Abstract
ABSTRACT This study investigates how positive emotion in tourism social media posts influences tourists’ user engagement and its underlying mechanisms. Utilizing real-world data from Ctrip travel platform, our research adopts a multi-method approach encompassing archival analysis, survey, and experimental methods to provide robust evidence supporting the role of positive emotion in the tourism posts. Findings suggest a diminishing effect of positive emotion on user engagement. Drawing upon emotions as social information theory, we identify two contrasting mediating pathways: users’ positive affect and perceived persuasive motive. Importantly, mediators exert differential effects at varying levels of emotional expression, collectively contributing to an inverted U-shaped relationship between emotional expression and user engagement. The conclusions offer strategic insights into the emotional expression tactics employed by self-media users when posting, while also serving as a reference for businesses aiming to enhance higher engagement levels among potential tourists.
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