•Intensity of social media usage is formed by updating news and searching for information.•The intensity affects the motives for receiving UGC in social media.•The motives for receiving UGC ...influences on trust in UGC and in UGC providers.•Potential tourists will generate trust in UGC, and then the expectations.•Trust in UGC providers does not have any influence on expectations.
Social media are transforming the tourism industry from its traditional pattern into an intense informational pattern. Our study aims to investigate the causes underlying the use of user-generated contents (UGC) to receive tourist information and its effect on tourists’ expectations. Our empirical work was analysed by means of a multiple indicators multiple causes model (MIMIC) and a structural equation model (SEM). The main finding showed that when users receive UGC related to tourist destinations, they will create expectations about the destination by placing their trust in the contents received. It is recommended that tourism organizations should maintain the quality level in order to allow more UGC, and then further trust in the contents of social media and expectations will occur.
The study focuses on sources of user-generated content (UGC) in social media: strong-tie sources, weak-tie sources, and tourism-tie sources and their effects on tourist satisfaction with the ...destination. It is separated into the pre- and post- travel processes. First, it addresses the influences of sources of UGC on tourist expectations about core resources and supporting factors, and then analyzes tourist satisfaction by concentrating on tourist expectations and perceptions of core resources and supporting factors. Findings suggest that UGC sources have an indirect effect on tourist satisfaction since most UGC sources have an influence on tourist expectations, which will later be compared with the real tourist perception. Main conclusions and some recommendations and limitations are provided.
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of service companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions on final customer’s loyalty. A theoretical model of loyalty formation based ...on CSR was proposed and a sample of 1125 final customers of financial services in Spain was studied. Structural equation models were used to verify the hypothesized relationships. Based on the CSR theory oriented to stakeholders, this work justifies the direct and positive relationship between the perception of CSR actions in the shopping experience and customer trust. We also verified a positive indirect influence on loyalty. The services industry was chosen to conduct this research due to its own particularities (intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and perishability). As it is impossible to evaluate a service before its consumption, a high level of trust in the supplier will be necessary to motivate the purchase decision. We conclude that CSR becomes a key strategic asset for determining trust and loyalty among consumers. As major findings, we have verified the special importance of CSR in the services market. CSR improves customer trust in the service provider. Thus, this paper has significant managerial implications. Through CSR strategies, both the perception of the customer’s purchasing experience and trust can be enhanced, resulting in more loyal customers. As a limitation, this research was carried out among financial services. Further research should test the model across different industries and countries in order to determine the generalizability and consistency of the findings of this study.
Sustainability has become one of the key factors for the development of tourism both nowadays and in the future. The need to integrate environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors is a ...consequence of the evolution of society itself, the introduction of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and a new way of understanding tourism and the world in general. Tourists increasingly seek a unique quality in their travels and are better informed before deciding on a tourist destination to spend their holidays or leisure time. They want to have unique, memorable experiences, and because of that, they are willing to look for those destinations that can offer them something different. The generation of expectations is no longer the sole responsibility of companies and public and private organizations in destinations, since information may be in the hands of the individuals themselves who can share it in social networks, blogs, or on platforms such as Booking or TripAdvisor, among others. This forces companies and public and private organizations to rethink the way in which and when they relate to tourists in general. With all these considerations, one of the objectives of this study was to analyse the way in which sustainability interrelates with the generation of expectations, experiences and perceptions and the effect on the possibilities of returning to a tourist destination and even recommending it in social networks to friends and acquaintances. For this reason, the destination of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, was chosen, a mature destination of sun and beach that, in recent years, has been immersed in a process of change where one of the axes is sustainability. This study used a convenience survey with 310 valid questionnaires with tourists who stayed more than three days in Acapulco during the months of December 2016 to February 2017. The questionnaires were completed at different points of the destination and by participants over 18 years of age. We used SEM (Structural Equations Modeling) and EQS (Structural Equation Modeling Software) for statistical analysis. The results of the study showed how expectations influenced experiences and the intention to return to the destination and recommend it (WOM), thus, we proposed a series of recommendations for public and private agents that manage this tourist destination.
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