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ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH AMONG HOTEL GUESTS: DEMOGRAPHIC AND TRIPOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Year 2014, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 35 - 41, 01.12.2014

Abstract

Positive word-of-mouth from customers is a sought after desire for any organization. Inter-consumer influence
is directly related to company image, customer satisfaction, retention and acquisition, overall costs and profits.
With the advancement of technology, the impact of recommendation (electronic word of mouth) as a reliable
source of product information is ever increasing as the customers are able to interact in a very large scale
through electronic mediums.
Some products and services such as automobiles, financial services and tourism require high involvement from
customers’ perspective as they involve high risk and a larger amount of finances. Tourism is an intangible
service, and bought less frequently. It is harder to evaluate it prior to actual consumption. In order to minimize
the risk, tourists spend a great amount of time, effort and money for a vacation without unpleasant surprises.
This is why they tend to rely heavily on recommendations of experienced travellers. The easiest way to reach
this valuable information is through internet. Most tourism services are available online, there are also forums,
newsgroups, blogs and commercial web sites that offer traveller comments and ratings. Web is considered as
the most important source of information by most travellers.
However in order for this information to be presented at travel sites (e.g. tripadvisor) it should be uploaded in
advance by a traveller who “have been there and done that”. Therefore it is very important to identify those
advocates who are likely to spread positive word of mouth through electronic channels. This study after the
literature review and an empirical study on hotel guests in Turkey, tries to identify customers who are more
likely to create eWOM (electronic word of mouth). Describing the characteristics of those opinion leaders
would help hospitality organizations to better serve those clients and improve their likelihood to reach new
customers.

References

  • Carl, W.J. (2006). What’s all the buzz about? Everyday communication and the relational basis of word-of- mouth and buzz marketing practices. Management Communication Quarterly, 19(4), 601-634.
  • Cetin, G., Istanbullu, F.I. (2013). Influence of customer experience on loyalty and word-of-mouth ın hospitality operations. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, in print. DOI: 10.1080/13032917.2013.841094.
  • Crotts, J.C. & Erdmann, R. (2000). Does national culture influence customers’ evaluation of travel services? A test of Hofstede’s model of cross cultural differences. Managing Service Quality, 10(6), 410-419.
  • Dellarocas, C. (2003). The digitization of word of mouth: Promise and challenges on of online feedback mechanisms. Management Science, 49(10), 1407-1424.
  • Derbaix, C. & Vanhamme, J. (2003). Inducing word of mouth by eliciting surprise: A pilot inverstigation. Journal of Economic Psychology, 24, 99-116.
  • Felfernig, A., Gordea, S., Jannach, D., Teppan, E., Zanker, M. (2007). A short survey of recommendation technologies in travel and tourism, OEAI Jounrla, 25(7), 17-22.
  • Goldsmith, R.E. (2006). Electronic word of mouth. In K.P. Mehdi (Ed.), Encyclopedia of e-commerce, e- government and mobile commerce (pp. 408-412). Hershey, PA: Idea Group.
  • Goldsmith, R.E. & Flynn, L.R. (1993). Opinion leadership for vacation travel services. Advances in Business Studies, 1(7-8), 17-29.
  • Gremler, D., Gewinner, K. & Brown, S.W. (2001). Generating positive word of mouth through customer employee relationships. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(1), 44-69.
  • Gruen, T.W., Osmonbekov, T. & Czaplewski, A. (2005). eWOM: The impact of customer-to-customer online know-how exchange on customer value and loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 59(4), 449-456.
  • Lindgreen, A. & Vanhamme, J. (2005). Viral marketing: The use of surprise. In I. Clarke & Flaherty, T.B. (Eds.), Advances in electronic marketing (pp. 122-138). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
  • Litvin, S.W., Blose, J.E. & Laird, S.T. (2004). Tourist use of restaurant web-pages: Is the internet a critical marketing tool? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 11(2), 155-161.
  • Litwin, S.W., Goldsmith, R.E. & Pan, B. (2008). Ellectronic word-of mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29, 458-468.
  • Nusair, K., Bilgihan, A., Okumus, F. & Cobanoglu, C. (2013). Generation Y travelers’ commitment to online social network websites. Tourism Management, 35, 13-22.
  • Rimmington, M., Kozak, M. (1997). Developments in information technology: Implications for the tourism industry and tourism marketing. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(3), 59-80.
  • Serenko, A., Stach, A. (2009). The impact of expectation disconfirmation on consumer loyalty and recommendation behavior: Investigating online travel and tourism services. Journal of Information Technology Management, 20(3), 26-41.
  • Taylor, J. (2003). Word of mouth is where it’s at. Brandweek, 44(22), 26.
  • Tripadvisor Web Page (2013). About us. http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-c6-About_Us.html. Accessed online on 14 July 2013.

ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH AMONG HOTEL GUESTS: DEMOGRAPHIC AND TRIPOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Year 2014, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 35 - 41, 01.12.2014

Abstract

Positive word-of-mouth from customers is a sought after desire for any organization. Inter-consumer influence
is directly related to company image, customer satisfaction, retention and acquisition, overall costs and profits.
With the advancement of technology, the impact of recommendation (electronic word of mouth) as a reliable
source of product information is ever increasing as the customers are able to interact in a very large scale
through electronic mediums.
Some products and services such as automobiles, financial services and tourism require high involvement from
customers’ perspective as they involve high risk and a larger amount of finances. Tourism is an intangible
service, and bought less frequently. It is harder to evaluate it prior to actual consumption. In order to minimize
the risk, tourists spend a great amount of time, effort and money for a vacation without unpleasant surprises.
This is why they tend to rely heavily on recommendations of experienced travellers. The easiest way to reach
this valuable information is through internet. Most tourism services are available online, there are also forums,
newsgroups, blogs and commercial web sites that offer traveller comments and ratings. Web is considered as
the most important source of information by most travellers.
However in order for this information to be presented at travel sites (e.g. tripadvisor) it should be uploaded in
advance by a traveller who “have been there and done that”. Therefore it is very important to identify those
advocates who are likely to spread positive word of mouth through electronic channels. This study after the
literature review and an empirical study on hotel guests in Turkey, tries to identify customers who are more
likely to create eWOM (electronic word of mouth). Describing the characteristics of those opinion leaders
would help hospitality organizations to better serve those clients and improve their likelihood to reach new
customers. 

References

  • Carl, W.J. (2006). What’s all the buzz about? Everyday communication and the relational basis of word-of- mouth and buzz marketing practices. Management Communication Quarterly, 19(4), 601-634.
  • Cetin, G., Istanbullu, F.I. (2013). Influence of customer experience on loyalty and word-of-mouth ın hospitality operations. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, in print. DOI: 10.1080/13032917.2013.841094.
  • Crotts, J.C. & Erdmann, R. (2000). Does national culture influence customers’ evaluation of travel services? A test of Hofstede’s model of cross cultural differences. Managing Service Quality, 10(6), 410-419.
  • Dellarocas, C. (2003). The digitization of word of mouth: Promise and challenges on of online feedback mechanisms. Management Science, 49(10), 1407-1424.
  • Derbaix, C. & Vanhamme, J. (2003). Inducing word of mouth by eliciting surprise: A pilot inverstigation. Journal of Economic Psychology, 24, 99-116.
  • Felfernig, A., Gordea, S., Jannach, D., Teppan, E., Zanker, M. (2007). A short survey of recommendation technologies in travel and tourism, OEAI Jounrla, 25(7), 17-22.
  • Goldsmith, R.E. (2006). Electronic word of mouth. In K.P. Mehdi (Ed.), Encyclopedia of e-commerce, e- government and mobile commerce (pp. 408-412). Hershey, PA: Idea Group.
  • Goldsmith, R.E. & Flynn, L.R. (1993). Opinion leadership for vacation travel services. Advances in Business Studies, 1(7-8), 17-29.
  • Gremler, D., Gewinner, K. & Brown, S.W. (2001). Generating positive word of mouth through customer employee relationships. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(1), 44-69.
  • Gruen, T.W., Osmonbekov, T. & Czaplewski, A. (2005). eWOM: The impact of customer-to-customer online know-how exchange on customer value and loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 59(4), 449-456.
  • Lindgreen, A. & Vanhamme, J. (2005). Viral marketing: The use of surprise. In I. Clarke & Flaherty, T.B. (Eds.), Advances in electronic marketing (pp. 122-138). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
  • Litvin, S.W., Blose, J.E. & Laird, S.T. (2004). Tourist use of restaurant web-pages: Is the internet a critical marketing tool? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 11(2), 155-161.
  • Litwin, S.W., Goldsmith, R.E. & Pan, B. (2008). Ellectronic word-of mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29, 458-468.
  • Nusair, K., Bilgihan, A., Okumus, F. & Cobanoglu, C. (2013). Generation Y travelers’ commitment to online social network websites. Tourism Management, 35, 13-22.
  • Rimmington, M., Kozak, M. (1997). Developments in information technology: Implications for the tourism industry and tourism marketing. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(3), 59-80.
  • Serenko, A., Stach, A. (2009). The impact of expectation disconfirmation on consumer loyalty and recommendation behavior: Investigating online travel and tourism services. Journal of Information Technology Management, 20(3), 26-41.
  • Taylor, J. (2003). Word of mouth is where it’s at. Brandweek, 44(22), 26.
  • Tripadvisor Web Page (2013). About us. http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-c6-About_Us.html. Accessed online on 14 July 2013.
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Gürel Cetın This is me

Füsun İstanbullu Dıncer This is me

Publication Date December 1, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014 Volume: 9 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Cetın, G., & Dıncer, F. İ. (2014). ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH AMONG HOTEL GUESTS: DEMOGRAPHIC AND TRIPOGRAPHIC FACTORS. Bilgi Ekonomisi Ve Yönetimi Dergisi, 9(2), 35-41.