Keywords

Consumer engagement, travel related social media, community experience, community identification

Abstract

The term of "consumer engagement" is extensively used in the digital era. It is believed that engaged consumers play an important role in products/services referral and recommendation, new product/service development and experience/value co-creation. Although the notion of consumer engagement sounds compelling, it is not fully developed in theory. Different interpretations coexist, resulting in confusion and misuse of the concept. This study attempts to define consumer engagement and develop a conceptual framework of consumer engagement, addressing antecedents of consumer engagement in online context. Moreover, some situational and social media usage-related factors are incorporated into the framework. A set of propositions are presented based on literature review and the conceptual framework to illustrate the relationship between consumer engagement and related factors. To provide empirical evidence for the conceptual model, an online survey is conducted. Participants complete the self-administered survey by answering questions concerning their online experience with the travel-related social media website they visit most. Two-step structural equation modeling is employed to analyze the data. The results show that both community experience and community identification have significant and positive relationship with consumer engagement. Community experience is also a strong predictor of community identification. Attitude toward using social media and travel involvement influence the relationship between consumer engagement and its antecedents. With focus on the interactive and experiential nature of consumer engagement, this study expands current understanding of consumer engagement and provides insights for hospitality and tourism businesses regarding how to engage consumers through travel-related social media.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2013

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Wang, Youcheng

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education; Hospitality Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004878

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004878

Language

English

Release Date

August 2018

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Location

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education, Education -- Dissertations, Academic

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