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The use of stance markers for identity construction

A comparative study of Chinese hotel responses to online positive and negative reviews

ORCiD logo with link | Hefei Normal University
 | Hefei Normal University
Published online: 4 September 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.25160.hua
Abstract
In the hospitality sector, effectively responding to online reviews is vital for hotels to uphold their reputation and customer rapport. Taking 120 positive review responses and 120 negative review responses from Chinese hotels on Ctrip as the corpora, this study conducts a comparative analysis on the similarities, differences, functions and motivations of stance marker use and identity construction. It is found that both sides show similarity in the use of boosters, emotional markers, and the communicator identity construction. However, positive review responders use nicknames and evaluative markers more frequently and highlight the inviter identity, while negative review responders employ more first-person plural forms and hedges and emphasize the service provider identity. The findings reveal that responders to positive and negative reviews demonstrate both commonalities and distinct priorities in shaping positive hotel images and engaging with guests, offering insights for business practitioners to optimize their pragmatic strategies in digital communication.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Research on business responses to online reviews
    • 2.2Research on stance expression and identity construction
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Use of stance markers in hotel responses to positive and negative reviews
      • 4.1.1Overview of stance marker use in CRPR and CRNR
      • 4.1.2Functions of stance markers in CRPR and CRNR
    • 4.2Identities constructed by stance markers in hotel responses to positive and negative reviews
      • 4.2.1Overview of identity construction in CRPR and CRNR
      • 4.2.2Construction and Functions of identities in CRPR and CRNR
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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