INVESTIGATION OF ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF USEFULNESS IN ONLINE TRAVEL COMMUNITIES: THE MODERATING ROLE OF DECISION MAKING STAGE
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Date
2023-05
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Abstract
This study examines the perceived usefulness (PU) of online
discourse and the decision-making behavior of users in Online
Travel Communities (OTCs). Partial least squares structural
equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used on secondary data
available in OTCs in the form of 852 threads to empirically test the
proposed integrated model. The antecedents of the perceived
usefulness of online travel communities were found to be the
argument quality and credibility. These influence the PU of user generated content significantly and are helpful in information
adoption in OTCs. The PU of OTC discourse positively impacts
travelers' information adoption and decision-making. The current
study offers implications for OTCs and online service providers
for enhancing the usefulness of user-generated content in OTCs
and social media sites, leading to online information use and travel
decision-making. Prior literature has explored the nature and
magnitude of the influence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)
on information adoption and intention to use information for
travel purchases from users' perspectives and has investigated the
PU of third-party travel sites. This paper is an effort to examine PU
and decision-making by analyzing the User-Generated-Content
(UGC) posted by the actual users.