The Effects of eWOM in Social Media on Tourism Services.

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social media has become a key tenet for both consumers, and tourism and hospitality service providers. On the one hand, consumers can learn from other consumers´ experiences about companies and services. On the other hand, tourism and hospitality service providers can inform consumers about their offers in an interactive and engaging way. However, eWOM in social media can be both a benefit and a hazard for service providers. While positive eWOM can encourage consumers to use the service, negative eWOM can prevent consumers to do so. Therefore, a better knowledge of the effect of eWOM in social media on consumers´ behavioral intentions is a relevant topic in tourism and hospitality research with important implications for managers. Using an experimental design and a sample of real TripAdvisor users, this research main goal is to gain a better understanding of the effect of positive/negative eWOM on consumers´ behavioral intentions. More specifically this research analyzes the effect of reviews valence sequence manipulating the positive/negative and negative/positive sequence. Main results suggest that valence sequence matters with reviews beginning with positive commentaries significantly affecting consumers´ behavioral intentions. Managerial implications for tourism and hospitality service providers are provided. Limitations of the study and future research lines are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]