The impact of online search intensity and the moderating role of marketing intensity on the market value of listed travel and airline companies in Vietnam

Abstract

This study elucidates the complex relationship between online search intensity and the market value of listed travel and airline companies in Vietnam, examining the moderating role of marketing intensity within this dynamic. By employing a Fixed Effects Model (FEM) with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors on an unbalanced panel dataset of 24 firms from 2015 to 2024 (208 observations), the research reveals that online search intensity (ln_SVI), a proxy for public attention, exerts a negative and statistically significant impact on firm market value (Tobin\u27s Q) (β = -0,189, p < 0,01), suggesting that surges in search volume are more indicative of crises than of positive interest. However, the study\u27s core finding is that marketing intensity (MKT) plays a crucial positive moderating role, capable of mitigating and even reversing this negative impact, as evidenced by a highly significant interaction coefficient (β = 0,875, p < 0,01). The research identifies a critical marketing expenditure threshold of 21,6 %, at which the adverse effect of online attention is completely neutralized, with further analysis showing this mitigating role is particularly pronounced for travel companies but not statistically significant for the airline sector. Consequently, the study concludes that online attention is a double-edged sword, and that marketing is not merely an expense but a strategic investment in "reputational assets," acting as an effective risk management tool that safeguards firm value against information shocks