AN EVALUATION OF ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY FOR CONSUMERS AND HOTELS

Abstract

In recent years with the development of information communication technologies and social media sites, word of mouth(WOM) takes place not just face to face but in the internet, social networking sites, blogs…etc. Due to the intangibility of the tourism product and difficulty in try it out before purchasing, consumers rely on word from an experienced source to reduce the uncertainty and perceived risks. Therefore electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has become more important in terms of hospitality industry. In this study, articles related to tourism published in six recognized journals between the year 2010-2014 have been reviewed and the impact of eWOM has been analyzed from the perspective of consumers and hospitality industry. As a results of this review, eWOM affect the decision making process of potential tourists in consumer-based studies. Also it has been observed that eWOM has been important to development of the hotel performance and improvement of the business

Keywords

• Electronic word of mouth, Consumers, hospitality industry

KONAKLAMA İŞLETMELERİNDE ELEKTRONİK AĞIZDAN AĞIZA İLETİŞİMİN TÜKETİCİ VE OTELLER AÇISINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract

Son yıllarda bilgi teknolojilerinin ve sosyal medya sitelerinin gelişmesiyle beraber ağızdan ağıza iletişim, sadece yüz yüze değil, internet ortamında, sosyal paylaşım sitelerinde, bloglarda vb. gerçekleşmektedir. Turizm ürünlerinin soyut olması ve satın alma öncesi deneme zorluğundan dolayı, tüketiciler algılanan riskleri ve belirsizlikleri azaltmak için deneyimli bir kaynaktan gelen söze güvenmektedirler. Bu da elektronik ağızdan ağza iletişimi konaklama işletmeleri açısından daha önemli hale getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada turizmle ilgili tanınmış altı dergide 2010-2014 yılları arasında yayınlanmış makaleler taranarak, elektronik ağızdan ağıza iletişimin(eAAİ), konaklama işletmeleri ve tüketiciler üzerine etkisi olmak üzere iki açıdan değerlendirilmiştir. Bu derlemenin sonucunda, tüketici merkezli çalışmalarda, eAAİ’nin potansiyel turistlerin karar verme sürecini etkilediği, oteller açısından ise eAA’nin otel performansını geliştirme ve iyileştirmede önemli rol oynadığı belirlenmiştir

Keywords

• Elektronik Ağızdan Ağıza İletişim, Tüketiciler, Konaklama İşletmeleri

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