MORE THAN FRIENDS: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON WORD OF MOUTH, BRAND LOYALTY AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL HOTELS

Purpose of the study: Increases in global travel have led to the internationalization of the hospitality industry. Though a number of applications of social media have been examined in the hospitality industry, few of them integrate key dimensions of fan pages into a measurement model in the same time, including interactivity (INT), engagement (ENG), trust (TRT), friendship (FRP), word-of-mouth (WOM) and purchase intention (PI). Methodology: Based on 408 valid fans from Facebook fan pages of 24 International hotels in Taiwan, the empirical results show that ENG, FRP, TRT, and WOM all act as partial mediators in their impact on post-purchase behaviors. Based on Taiwanese International hotels, this study attempts to explore why these owners want more than just a friend. Main findings: The empirical results show that ENG, FRP, TRT, and WOM all act as partial mediators in their impact on post-purchase behaviors. The study demonstrates the mechanisms behind utilizing social media to build solid long term potentially profitable relationships with hotel clientele. Originality/value: We propose and empirically investigate an integrated theoretical framework to more fully capture and describe the consumer’s behavior in the brand community. Our model of the social media process is informed by an “S-O-R” view from consumer behavior, where INT and ENG help create the situation which acts as a stimulus for FRP and TRT which in turn influence BL, WOM, and further PIs. Here, we see the pull force (website INT) as an influence on the brand-consumer relationship (i.e., FRP) through a push force (fan’s ENG). Together and along with the brand content they combine to create the consumer stimulus

Optimal user esperience in social commerce: the role of emotions, flow and user-generated information

This doctoral dissertation aims to understand how to optimize online customer experience in the highly interactive environment of social commerce. In an attempt to go beyond online commercial transactions and to support a consumer-centered and social-oriented perspective, social commerce offers users the necessary tools (e.g., recommendations, referrals, ratings and forums) for fostering social interactions during the online purchasing process. User-generated content, the fruit of these social interactions, can affect and help users in their decision-making process. Hence, the main objective of this dissertation aims to understand online consumer behavior to optimize the customer experience in social commerce. This doctoral dissertation is organized into four studies.Study 1 aims to investigate the customer engagement behavior literature in depth, analyzing the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of the engagement generation process in social commerce and the role of emotions within that process. This study proposes a model of the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of the engagement generation process. The model analyzes how interactivity, social presence and enjoyment affect sPassion and result in positive sWOM. The results confirm empirically that cognitive experience and emotional feelings derived from the process boost user participation. At the core of the process, sPassion positively affects the spread of sWOM. Study 2 has the objective of reaching a wider understanding of optimal user experience in social commerce and its mediating effect between emotions and behavior. Accordingly, the study is divided into two parts: first, to analyze the dimensionality, structure and measurement of the state of flow; and second, to test how websites can improve user experience to boost positive sWOM while avoiding negative sWOM. The empirical results confirm the three-dimensional nature of the concept and support its second-order reflective structure, thereby helping to establish the basis for measuring state of flow, its structure and factors; and it confirms that passionate users are likely to experience a state of flow and, as a consequence, to share positive sWOM. Study 3 investigates how user-generated versus company-generated information contributes to trust in the social commerce site, at the same time analyzing how user-generational cohorts behave (Generations X, Y and Z). Social commerce websites offer content created by the company itself and by its users, and this content is accessible without time and space constraints; therefore, everyone, regardless of age, can access social commerce information. The mission of social commerce is to boost tradeoffs while offering users the chance to share their own experiences and to obtain information from the experiences of others. Hence, trust transferred in this part of the purchasing decision process will be influenced by trust in the type of information available. Thus, Study 3 analyzes how user-generated and company-generated information contribute to trust in social commerce. The younger the generation, the more trust in social commerce is transferred from trust in user-generated information; the older the generation, the more trust in social commerce is transferred from trust in company-generated information. Study 3 confirms that users cannot be considered as a single group and must be segmented into generational cohorts.Study 4 investigates user experience across cultures, analyzing the effect of hedonic and utilitarian antecedents on optimal user experience and its consequences on user intention. Taking into account the salience of emotions within experiences of digital technologies, this study has a twofold purpose. First, it analyzes how emotions such as sPassion compared with flow state affected by usability, resulting in a positive impact on emotional and behavioral loyalty. Second, as the main focus of the study, cultural background is tested as a moderating effect.This dissertation allows us to draw a number of main conclusions regarding the study of online consumer experience in social commerce. First, on the basis of the importance of emotion in customer experience, this dissertation supports the primary role of emotions in shaping optimal user experience in social commerce. Second, once users are engaged and have reached an optimal experience (state of flow), this situation drives positive changes in their behavior, positively affecting their decision-making process. Third, it is necessary to take into account the fact that generational cohorts behave differently, since they trust information in different ways. Last, but not least, despite the fact that culture influences decision-making processes, the internationalization of markets and multiculturalism is making users more and more similar.<br /

Justice, emotions and satisfaction in complaint behavior in services

This study proposes a marketing approach to service recovery (SR) models in order to help to explain what factors affect cumulative satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth following complaint behavior. The model has its base on the definition of perceived justice and its influence on satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) and on emotions (positive and negative). Trust acts as a central construct in the model, receiving influence from the affective and cognitive aspect and mediating the relationship between SSR and cumulative satisfaction and between positive/negative emotions and loyalty. The sample for this study consists of 303 Spanish B2C-EC users who made a complaint after an electronic transaction. Results from the analysis show the influence of perceived justice ?mainly interactional justice and procedural justice? on SSR, and the relevance of positive emotions as a key factor in SSR processes, in contrast to the major role which negative emotions have traditionally played in these models. Furthermore, trust mediates the relation between SSR and cumulative satisfaction, and is the factor which has a higher influence on loyalty, whilst cumulative satisfaction becomes the more relevant factor affecting WOM

The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility Activity Toward Customer Loyalty Through Improvement of Quality of Life in Urban Area

The success of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities can create competitive advantage by influencing customer responses to firms&rsquo; offering. Customer&rsquo;s awareness of CSR activity will influence their loyalty through their perception that activity can improve society&rsquo;s quality of life where the CSR activities were implemented. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between CSR awareness and loyalty that mediated by CSR Belief, Company Ability Belief, Quality of Life, and Company Reputation using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The result shows little differrences among five firms/brands as the object of the research, that are beverage, soap, car, lubricant, and cigarette. This result has an implication for the firm that CSR activities are not just cost center activities, but also can create reputation, and in the long run can create customer loyalty that contributes to firm&rsquo;s financial benefit

Análise entre países do boca a boca do consumidor online: o papel da lealdade de ação no Brasil e na Suécia

This study intends to further expand the research on the connection between word-of-mouth (WOM) and customer loyalty, observing the effect of action loyalty on WOM of e-consumer in a cross-country analysis, between Brazilians and Swedes. We use a quantitative method by collecting answers from a survey, with consumers living in Sweden and in Brazil. The hypotheses test was realized by regression analysis. Although the countries surveyed have different stages of industrialization and economic development, each with unique characteristics in relation to their national cultures, there is no evidence of differences on WOM in the moderating effect of action loyalty. The main contribution of this study is the development and analysis of the effect of loyalty on WOM and the respective difference between Brazil and Sweden. The results are useful for retail professionals to focus their resources on WOM among customers who have a personal connection with each other, in order to gain customer loyalty. Thus, this work represents a new empirical contribution to the WOM field, mainly due to the approach being in online consumers, and to customer loyalty, specifically as the loyalty to the action (behavior) displayed by the customers.This study intends to further expand the research on the connection between word-of-mouth (WOM) and customer loyalty, observing the effect of action loyalty on WOM of e-consumer in Este estudo pretende ampliar as pesquisas sobre a conexão entre boca a boca (WOM) e fidelização de clientes, observando o efeito da lealdade de ação sobre o WOM do consumidor online, em uma análise entre brasileiros e suecos. Usamos um método quantitativo por meio de survey, com consumidores residentes na Suécia e no Brasil. O teste de hipóteses foi realizado por meio de análise de regressão. Embora os países pesquisados ​​tenham diferentes estágios de industrialização e de desenvolvimento econômico, cada um com características únicas em relação às suas culturas nacionais, não há evidências de diferenças no WOM no efeito moderador da lealdade de ação. A principal contribuição deste estudo é o desenvolvimento e análise do efeito da lealdade de ação sobre o WOM e a respectiva diferença entre Brasil e Suécia. Os resultados são úteis para que os profissionais de varejo concentrem seus recursos no WOM entre os clientes que têm uma conexão pessoal entre si, a fim de fidelizar os clientes. Assim, este trabalho representa uma nova contribuição empírica para o campo do WOM, principalmente devido à abordagem da fidelização do cliente de consumidores online, especificamente quanto ao nível da lealdade (comportamento) apresentada.a cross-country analysis, between Brazilians and Swedes. We use a quantitative method by collecting answers from a survey, with consumers living in Sweden and in Brazil. The hypotheses test was realized by regression analysis. Although the countries surveyed have different stages of industrialization and economic development, each with unique characteristics in relation to their national cultures, there is no evidence of differences on WOM in the moderating effect of action loyalty. The main contribution of this study is the development and analysis of the effect of loyalty on WOM and the respective difference between Brazil and Sweden. The results are useful for retail professionals to focus their resources on WOM among customers who have a personal connection with each other, in order to gain customer loyalty. Thus, this work represents a new empirical contribution to the WOM field, mainly due to the approach being in online consumers, and to customer loyalty, specifically as the loyalty to the action (behavior) displayed by the customers

eWOM: the effects of online consumer reviews on purchasing decision of electronic goods

Internet has become the primary source of information for a large number of consumers and it has dramatically changed the consumer behaviour. One of the main changes in modern consumer behaviour has been the transition from a passive to an active and informed consumer. Internet enables customers to share their opinions on, and experiences with, goods and services with a multitude of other consumers. Online consumer reviews are used by prospective buyers of related products who are interested in obtaining more information from people who have purchased and used a product of interest. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is one of the most important information sources when a consumer is making a purchase decision. The arrival and expansion of the Internet has extended consumers' options for gathering product information by including other consumers' comments, posted on the Internet, and has provided consumers opportunities to offer their own consumption-related advice by engaging in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM can be defined as all informal communications directed at consumers through Internet-based technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services, or their sellers. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of, one type of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), the online consumer review, on purchasing decision of electronic products. This empirical study also focuses on the relationship between reviews and purchasing behaviour. An instrument was prepared to measure the proposed constructs, with questionnaire items taken from prior studies but adapted to fit the context of e-commerce. The survey was applied to academicians in Turkey through internet. The data was analyzed using the SPSS package. The results show that consumer reviews have a causal impact on consumer purchasing behaviour and they have an effect on choosing the products by consumer. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed