Tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behaviors on social networking sites

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Nguyen Minh Dang TOURISM DESTINATIONS INFORMATION SEEKING AND DISSEMINATION BEHAVIORS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES STUDENT ID: 22120120 SUPERVISOR: LUU TRONG TUAN, PH.D Ho Chi Minh City - Year 2014 Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Dr Luu Trong Tuan for his professional guidance, valuable advice, continuous encouragement, and motivated support that made this thesis possible I would like to express my deep gratefulness to Professor Nguyen Dong Phong, Professor Nguyen Dinh Tho and Dr Tran Ha Minh Quan for their precious time as the members of ISB Research Committee, which gave me some useful comments and meaningful suggestions All of their comments and suggestions were contributed importantly in my completion of this research I would like to express my grateful thanks to my friends who participated in filling the questionnaires and provided the valuable information for this study I wish to express my deep gratitude to my family for their spiritual support and encouragement during the time of study Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODU CTI N ! '· 1.1 Statement of the Problem 1.2 Objectives ofthe Study 1.3 Scope of the Study 1.4 Research Contributions 1.5 Research Structure LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Web 2.0 2.2 Social Networking Sites (SNS) 2.3 Tourism Destination 13 2.4 Consumer Opinion Leadership (COL) 14 2.5 Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence (CSII) 17 2.6 Gender Differences 20 RESEARCH METHODS 23 Research Procedure 23 3.2 Qualitative Research Design 24 3.3 Quantitative Research Design 25 DATA ANALYSIS 31 4.1 Descriptive Analysis 31 4.2 Measurement Assessment 32 4.3 Hypotheses Testing 37 4.4 Discussion and Imp1ications 41 CONSLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 45 5.1 Research Finding 45 5.2 Managerial Implications 45 5.3 Limitation and Future Research 5.4 Conclusions 50 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES 64 LIST OF FIGURES Chapter Figure 2.1: The Three Dimensions of Web 2.0 Figure 2.2: Factors Influencing the Consumer's Decision Making Process 11 Figure 2.3: Research Model 22 Chapter Figure 4.1: Revised Research Model 37 Figure 4.2: Histogram 40 Figure 4.3: Normal P-P of Regression Standardized Residual .40 Figure 4.4: Final Research Model : 44 LIST OF TABLES Chapter Table 2.1: Definitions of SNS Chapter Table 3.1: COL scale 25 Table 3.2: CSII scale 26 Table 3.3: Scale of Seeking and Dissemination Behaviors 26 Table 3.4: Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Coefficient 28 Chapter Table 4.1: Demographic Statistics of the Respondents 31 Table 4.2: Scale Reliability 32 Table 4.3: KMO and Bartlett's Test of Independent Variables 33 Table 4.4: Total Variance Explained of Independent Variables 33 Table 4.5: Factor Loading of Independent Variables 34 Table 4.6: KMO and Bartlett's Test of Dependent Variables 35 Table 4.7: Total Variance Explained of Dependent Variables 35 Table 4.8: Factor Loading of Dependent Variables 36 Table 4.9: Pearson Correlation Coefficient for Sharing Behavior 37 Table 4.10: Summary Output of Regression Analysis for Sharing Behavior 38 Table 4.11: Hypotheses Testing .41 Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites ,ABSTRACT Social networking sites (SNS) are a modern form of communication used by the young people across the world Many young people discuss on forums and exchange information, opinions on SNS This study empirically examines the effects of consumer opinion leadership (COL) and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII) on young people's tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behavior on SNS from consumers' point of view Most girls and women, boys and men are socialized into distinct speech communities Hence the research also discusses and explores the differences and similarities between the perceptions of men and women towards the use of SNS (Face book, Twitter Google +, Zing me ), and how gendered socialization is manifested on their usage because not all women learn and use a feminine style of communication and also not all men learn and use a masculine style of communication (Wood, 2007) Specifically, the study aimed to answer the following questions: Does COL and CSII affect young people's tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behavior on SNS? Is there gender difference in young people's tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behavior on SNS? The data generated from various instruments was organized into emerging themes to validate the findings The results indicated that COL and CSII only affected tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behaviors on SNS of young people It means that opinion leaders tend to seek and share more tourism destinations information Thus, marketing activities and tactics should be engaged to attract opinion leaders Gender was not supported by the research It emerged that, young men and women tend to perceive and share their experiences related to their tourism experiences on SNS in the same way in the context of Vietnam The research findings also engage with some limitations in the strength of measurement scale, the sampling method as well as the fitness between the research model and data It result s in the valuable directions for further researches in future Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the Problem Since the development of the Internet, social networking sites (SNS) have grown rapidly in popularity Modem SNS are increasingly used in business, creating new channels for consumers to connect with companies and other customers Young people are the most popular user of SNS They can find or share information of some destinations they had visited on the SNS And they are also an important market segment of the tourism This study aims to explore tourist destination information seeking and dissemination behavior with regard to information about SNS to help marketers and researchers understand young consumers and social media marketing more clearly The trend of using social network sites (SNS) is a globally widespread phenomenon SNS such as Facebook and Twitter have approximately 465 million, 115 million, and to • million global users respectively (Wong et al., 2010) The Report by ComScore shows that more than 770 million users visited SNS in July 2009, and SNS reached almost 70% of the total global online audience (Nguyen, 2010) In USA, 73% of wired American teens and 47% of online adults use SNS (Lenhart et al., 2010) Approximately 24% of the Malaysia population use Facebook (Wong et al., 2010) Media Metrix Report stated that 67% of Malaysian Internet users are SNS users (Nguyen, 201 0) According to a new survey conducted by the UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM), the British spend more time on social networks and blogs than any other online activity (Burrows, 2010, cited in Mun, Li & Fernandez, 2011) SNS are web-based services providing the functions of creating a public or semi-public profile that displays a list of other users with whom they are linked to (Boyd & Ellison, 2008) SNS consist of various features such as a profile page, which contains the individual user's personal information like location, education background, status, birthday information, and interests among other things Other features available on SNS include Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites photograph or image albums, list of connections that they have approved of, wall for posting comments, instant and email messaging options Users are also able to create and join groups, as well as organize events and make announcements on SNS Since the introduction of SNS in 2004, there has been a rapid and dramatic growth of its usage, which has changed the purpose, and functionality of the Internet (Kelly, Kerr & Drennan, 2010) SNS provide an engaging, interactive platform with a greater control of information flow for their users SNS are used for developing relationships, disseminating information, expanding social networks, entertainment, etc Previous research suggested that SNS mainly support pre-existing social relations (Boyd & Ellison, 2007) In addition, research found that SNS are more likely to be used by youth as an avenue for communication and hanging out with friends (Hempel, 2005) Similarly, connecting with friends was found to be the main reason of SNS usage among 91% of the American teens (Lenhart & Madden, 2007, cited in Boyd & Ellison, 2007) Therefore, SNS now serve • • extensively as a large network for developing relationships and peer-to-peer communication The use of SNS among youth is related to the attitude towards SNS Although past studies have shown a negative attitude towards SNS, the majority viewed SNS favorably (Hirst et al., 2012) Recently, those who see it as a golden opportunity to reach their target market have adopted SNS as a new medium for advertising Although past studies generally indicated a negative attitude towards advertising (Wang et al., 2002), the attitude towards advertising on SNS should be re-evaluated since it is a new medium consisting of novel and interactive applications Eun and Kim (2009) argued that consumers' attitude toward Web advertising may not be the same as their attitude toward the Web as a medium itself Ducoffe (1996, cited in Eun & Kim, 2009) claimed that media context have a significant influence on the advertising value The factors affecting attitude toward advertising are "Entertainment", "Informativeness", "Demographic"(Wang et al., 2002) • • "Interactivity", "Irritation", "Credibility", and Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites The extensive use of SNS is not only a trend among consumers Likewise, the increased usage of SNS can be observed in many organizations Many firms such as Whole Food Market, Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald's are using SNS to increase brand image (Dragger eta/., 2010) Professional service firms also utilize SNS as a marketing tool to execute social media marketing plan in order to achieve the firms' goals (Dragger et a/., 201 0) Thus, advertisers adopting SNS should provide relevant and added value commercial f a message to their advertisements (Kelly, Kerr & Drennan, 2010) The most visited online social network is Facebook, founded in 2004 and with over 600 million users and presence in over 70 countries (Carlson, 2011) Facebook allows users to create a profile of them and explore the profiles of others, gaining an insight into others' lifestyle and interests (Acar & Polonsky, 2007) In Vietnam, according to Vinalink Media Company (2011), about 53% Internet users (15 million people) were using at least one social network Many Facebook users suggested that information shared on SNS were always cared and attracted, especially photos from a journey they had passed For these reasons, young people are the focus of this study SNS are mostly for young consumers (Cha, 2009) This is a channel for them to interact with others In the US, college students browse Facebook an average of 10-30 minutes daily (Ellison et a/., 2007), responsible for $200 billion annually in expenditures, or as much as "half the spending in the economy" (Djamasbi et al., 201 0) It would be a great channel for the tourism economy to invest In the context of Tourism Malaysia, the launch of the latest Tourism Malaysia Internet advertising was claimed to reflect the significance of the internet as the most preferred media platform from which travelers can obtain travel information (Yaakop & Hemsley-Brown, 2013) Previous studies also highlight the important of the Internet as a marketing tool to advance tourism (Wu et a/., 2008; Mills et a/., 2007) In the context of SNS, gender likely affects information dissemination behaviors (Magnuson & Dundes, 2008) Gender differences were investigated in various contexts in Information Systems literature such as computer-related attitudes and behaviors (Whitley, 1997); use of e-mail (Gefen & Straub, 1997); video games (Bilgihan et a/., 2013); and e-learning Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites (Gonzalez-Gomez et al., 2012) Although there were no studies have investigated such behaviors across genders in relation to tourism, but previous studies reveal that gender differences exist in the use of SNS (Lu & Hsiao, 2009; Schier et al., 2005; Trammel & Keshelashvili, 2005) To examine consumer characteristics, the theoretical foundations for this study derive from marketing literature: consumer opinion leadership (COL) and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII) These traits likely are important in SNS, because consumers can influence one another in various ways: as role models, as imitators of purchase and consumption behavior, as spreaders of message through word-ofmouth, and as advisors to other consumers with less knowledge or experience with shopping (Flynn eta/., 1996) 1.2 Objectives of the Study This study aims to investigate the relationships between young people's behaviors and explores what are the antecedents of tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behaviors of them within the context of SNS To conform to those general goals, the study aims to answer the following research questions: Does consumer opinion leadership (COL) affect young people's tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behavior on SNS? Does consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII) affect young people's tourism destinations information seeking and dissemination behavior on SNS? 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Do you look for tourism destination information on SNS? Do you click on ads of deals and coupons about tourism destination on SNS? Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites 65 Information Sharing J Do you update status on Facebook about a tourism destination you have been to? 5 Do you check in locations of a tourism destination on SNS? Do you upload photos on SNS about your tourism destination experience? No Item Strongly disagree Strongly agree Consumer Opinion Leadership (COL) My friends and family often ask my advice about some tourism destination I sometimes influence my friends' choices tourism destination My friends come to me more often than I go to them for information about tourism destination 10 I can think of at least two people whom I have told about choosing tourism destination in the last six months Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence (CSII) 11 I often consult other people to help choose the best tourism destination 12 If I have little experience with a tourism destination, I often ask my friends about it 13 I frequently gather information from friends and family about a tourism destination before I go - - - - - - - - 66 Tourism destination seeking and sharing behaviors on social networking sites , , Phieu khao sat "Hanh vi tim kiem va chia se thong tin afa diem du Itch cua nien Vi?t Nam tren mqng xii h9i" ? Xin chao Anh/Chi, Toi ten la Nguy~n Minh Dang, la hQc vien cao hQc cua Vi~n Dao Tc;to Qu6c T~ (ISB) Truemg Dc;ti HQc Kinh T~ Tp.HCM Hi~n tOi dang nghien c(ru d~ tai "hanh vi tim ki~m va chia se dia di€m du ljch cua nien Vi~t Nam tren mc;tng xa h