Abstract
This paper reviews the literature on online reviews in tourism and hospitality, and presents the current state of research in the area. A bibliometric approach was used to analyze 632 journal articles on online reviews in tourism and hospitality from 2005 to 2019 from the Scopus Database. This study identifies the most prolific journals, foundational works, and major research themes in the research area. In addition, we analyzed some dimensions of their network structure and the thematic evolution of the research area. The bibliometric method is quantitative and objective, and we carry out an analysis of the area based on citations and keywords. Researchers and business managers can gain useful insights on the current state of the art in this area. There have been only a few literature reviews tracking the growth in this research area, and even fewer using bibliometric methods or science maps. Therefore, this work provides an updated review of this fast-growing area with a bibliometric approach to highlight the recent developments with the aid of science maps, and shows the thematic network structure and evolution with an innovative visualization.
Highlights
Online reviews, referred to as electronic word of mouth or user-generated content (UGC) [1,2], are all similar concepts with minor differences. eWOM is all electronic communications between producers and consumers and between consumers themselves: emails, websites, consumer review sites, blogs, virtual communities, chat rooms, newsgroups, and instant messaging [3]
This study used a bibliometric approach to review the research on online reviews in tourism and hospitality by analyzing 632 relevant documents selected from the Scopus database published between 2005 and 2019
The study applied co-citation and co-word analyses, including an innovative visualization of the co-word network to explore the theoretical foundations, network structure, and thematic evolution in this research area. It has successfully carried out an update, reviewed more studies, and revealed the theoretical foundations of the field with the use of science maps and shown the evolution of the major themes in the knowledge area. It has provided an important quantitative complement with bibliometric methods to the previous literature reviews to enhance the understanding of this fast-growing knowledge area and has validated previous findings, such as the central research themes in online reviews
Summary
Referred to as electronic word of mouth (eWOM) or user-generated content (UGC) [1,2], are all similar concepts with minor differences. eWOM is all electronic communications between producers and consumers and between consumers themselves: emails, websites, consumer review sites, blogs, virtual communities, chat rooms, newsgroups, and instant messaging [3]. Before the Internet, this word of mouth was usually obtained from friends and acquaintances, but has moved to the Internet, with consumers overwhelmingly consulting the opinions of fellow consumers online [6,7]. Their decision-making and travel experience is shaped by the reviews they read, and this has been a significant development in the industry [8]. Consumers use online reviews at every stage of the travel process—pre-trip, during trip, and post-trip—to engage in information search, share experiences, and give feedback [5]. With its usefulness to both producers and consumers, it is no surprise that online reviews are a highly popular topic in tourism and hospitality for both researchers and managers [12]
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