SNUX2.0: A Social Network Model for Cohort Behavior Analysis as Support for Purchasing Tourism Products and Services

Abstract

One of the major communication paradigms for corporations and organizations consists of understanding which is the best format in which to communicate, and the effect that each type of content has on the different generations that coexist in the digital ecosystem. Tourism is one of the industry’s most sensitive to this ecosystem, as, nowadays, all stages of the travel decision process are mainly processed digitally. Products are researched, disseminated, and often acquired on digital platforms. This paper uses social media to analyze the online behavior of potential tourists from different generations when searching for commercial and detailed information concerning tourism products. A survey was prepared based on the experience economy theory and disseminated online through social networks. A Social Networks User Experience model, SNUX 2.0, was proposed to analyze the experiences of users from different generations, associated with the use of social networks as a medium through which to find information about tourism products and services. Structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3.0 was used to analyze the proposed model. The study concluded that social networks can contribute to influencing the purchasing intent of the different generations, mainly when commercial information has an educational nature for all generations, accompanied by different dimensions depending on the consumer’s generation.