Antecedents and moderators of positive word of mouth communication among tourist destination residents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Word of mouth (WOM) communication has been recognized for a long time as an activity to improve the efficiency and success of communication efforts. The purpose of this paper is to examine potential antecedents and moderators of positive WOM of tourist destination residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three WOM predictors are examined, i.e. trustworthiness in communication of authorities, destination reputation, and prevention measures, whereas two sociodemographic variables are considered as moderators, i.e. gender and age, and more specifically, generational cohorts. Empirical research has been conducted among residents of a tourist destination, considered important stakeholders who actively participate in tourist destination branding. Data were collected through an online survey distributed through e-mail marketing lists and online panels. After obtaining 480 valid responses, data were subject to normality tests, Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), measurement invariance assessment, and multi-group analysis. Findings reveal that residents’ positive WOM is caused by their perceptions of destination reputation and adoption measures, being the role of trustworthiness in communication of authorities insignificant in residents’ WOM engagement. Among the two sociodemographic variables, only gender is found to moderate one relationship (i.e. reputation-WOM), with stronger effects among women.