Exploring Travel Information Adoption on Social Media in the Chinese Context: An Extended ELM Model with Users’ Social Presence

Abstract

Travel information adoption on social media has been acknowledged to be a complex process of both central route (argument quality) and peripheral route (source credibility). However, less effort has been placed on what triggers the persuasive communication process and how it varies. This study aims to examine the impact of technical adequacy (perceived interactivity, perceived personalization, perceived sociability) and users’ social presence on travel information adoption via social media. An extended resultant model from elaboration likelihood model (ELM) is constructed. Data (N=355) were collected from an online survey among Chinese consumers and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) for path analysis and two-way interaction for moderating effect. The results highlighted the role of technical adequacy in predicting both argument quality and source credibility of travel information on social media. The dual routes are correlated and in turn positively influence perceived information usefulness. Meanwhile, the persuasiveness of each route is moderated by individuals’ perception on social presence. Lastly, perceived information usefulness significantly affects travel information adoption. Implications particularly in practice are discussed.