Online review based IPA and IPCA: the case of Korean mobile banking apps

Purpose This study introduces a novel approach to conducting importance-performance analysis (IPA) and importance-performance competitor analysis (IPCA) by utilizing online reviews as an alternative to traditional survey-based marketing research. Design/methodology/approach In order to conduct IPA and IPCA utilizing online reviews, the following three steps were executed: (1) Extract key attributes of the product/service with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling. (2) Measure the importance of each attribute with keyword analysis. (3) Measure the performance of each attribute with KoBERT-based sentiment analysis. Findings By utilizing LDA, we were able to identify significant attributes identified by real users’ reviews. The approach of evaluating attribute importance using keyword metrics offers the advantage of straightforward computations, reducing computational expenses and facilitating intuitive metric assessments. The evaluation of BERT-based performance involved adapting pre-trained language models to the specific analysis domain, resulting in substantial time savings without compromising accuracy, ultimately bolstering the dependability of the metrics. Lastly, the case study’s findings indicate a growing emphasis on the aesthetic aspects of mobile banking apps in South Korea while highlighting the pressing need for enhancements in critical areas such as stability and security, which are particularly pertinent to the finance industry. Originality/value Previous studies have limitations in assessing significance solely based on sentiment scores and review ratings, resulting in an inability to independently measure satisfaction and importance metrics. This research addresses these limitations by introducing a keyword frequency-based importance metric, enhancing the accuracy and suitability of these measurements independently. In the context of performance measurement, this study utilizes pre-trained large language models (LLMs), which provide a cost-effective alternative to previous methods while preserving measurement accuracy. Additionally, this approach demonstrates the potential for industry-wide competitive analysis by enabling comparisons among multiple competitors. Furthermore, the study extends the application of review data-based IPA and IPCA, traditionally used in the tourism sector, to the evaluation of financial mobile applications. This innovation expands the scope of these methodologies, indicating their potential applicability across various industries.