Comparative meta-analysis of the effectiveness of inorganic and organic marketing communications

Purpose This study aims to explore elusive ways in which marketing communications create value for customers and firms. A two-step comparative meta-analysis of prior studies on inorganic (advertising) and organic (word of mouth [WoM]) communication was conducted to provide their aggregate impact on different types of consumer and firm outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study identified 157 unique research articles with 175 independent studies/samples with a cumulative sample size of 143,883 to conduct a meta-analysis. Findings This study examines the overall efficacy of advertising and WoM on five consumer-related and three firm-related outcomes. Furthermore, this study discusses the moderating effect of contextual factors (industry type, business context and location) on the different main effects to reveal interesting contextual insights. Research limitations/implications This study offers theoretical contributions, provides clear managerial guidance and compiles a set of future research directions. Practical implications This study provides clear direction for managers as they try to choose between and create a mix of organic and inorganic modes of communication. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this meta-analysis is the first in the field to systematically unravel the comparative effects of inorganic and organic communication.