The current study aims to explore brand authenticity (and related constructs such as the need for uniqueness and brand love) and consumer brand engagement in consumers’ sentiments towards restaurants on online reviews. This research uses a text mining technique, applying sentiment analysis to the reviews. The data is retrieved from Yelp.com, and uses a randomly selected sample of 3,877 reviews of restaurants, from seven cities in the USA. For the purpose, this paper proposes a specifically created brand authenticity and a consumer brand engagement dictionary, based on previously validated scales which contribute to perform a more multi-faceted analysis. This paper contributes to the marketing research by unfolding a high level of consumer-brand engagement and brand authenticity in online reviews, revealing that positive sentimental attachment toward a focal object in reviews is an essential source of information.

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Brand authenticity,brand love,consumer brand engagement,need for uniqueness,user-generated content

• Economics and Business - Social Sciences