researchers confront in using this technique. Originality/value: This study provides academics and practitioners with a comprehensive review of the application of online sentiment analysis within the marketing discipline. The paper focuses attention on the limitations surrounding the utilization of this technique and provides suggestions for mitigating these challenges.