Role of Celebrity Image-Congruence in Predicting Travel Behaviour Intention

The objective of this research was to investigate how the perceived image congruence of the traveller influences the relationship between celebrity endorser attributes and travel behaviour intentions in the tourism context. 310 respondents were surveyed using online convenient sampling in India. Hypotheses were tested using structured equation modelling. The results suggest that endorser celebrity traits of physical attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise positively impact a tourist’s intention to revisit or recommend the endorsed destination. Additionally, greater image congruence between the celebrity endorser and the endorsed destination is likely to result in higher intention of the traveller to visit the destination. The study contributes to the existing body of academic literature by demonstrating the combined influence of celebrity characteristics and image congruence on the travel intentions of a tourist. This research benefits the practitioners by suggesting that destinations should focus on carving a messaging strategy focusing on how the destination image is consistent with how the targeted traveller perceives himself or herself with the messaging source being a celebrity who is either physically attractive, trustworthy or a travel expert

Social Word of Mouth valence and role of moderators: An integrated model of consumer decision making

The study aimed at coming up with an integrated model of consumer decision making that captures the impact of social media word of mouth (SWOM) on consumers’ decision influencing variables including perceived risk, its impact on attitude towards the brand, and eventually on intention to purchase. The integrated model incorporates the impact of SWOM message valence along with moderating role played by various source and receiver level characteristics on the variables mentioned above. Two experiments with between-subject factorial designs were conducted for testing the hypotheses. The first study had 128 participants divided into eight groups and their responses were collected offline. The second study had 221 respondents take part in an online experiment and were provided real life image stimuli for the study. A combination of regression, Manova and Mancova were used for testing the hypotheses. The study established differential impacts of social media message valence, source and reviewer credibility, product knowledge, and involvement level on consumers’ decision making. We extend the understanding of the traditional WOM factor into the SWOM space. The study contributes by establishing the extant role of both, positive and negative SWOM, under different source and receiver level characteristics