The Role of Metaperception on the Effectiveness of Referral Reward Programs

Wirtz, Jochen; Orsingher, Chiara; Chew, Patricia; Tambyah, Siok Kuan

doi:10.1177/1094670512462138

Cited by 119Digital Marketing and Social MediaCustomer Service Quality and LoyaltyMarketing and Advertising Strategies

The Role of Metaperception on the Effectiveness of Referral Reward Programs

Wirtz, Jochen, Orsingher, Chiara, Chew, Patricia, Tambyah, Siok Kuan·2013·Journal of Service Research

DOI 10.1177/1094670512462138

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Abstract

It is generally believed that referral reward programs (RRPs) work because recommendations from friends or relatives are perceived as impartial and trustworthy in analogy to what happens with word-of-mouth recommendations. To understand how an incentivized recommendation affects recommendation behavior, we conducted qualitative interviews and two experiments. We show that recommendation behavior is driven by the givers perception (i.e., their metaperception) of how they will be viewed by the receivers. Metaperception, in turn, is affected negatively by the presence of an incentive, and positively affected by the tie strength between the giver and the receiver. Our findings show that RRPs can have a positive, neutral, and negative effect on recommendation behavior depending on the relative strengths of the negative indirect effect of incentive on recommendation behavior via metaperception, and the positive effect of the perceived attractiveness of the incentive on recommendation behavior.

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Referral rewards can hinder recommenders' perceptions relative to their beliefs about how recommendations are viewed by others.
“However, referral rewards can hinder recommenders ' perceptions relative to their beliefs about how recommendations are viewed by others (Wirtz et al. 2013).”
From Unintended reward costs: the effectiveness of customer referral reward programs for innovative products and services (2019) · cites this paper as Wirtz et al. 2013
Rewards may prevent referrals by raising social impression concerns.
“On the other hand, rewards may prevent referrals with raising social impression concerns (Wirtz and Chew, 2002; Ryu and Feick, 2007; Wirtz et al., 2013, 2019; Orsingher and Wirtz, 2018).”
From Reward Design for Customer Referral Programs: Reward–Product Congruence Effect and Gender Difference (2021) · cites this paper as Wirtz et al., 2013
A large reward has a positive effect on referral likelihood due to perceived attractiveness.
“It is generally accepted in related research that a large reward has a positive effect on referral likelihood due to perceived attractiveness (Ryu and Feick, 2007; Wirtz et al., 2013, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019; Wolters et al., 2020).”
From Reward Design for Customer Referral Programs: Reward–Product Congruence Effect and Gender Difference (2021) · cites this paper as Wirtz et al., 2013

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“…shown that, in offline environments, metaperception acts as a key mediating variable that explains how an extrinsic reward (i.e. an incentive) is internally processed by the recommendation giver and subsequently shapes recommendation behavior (Orsingher andWirtz, 2018; Wirtz et al., 2013a; 2018).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citation
Impact of Incentive Mechanism in Online Referral Programs: Evidence from Randomized Field Experiments
Jung, J., Bapna, R., Gupta, A., & Sen, S. (2021) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.2021.1870384 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Successful referral behavior in referral reward programs
Wirtz, J., Tang, C. J., & Georgi, D. (2018) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-04-2018-0111 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citation
Human vs robot baristas during the COVID-19 pandemic: effects of masks and vaccines on perceived safety and visit intention
Choi, M., Choi, Y., Kim, S., & Badu‐Baiden, F. (2022) · International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management · doi:10.1108/ijchm-02-2022-0157 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
How language abstractness affects service referral persuasiveness
Angelis, M. D., Tassiello, V., Amatulli, C., & Costabile, M. (2016) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.006 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“…seems to increase referral likelihood (Ryu and Feick, 2007), although such a positive relationship is more likely to occur when the customer is highly satisfied (Wirtz and Chew, 2002), as well as when the recommendation giver and recipient are in a strong tie relationship (Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
Exploring customer engagement in tourism
Romero, J. (2017) · Journal Of Vacation Marketing · doi:10.1177/1356766717725561 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“…we integrate studies that analyse the antecedents of several CE behaviours on a piecemeal basis (e.g. Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Macintosh, 2007; Nambisan and Baron, 2010; Romero, 2017; Tsai, 2015; Wei et al., 2013; Wirtz et al., 2013), thus offering a novel view of CE.”
BackgroundMethod
Buffering B2B service failure: The role of customer engagement
Sands, S., Campbell, C., Ferraro, C., & Plangger, K. (2022) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2022.03.007 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
The enhanced loyalty drivers of customers acquired through referral reward programs
Ramaseshan, B., Wirtz, J., & Georgi, D. (2017) · Journal of service management · doi:10.1108/josm-07-2016-0190 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citation
Antecedents to Online Travel Purchase: Role of Network Benefits, Pilgrimage Packages, Interactivity, Trust and Customer Reviews
Khare, A., Dixit, S., & Sarkar, S. (2020) · Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism · doi:10.1080/1528008x.2020.1740133 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
I Will Get a Reward, Too: When Disclosing the Referrer Reward Increases Referring
Xu, M., Yu, Z., & Tu, Y. (2022) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/00222437221117113 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“That is, prospective referrers may feel uncomfortable, conflicted, guilty, and other negative emotions, which we dub the “psychological barrier” (see also Aggarwal 2004; Grayson 2007; McGraw, Tetlock, and Kristel 2003; Tuk et al. 2009; Verlegh et al. 2013; Wirtz et al. 2013) that deters them from referring.”
BackgroundInfluential
Turning dissatisfied into satisfied customers: How referral reward programs affect the referrer׳s attitude and loyalty toward the recommended service provider
Kuester, M., & Benkenstein, M. (2014) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.07.005 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Some academics have questioned the value of incentive referral campaigns (e.g., Trusov et al., 2009; Van den Bulte, 2010; see also Schmitt et al., 2011), particularly because rewarded referrals can be driven by motives of self-interest (Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
The effect of tokenized rewards on customer loyalty programs
Boukis, A. (2024) · Annals of Tourism Research · doi:10.1016/j.annals.2024.103851 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Understanding the quality–quantity conundrum of customer referral programs: effects of contribution margin, extraversion, and opinion leadership
Viswanathan, V., Tillmanns, S., Krafft, M., & Asselmann, D. (2018) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-018-0603-8 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Can Friends Also Become Customers? The Impact of Employee Referral Programs on Referral Likelihood
Wentzel, D., Tomczak, T., & Henkel, S. (2014) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670513518271 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“Arguably, participants may have been concerned that their friends would learn that they had received a reward from their firm and that this reward would reflect unfavorably on them (Wirtz et al. 2013; Xiao, Tang, and Wirtz 2011).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
Share experiences: receiving word of mouth and its effect on relationships with donors
Sundermann, L. M. (2017) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-08-2016-0319 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“Another five-item scale tested in the context of referral rewards was adapted from Marsden and Campbell (1984) and Wirtz et al. (2013) to measure tie strength (e.g. ‘I have a close relationship with this person’).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
May we buy your love? psychological effects of incentives on writing likelihood and valence of online product reviews
Garnefeld, I., Helm, S., & Grötschel, A.-K. (2020) · Electronic Markets · doi:10.1007/s12525-020-00425-4 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“We Earned the Coupon Together”: The Missing Link of Experience Cocreation in Shared Coupons
Fang, E., Dong, B., Zhuang, M., & Cai, F. (2022) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/00222429221126990 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“goal is about the procurement of economic gains (e.g., a coupon’s financial savings; Wirtz et al. 2013).”
BackgroundInfluential
Customer Referral Behavior
Stein, A., & Ramaseshan, B. (2014) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/1094670514563495 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Past studies have examined moderating effects in regression models through interaction variables (Mittal and Kamakura 2001; Bell and Luddington 2006; Wirtz et al. 2013).”
BackgroundInfluential
Comparing advertising effectiveness in South-American and North-American contexts: testing Hofstede's and Inglehart's cultural dimensions in the higher education sector
Pergelova, A., & Angulo‐Ruiz, F. (2017) · International Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/02650487.2017.1364032 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“In the services marketing literature many studies have confirmed that people are more likely to rely on interpersonal communication in such industries because of the intangibility and experiential nature of services (de Matos and Rossi 2008; Wirtz et al. 2013).”
Background
Impact of referral reward program on innovative customers’ follow-up e-referral: The moderating role of creative self-efficacy
Zhang, D., Zhang, F., Liu, S., & Du, H. S. (2019) · Information Technology & People · doi:10.1108/itp-06-2017-0188 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Evolution of Referrals over Customers’ Life Cycle: Evidence from a Ride-Sharing Platform
Fernández-Loría, C., Cohen, M. C., & Ghose, A. (2022) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.2022.1138 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
How service quality and outcome confidence drive pre-outcome word-of-mouth
Ifie, K., Simintiras, A. C., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Mavridou, V. (2018) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.07.002 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Receiver responses to referral reward programs in social networks
Wang, Q., Mao, Y., Zhu, J., & Zhang, X. (2017) · Electronic Commerce Research · doi:10.1007/s10660-017-9271-x · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Furthermore, there are several studies on the motivation of WOM recommendations [1] as well as studies of costs [1, 3].”
Influential
The impact of uncertain rewards on customers’ recommendation intention in social networks
Wang, Q., Sun, Y., Zhu, J., & Zhang, X. (2018) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-03-2017-0116 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The effect of incentive structure on referral: the determining role of self-construal
Wang, L., & Chen, Z. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00852-z · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“, vouchers, gifts, free minutes, and cash) forWOM, which have been effective in generating WOM (compared to no incentives,Ryu & Feick, 2007 ; Wirtz et al., 2013).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
The Influence of Word-Of-Mouth Referral on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: Experimental Evidence from WeChat
Yuan, B., & Peluso, A. M. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13020645 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“While past research has examined several aspects of this phenomenon, such as the influences of rewards in recommendation plans [17–19], the role of the recommender’s professionalism and expertise [20], the effects of loyalty and satisfaction [21], and the role of recommender–recipient relationship strength in determin…”
Background
Nonmonetary rewards of referral reward programs and recommendation intention: The role of reward–product congruity
Peng, X., Xing, Y., Tian, Y., Fei, M., & Wang, Q. (2023) · Decision Support Systems · doi:10.1016/j.dss.2023.113999 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Reward Design for Customer Referral Programs: Reward–Product Congruence Effect and Gender Difference
Hu, H.-H., & Zhang, X.-M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644412 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Online or offline? Spillover effect of customer-to-customer interaction in a multichannel background
Liu, Y., Fu, X., & Ren, X. (2023) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-11-2021-0855 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Referral reward programs with scarcity messages on bank credit card adoption
Song, C., Wang, T., & Hu, M. Y. (2019) · International Journal of Bank Marketing · doi:10.1108/ijbm-12-2017-0260 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
How scarcity and thinking styles boost referral effectiveness
Ang, D., Gerrath, M. H. E. E., & Liu, Y. (2021) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21557 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Customer-to-Customer Communication: Referral of High and Low Involvement Products through Stimulated Word-of-Mouth
Bifkovics, B., Malota, E., Faria, L. N., & Martinez, L. F. (2023) · Journal of Promotion Management · doi:10.1080/10496491.2023.2253235 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“As the costs and benefits of taking part in a referral program are evaluated by the customer, the reward has been identified as an important driver in participation (Ryu & Feick, 2007; Wirtz & Chew, 2002; Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
Who is more likely to initiate referrals? Effect of consumer's regulatory focus on referral intention
Jin, H., Lu, S., & Wang, K. (2023) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103650 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Hedonic or utilitarian
Zhu, Y., & Lin, P. (2019) · Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science · doi:10.1108/jcmars-01-2019-0008 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The role of impulsive behaviour and meta-perception in referral reward programs
Zhan, M., Huang, M., Li, A., & Yang, Y. (2023) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103496 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Optimal promotional mix and pricing when faced with uncertain product value
Wang, R., Wang, Q., & Chiang, W. K. (2023) · European Journal of Operational Research · doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2023.08.042 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The role of blocked gratitude in non-voluntary tipping
Karabas, I., & Joireman, J. A. (2020) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-03-2020-0082 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Lastly, participants rated the scenario’s realism on a three-item scale (α = .92; e.g., “The scenario is realistic,” 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree; adapted from Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
Role of group cohesiveness in targeted mobile promotions
Gupta, R., Mukherjee, S., & Jayarajah, K. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.030 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Speaking up against service unfairness: The role of negative meta-perceptions
Ho, T. H., Tojib, D., & Khajehzadeh, S. (2016) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.11.002 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
For all to see: social risk and observable complaining on Facebook
Armstrong, C., Kulczynski, A., & Brennan, S. M. (2021) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-07-2020-0517 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Referrals for new client acquisition in professional services
Grierson, S., & Brennan, R. (2017) · Qualitative Market Research An International Journal · doi:10.1108/qmr-04-2016-0039 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Ryu and Feick (2007) and Wirtz et al (2013) investigated the effectiveness of referral reward programs.”
Background
The role of tie strength in bank credit card referral reward programs with scarcity messages
Song, C., Wang, T., Brown, H. T., & Hu, M. Y. (2019) · International Journal of Bank Marketing · doi:10.1108/ijbm-02-2019-0070 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
How to make recommendations on mobile social e-commerce more effective: The role of social features and temporal cues
Li, X., Wang, K., & Jiang, Q. (2024) · Information & Management · doi:10.1016/j.im.2024.104002 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Social dynamics of luxury customization: The unique impact of name personalization
O’Rourke, A.-M., Lin, J., Sung, B., & Septianto, F. (2024) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.22136 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Traditional Word-of-Mouth (WOM)
Ismagilova, E., Dwivedi, Y. K., Slade, E. L., & Williams, M. D. (2017) · SpringerBriefs in business · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-52459-7_2 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Acquiring customers via referral reward programs versus advertising: Who is more likely to provide future referrals?
Kuang, D., Ma, B., & Li, X. (2024) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103982 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Effect of e-referral incentive programs on referrer loyalty on social platforms
Fu, X., & Pang, J. (2018) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2018.1505872 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“When the reward is large enough, the monetary incentive will strengthen the referrers’ role of marketer and the referrers might feel as though they are ‘selling’ their referrals (Bem, 1972; Ryu & Feick, 2007), and this feeling will conflict with their altruistic motivation (Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
Reward the inductor or inductee? The effect of the inductee's altruism on a shopping guide platform
Zhang, X., & Zhang, Y. (2021) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-06-2021-0421 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
How to Effectively Design Referral Rewards to Increase the Referral Likelihood for Green Products
Kuang, D., Li, X.-F., & Bi, W.-W. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13137177 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“As for the referral likelihood, the scale was adapted from the study of Ryu and Feick [53] using a 100-point scale (0% = certain not to recommend the backpack; 100% = certain to recommend the backpack).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Exploring customer engagement behavior: construct proposal and its antecedents
Romero, J., & Okazaki, S. (2015) · International Symposium on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling · doi:10.3990/2.339 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Sharing Reward Program Based on Face Consciousness in Social Media
Han, X., Ju, C., Bao, F., Xu, C., Zhu, Y., & Chen, Y. (2022) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s362920 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Considering that, sharers worry about being seen as self-interested and thus reduce their recommendation intentions.(15) The above research emphasizes more on the persuasive utility of information interaction between consumers, but less on the reward mechanism based on informative utility.”
Background
The moderating role of perceived social risk in bank credit card referral programs
Song, C., Wang, T., Lee, H., & Hu, M. Y. (2020) · International Journal of Bank Marketing · doi:10.1108/ijbm-05-2020-0291 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
From initiations to sales: leveraging social media referral initiatives on customer willingness to participate in the cosmetics landscape in Sri Lanka
Jayasuriya, N., Jayasinghe, P. S. K., Rajapaksha, A., Dharmasiri, T., Sumanasinghe, D., & Dasanayake, A. (2024) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-02-2024-0168 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
How Do We Engage Customers in Official Activity in the Virtual Brand Community? The Effects of Enterprise-Generated Contents on Customer Engagement Behaviors
Yang, X., Su, X., Lin, J., Liu, J., Miao, M., & Jiang, Y. (2024) · Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research · doi:10.3390/jtaer19040171 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Exploring How Referral Reward Program Design Affects Consumer Intent to Purchase from a Recipient Perspective
Fan, C.-L., Su, Y.-L., Chang, S.-T., & Liu, D.-Y. (2014) · International Journal of Business and Management · doi:10.5539/ijbm.v9n11p21 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Impact of Customer’s Social Value on Optimizing Referral Reward Programs
Jiang, F., Mei, S., & Zhong, W. (2020) · Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce · doi:10.1080/10919392.2020.1761750 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Too assertive to recommend: The effect of assertive tone on referral behavior
Deng, H., Yang, S., & Jin, L. (2024) · Journal of Retailing · doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2024.12.001 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
How Does Sense of Belonging Bridge the Linkage Between Customer Engagement and Word of Mouth in Online Nonprofit Communities?
Diep, D. M., & Le, M. T. T. (2025) · Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing · doi:10.1080/10495142.2025.2488775 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Potential donors and volunteers may distinguish NPOs and evaluate their services based on recommendations of existing customers (Arnett et al., 2003; Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Make a good impression: Recommend different products for self-presentation
Wang, L., Chen, H., & Zhang, X. (2023) · Australian Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/03128962231166246 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“For incentivized WOM, self-presentation is also an essential motivation (Ryu and Feick, 2007; Wang and Chen, 2022; Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Influential
Friendships in marketing: a taxonomy and future research directions
Banerji, D., Singh, R. P., & Mishra, P. (2019) · AMS Review · doi:10.1007/s13162-019-00153-9 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Factors Influencing Users’ Word-of-Mouth Intention Regarding Mobile Apps : An Empirical Study
Chen, Y., & Shang, Y.-F. (2018) · Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business · doi:10.13106/ijidb.2018.vol9.no1.51 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Egotistic or altruistic? An experimental investigation of referral rewards in social e-commerce from the perspective of relationship norms
Su, J., Ke, D., Luo, X. R., & Bai, X. (2024) · Electronic Commerce Research · doi:10.1007/s10660-024-09819-4 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“The effectiveness of referral rewards is influenced by several factors, including the appeal of the rewards [30], the relationship between the referrer and the recipient [31], and the perceived social or economic costs associated with the act of referring [7].”
Will Great Power Come with Great Responsibility Only? A Dual Model of Consumer Power and Negative WOM on Social Media Review Platforms
Chen, C. H., Huang, Y., Liu, Y., & Gao, K. (2023) · Journal of Promotion Management · doi:10.1080/10496491.2023.2216197 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The Role of Communication Types on Referral Acceptance in Social Networks
Köster, A., Matt, C., & Heß, T. (2015) · doi:10.7892/boris.105435 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“…that influence the relevance and impact of referrals such as personality (Wirtz and Chew 2002), reward allocation scheme and reward type (Jin and Huang 2014; Ryu and Feick 2007; Wirtz et al. 2013), tie strength and social norms (Shi et al. 2013), and sources of the referral (Gasimov et al. 2010).”
Background
Alternatives for Telco Data Network: The Value of Spatial and Referral Networks for Churn Detection
Colot, C., Baecke, P., & Linden, I. (2021) · Information systems management · doi:10.1080/10580530.2021.1887981 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“This phenomenon of opportunistic behavior in referral programs has already been discussed in the literature (Jin & Huang, 2014; Tuk et al., 2009; Verlegh et al., 2013; Wirtz et al., 2013).”
Background
Exploring How Young Consumers Construct Identities in Socially Restrictive Societies: Managing Impressions Through Fashion Clothing
Abid, M., O’Cass, A., Ahmadi, H., & Siahtiri, V. (2026) · Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ) · doi:10.1177/14413582261423008 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Selling radical innovations
Schmitz, B., Schmalstieg, J., Plötner, O., Eggert, A., & Habel, J. (2025) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.09.002 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Seeing Opportunities From Conflicts: Exploring Third Parties’ Mixed Reactions to Ethical Conflict in the Workplace
Wang, Y., Luo, J., Guo, L., & Zhao, H. (2025) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-025-06213-4 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“A pilot study ( N = 120, M age = 29.71, SD age = 8.59, 65.0% female) was conducted to test the perceived realism of these three scenarios using the three-item scale developed by Wirtz et al. (2013).”
Influential
The role of risk preference in referral reward programs
Wang, T., Song, C., & Hu, M. Y. (2024) · The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/10696679.2023.2291709 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling: The conference for PLS Users
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., Roldán, J. L., & Cepeda, G. (2015) · doi:10.3990/2.319 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Effects of Social Connectedness on the Sharing of Employee-Created Content
Zhang, X., & Chen, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.782304 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In practice, many firms often offer various promotional content to attract consumer participation and enhance sales, such as discounts (Wirtz et al., 2013), cash payments (Exley, 2018), and vouchers (Ryu and Feick, 2007), but if the firm cannot accurately target the promotional content to the…”
Background
The influence of reward qualifying conditions on participation in online referral programs
Zhang, J., Lu, Q., Zhang, L., & Harness, D. (2025) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104689 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Seeing opportunities from threats: How human employees respond to robot service failures from a social comparison perspective
Wang, Y., Luo, J., & Wang, X. C. (2026) · Asia Pacific Journal of Management · doi:10.1007/s10490-025-10093-7 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The effect of referral tasks on customers’ referral likelihood on social platforms
Ma, S., Xie, Q., Wang, J., & Jingjing, D. (2024) · Nankai Business Review International · doi:10.1108/nbri-03-2023-0027 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
From a Penny to Self-Disgust: How Cashback Rewards for Favorable Comments and Relationship Norms Affect Consumers’ Post-Purchase Behavioral Intentions
Guo, Q. (2024) · Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research · doi:10.3390/jtaer19020056 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Meta-perceptions are social inferences [14] of how consumers are viewed/judged by others when accepting a CRFC [14–19].”
Background
Exploring Consumer Word‐Of‐Mouth Intentions Following Green Product Purchases: A Self‐Verification Theory Perspective
Chen, C., Zhang, D., Zhu, L., & Zhang, F. (2025) · Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility · doi:10.1111/beer.12849 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Weiterempfehlungsprogramme: Die Wirkung des Akquisitionskanals und der Prämienaufteilung auf den Erfolg von Weiterempfehlungen
Klopfer, L., & Steul‐Fischer, M. (2020) · Zeitschrift für die gesamte Versicherungswissenschaft · doi:10.1007/s12297-020-00466-w · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Digitale Technologien und das Internet haben zu einer Verlagerung der Weiterempfehlungsprogramme in die Online-Welt geführt und deren Verbreitung beschleunigt (Wirtz et al. 2013).”
BackgroundInfluential
Can Reward Uncertainty Encourage Social Referrals? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment
Li, A. T., Belo, R., & Li, T. (2026) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2024.05685 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The double-edged sword of incentivized referral: How invitation mechanisms undermine engagement in PDT-OBCs
Liu, H., Wang, T., Xiao, Y., & Pan, G. (2025) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104686 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
When are Referral Reward Programs Effective: A Perspective of Regulatory Fit Theory
Huifan, L., Qiuying, Z., & Hua-rui, C. (2014) · International Conference on Service Sciences · doi:10.1109/icss.2014.17 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
A reward for your voice: The effects of referral rewards on the referrer’s attitude toward the recommended service provider
Kuester, M., & Benkenstein, M. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-08090-7_8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Optimal referral rewards for poverty-alleviating products based on the structural equation interpretation
Zou, F., & Zhou, Y. (2023) · Kybernetes · doi:10.1108/k-09-2022-1280 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Exploring the influence of submission devices on customer referral creation and receiver reactions in customer referral programs
Wolf, L., Klopfer, L., Steul‐Fischer, M., & Reinsperger, M. (2024) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2397 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Influential Factors In Consumer's Adoption Of Innovative Products
Kalantari, M. (2018) · Human Biology · Cited by 1 · see citing works
La contribution de la propriété légale des clients aux comportements d'engagement
Béal, M. (2018) · doi:10.70675/085d422ezdf59z4e4fz8a71z6e98a4bf7644 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Engaging with the engaged – Issues around the topic of customer engagement
Harris, D. A. (2013) · UpSpace Institutional Repository (University of Pretoria)

Effectiveness of Customer Referral Reward Programs: The Mediating Role of Metaperception
Georgi, D., Wirtz, J., Xiao, P., & Tang, C. S. (2017) · Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50008-9_196 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
Psychological drivers of referral reward program effectiveness
Orsingher, C., & Wirtz, J. (2018) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-07-2017-0247 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citation
Online and Offline Referral Reward Programs
Orsingher, C., Jochen, W., & Cho, H. (2013) · Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna)
Self-citation
The Duality of Metaperception in Referral Reward Programs
정상윤 (2023) · Seoul National University Open Repository (Seoul National University)
Engaging customers through online and offline referral reward programs
Wirtz, J., Orsingher, C., & Cho, H. (2019) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-10-2017-0756 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Self-citation

Authors: Wirtz, J., Orsingher, C., Chew, P., & Tambyah, S. K.
Affiliations: National University of Singapore (SG)
University of Bologna (IT)
Singapore University of Social Sciences (SG)
Corresponding author: Orsingher, Chiara
ORCID: Wirtz, Jochen
Tambyah, Siok Kuan
Venue: Journal of Service Research
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2012-11-02
Volume: 16
Issue: 1
Pages: 82-98
ISSN: 1094-6705 (ISSN-L)
1552-7379
DOI: 10.1177/1094670512462138
OpenAlex: W2137607454
Cited by: 119
References: 85
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 4
FWCI: 16.88
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Service Research (publishedVersion)
National University of Singapore (submittedVersion)
Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Customer Service Quality and Loyalty
Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
Keywords: referral reward programs, metaperception, recommendation behavior, word of mouth, incentives, tie strength, trust

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The Role of Metaperception on the Effectiveness of Referral Reward Programs

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