ABSTRACT Based on interactional psychology theory, this study explored the moderating effects of hotel star category and hotel review site use intensity on two antecedents of consumer engagement with electronic word of mouth (eWOM): organizational review site competence (ORSCP) and organizational review site commitment (ORSCM). Data were collected from a cross-national sample of 443 hotels and analyzed using partial least-squares methods. The results confirm that ORSCP and ORSCM affect customers’ eWOM engagement. The findings also include that the hotel star category and the use intensity of hotel review sites have a moderating effect on the ORSCP – ORSCM relationship but not on these two variables’ connection with consumer eWOM engagement. This research thus ascertained that a complex relationship exists between hotels’ management of social networking sites and customers’ eWOM engagement, which has implications for hotel marketing specialists.
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