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1 – 10 of 342Zhongyuan Zhou, Ting (Tina) Li, Chang Liu, Yang Zhou, Ping Li and Si Wen
More people share their tourism experiences on social media today than in the past, and as a result, more people follow these posts in their trip planning. However, studies into…
Abstract
Purpose
More people share their tourism experiences on social media today than in the past, and as a result, more people follow these posts in their trip planning. However, studies into tourists' intention to follow such posts are scarce. Therefore, this study investigates the antecedents influencing social media users' intentions to follow tourism-related posts (TRPs) when planning their trips.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were collected from 402 social media users who had followed TRPs for their trip planning. Data were then analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural networks.
Findings
The authors found that blogger–user fit and users' involvement with TRPs influenced behavior components (attitudes toward TRPs and intention to follow TRPs) via assessment components (bloggers' credibility and content quality), and the authors developed a framework to explain this relationship.
Originality/value
The findings advance prior studies by investigating (1) the antecedents of intention to follow TRPs when trip planning, (2) the two main social media elements – bloggers and posts – to understanding the role of social media on travel behavior and (3) involvement with TRPs and their impacts on travel behavior. This study contributes to the research on social media and tourism marketing and proposes practical indications for bloggers, social media platforms and destination marketing organizations.
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Jin Zhang, Xinmai Li, Banggang Wu, Liying Zhou and Xiang Chen
A critical step in influencer marketing is influencer outreach, where a brand reaches out to an influencer and forms a partnership. Yet little is known about how factors related…
Abstract
Purpose
A critical step in influencer marketing is influencer outreach, where a brand reaches out to an influencer and forms a partnership. Yet little is known about how factors related to this process might influence the outcomes of sponsored posts. To address this gap, the authors investigated whether, how and when the order of influencers' product use and brand outreach (i.e. use/outreach order) affects post persuasiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted three experimental studies. Studies 1 and 2 examined the effect of disclosure type (use-first, outreach-later vs. outreach-first, use-later vs. no disclosure) on consumers' responses to the post. Study 3 investigated the moderating effects of compensation disclosure type.
Findings
The results revealed that when the influencer used the product before (vs. after) being contacted by the brand, consumers had more favorable attitudes about the product and greater purchase intention upon reading the sponsored posts; perceived information diagnosticity mediated this effect. However, this tendency was mitigated if the influencer disclosed the specific monetary payment from the brand.
Originality/value
This research advances understanding of sponsorship disclosure and provides a way to manage its impact on message persuasiveness.
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Kent Le and Gokhan Aydin
In spite of the rise of social media influencers observed in the 2010s, the direction and future of influencers are ambiguous. This popular yet overused marketing tool has shown…
Abstract
Purpose
In spite of the rise of social media influencers observed in the 2010s, the direction and future of influencers are ambiguous. This popular yet overused marketing tool has shown certain problems and limitations such as a decrease in perceived authenticity and market saturation. Additionally, the outbreak of COVD-19 has amplified the significance of these factors and made many companies and influencers reconsider their involvement in influencer marketing. Within this context, this paper aims to explore whether influencers were impacted by diminishing perceived authenticity, market saturation or the prolonged pandemic. Also, the authors aim to investigate influencers’ perception of the future of influencer marketing post-pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
To gain insight into trends in influencer marketing from the influencer’s perspective, this paper uses qualitative research in the form of interviews with influencers and industry professionals.
Findings
The findings highlight the importance of perceived authenticity for success in influencer marketing. Most interviewees indicated that they had noticed a boom in social media influencer marketing before the pandemic, yet provided mixed views regarding the market during the pandemic. Several believe that influencers will continue to be relevant in the increasingly digital world (e.g. increasing digital marketing spend and e-commerce), whereas an expectation of new digital platforms and innovations was also observed. In the long term, saturation and decreased effectiveness were predicted by several interviewees.
Originality/value
This under-researched topic is of relevance especially to consumer goods companies, as social media marketing and influencer marketing are currently highly effective and popular tools. To refine marketing strategies designed around influencers, understanding the limitations, in the context of COVID-19, is crucial.
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Xing Zhang, Yongtao Cai, Yiwen Li and Yan Zhou
This paper aims to clarify the impact of information asymmetry on users' payment rates and examine the role of perceived uncertainty (PU) and acceptable price (AP) in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the impact of information asymmetry on users' payment rates and examine the role of perceived uncertainty (PU) and acceptable price (AP) in the relationship between information asymmetry and users' payment rates.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the influences of information asymmetry on users' payment rates, this paper collects 18,489 transaction data from the Chinese knowledge payment platform Zhihu with a Python crawler. This paper constructs a mediation model to define the relationship between information asymmetry and users' payment rates by introducing PU and AP as the mediators.
Findings
Information asymmetry negatively affects users' payment rates. In addition, PU and AP mediate the information asymmetry in users' payment rates bond.
Research limitations/implications
This study only explores the mediators of the information asymmetry users’ payment rates bond, ignoring the effect of potential moderators, which would be an important direction for future research.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper suggest that information communication is essential in knowledge market transactions. Knowledge providers, as well as knowledge platforms, should enhance information exchange with consumers in order to increase product sales.
Social implications
This paper provides a new perspective for understanding how information asymmetry affects users' payment rates and helps to guide suppliers to improve product quality. The research framework of this paper is universal to a certain extent.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to propose using PU and AP to construct a mediation model to study the information asymmetry between users' payment rates relationship. It provides a new perspective for understanding the channel of information asymmetry in customer behavior.
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Carolina Yukari Veludo Watanabe, Eduardo Henrique Diniz and Eusebio Scornavacca
This paper aims to identify the role of blogs in helping women victims of intimate partner sexual violence to restore their self-integrity.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the role of blogs in helping women victims of intimate partner sexual violence to restore their self-integrity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ research uses an interpretive stance, supported by motivational and “self” theories to analyze 33 blogs reporting the experiences of women in Brazil who suffered sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate partner.
Findings
This study identifies the reasons why women who suffer violence from intimate partners write blog posts. It also develops an analytical framework that bridges the gap between the design and use of IT-artifacts and the context of sexual violence from an intimate partner. Women who suffer violence from intimate partners look for blogs in order to find a safe space for expression, a knowledge hub and a social support network. Blogs play a pivotal role in supporting the journey of reconstructing their self-integrity.
Research limitations/implications
The results help to understand the role of blogs in helping victims in vulnerable situations trying to restore their self-integrity. It also contributes to improve the design and functionality of such platforms as an important resource for social support networks.
Practical implications
This study shows the positive impact of blogs as a tool to support victims in the process of restoring their self-integrity.
Social implications
This study aims to promote the use of digital artifacts such as blogs as a complementary instrument to fight violence against women.
Originality/value
The analytical framework used in this paper helps to understand the role of IT-artifacts in the context of sexual violence from an intimate partner.
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Childbearing via in vitro fertilization (IVF) was taboo for a long time in the Philippines despite being available in the Philippines since 1996 and the signing of the Republic…
Abstract
Childbearing via in vitro fertilization (IVF) was taboo for a long time in the Philippines despite being available in the Philippines since 1996 and the signing of the Republic Health Law back in 2013 (Dupont, 2013). In this chapter, the author examines how IVF is imagined, presented, and accepted in the Philippine context by looking at selected case studies of Filipino influencers who opted to bear children via IVF. The author explores these through analyses of selected YouTube videos and Facebook posts through the lens of visibility labor which refers to the activities done by influencers to “the work enacted to flexibly demonstrate gradients of self-conspicuousness in digital or physical spaces depending on intention or circumstance for favourable ends” (Abidin, 2016). The author also examines the comments sections of these selected videos and posts through web scraping to get a glimpse of the reception to the journeys and struggles of these public figures. The author argues that through the visibility labor of influencers, the phenomenon of childbearing via IVF is not only promoted as a viable, if not acceptable procreative process, but also perpetuated as an in/accessible procedure in the Philippines.
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Vaishali Kaushal and Rajan Yadav
Despite the severe impact of the COVID-19, Maldives was one of the top destinations which witnessed decent tourist arrival amid the pandemic. This study aims to analyze luxury…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the severe impact of the COVID-19, Maldives was one of the top destinations which witnessed decent tourist arrival amid the pandemic. This study aims to analyze luxury hospitality experiences of guests amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is exploratory in nature. This study analyses 4,302 real-time customer reviews using sentiment and thematic analysis with the help of NVIVO 12 plus and Leximancer.
Findings
The findings suggest travel products as well as services associated with luxury resorts needs to be revisited. Staff needs to be more professional and must be proactive while redesigning services specially in situations like pandemic. While redesigning services in situations like pandemic, staff needs to be proactive, professional and must follow all protocols. Major negative experiences included long waiting time to avail frill services, privacy intrusion by bloggers and influencers, service quality issues. We recommend enhancing service quality followed by investing more in training and development, increasing the number of foreign languages spoken by staff and disseminating localized culinary experiences will enhance the experience quality with guests.
Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations: first, this study limited itself to 15 luxury resorts of Maldives, which may not serve as a true representation of all luxury resorts of Maldives. The next limitation of this study is that the authors have collected customer reviews from TripAdvisor only, and the reviews were only in English language.
Practical implications
The findings of the research can be beneficial for the policymakers, hospitality practitioners and academicians who study luxury tourism industry to carve appropriate strategies for enhancing the customers’ luxury experience like leveraging customization in all areas and enhancing service quality, food quality, training and development of employees.
Originality/value
Maldives has become one of the most expensive traveler destinations and is home to world’s most expensive resorts. This study is original in nature and has a forward-looking approach which studies the disruptive effect of pandemic, intangible nature of luxury as a concept can be used by hospitality industry to redesign the luxury customer experience which can improve marketing strategies aiming to potentiate this niche. In addition, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study will be the first one to capture the real customer experiences of luxury resorts of Maldives.
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Sabreena Nawaz Baba, Zubair Ahmad Dada and Reyaz A. Qureshi
This study explores the tourists' behavioral intention toward tasting ethnic food by proposing 'enjoyment’ as an indirect mechanism in improvising the model of Wang. In other…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the tourists' behavioral intention toward tasting ethnic food by proposing 'enjoyment’ as an indirect mechanism in improvising the model of Wang. In other words, when affective and cognitive components are triggered positively while reading online gastronomy reviews on social media platforms, enjoyment is aroused, subsequently enhancing the desire to taste ethnic foods displayed online.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 385 visitors from Kashmir, India, were gathered using a purposive sample technique. The research model was put to the test using PLS-SEM.
Findings
Direct and indirect mechanisms influence Behavioral Intention. Enjoyment acts as a mediator. Overall, the results validated the presence of three direct and full mediation paths.
Practical implications
This study will help tourism practitioners justify their promotional activities on social networking sites, particularly in endorsing regional ethnic dishes. For example, tourism authorities could collaborate with bloggers on social media and offer incentives to promote attractive images of ethnic food. Similarly, ethnic food outlets can improve online exposure and interactivity by encouraging travelers to leave feedback after visits.
Originality/value
Unlike other studies, this research broadens our understanding by focusing on direct and indirect mechanisms. The inclusion of a mediator enhanced the total variance of the dependent variable.
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This study, a conceptual paper, analyses the growth of curation in tourism and hospitality and the curator role in selecting and framing products and experiences. It considers the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study, a conceptual paper, analyses the growth of curation in tourism and hospitality and the curator role in selecting and framing products and experiences. It considers the growth of expert, algorithmic, social and co-creative curation modes and their effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Narrative and integrative reviews of literature on curation and tourism and hospitality are used to develop a typology of curation and identify different curation modes.
Findings
Curational techniques are increasingly used to organise experience supply and distribution in mainstream fields, including media, retailing and fashion. In tourism and hospitality, curated tourism, curated hospitality brands and food offerings and place curation by destination marketing organisations are growing. Curation is undertaken by experts, algorithms and social groups and involves many of destination-related actors, producing a trend towards “hybrid curation” of places.
Research limitations/implications
Research is needed on different forms of curation, their differential effects and the power roles of different curational modes.
Practical implications
Curation is a widespread intermediary function in tourism and hospitality, supporting better consumer choice. New curators influence experience supply and the distribution of consumer attention, shaping markets and co-creative activities. Increased curatorial activity should stimulate aesthetic and stylistic innovation and provide the basis for storytelling and narrative in tourism and hospitality.
Originality/value
This is the first study of curational strategies in tourism and hospitality, providing a definition and typology of curation, and linking micro and macro levels of analysis. It suggests the growth of choice-based logic alongside service-dominant logic in tourism and hospitality.
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Cheryl Ann Lambert, Michele E. Ewing and Toqa Hassan
Fake news stories have become a central element of crises that corporate public relations practitioners have confronted. Whether such stories are rumors, outright lies or…
Abstract
Purpose
Fake news stories have become a central element of crises that corporate public relations practitioners have confronted. Whether such stories are rumors, outright lies or deliberate attempts to discredit corporations, they have the same impact and require specific strategies for public relations practitioners to effectively respond. The purpose of this study is to uncover strategies to manage crises that arise from fake news and if and how these strategies differ for other corporate crises.
Design/methodology/approach
In this multi-method study of 21 in-depth interviews and a 8-person focus group with senior-level corporate public relations practitioners, authors explored decision-making strategies for responding to fake news crises. Transcripts of interviews and the focus group were thematically analyzed.
Findings
Results reveal insights regarding how public relations practitioners determine if and when to respond to fake news crises in corporations; what response strategies public relations practitioners have the autonomy to employ for fake news crises in corporations, and how public relations practitioners control media narratives during fake news crises in corporations.
Practical implications
The findings guide public relations practitioners to craft an autonomous decision-making process and effective online listening strategies—establishing a watchful waiting approach—and determine if the fake news issue is a passing moment or movement swirling into a crisis.
Originality/value
Few studies have examined the perspectives of crisis communication experts about minimizing and managing fake news crises. The study identifies opportunities for future research focused on crises originating from fake news and disinformation.
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