 Using social network analysis to explain communication characteristics of travel-related electronic word-of-mouth on social networking sitesQiuju Luo and Dixi Zhong Tourism Management, 2015, vol. 46, issue C, 274-282 Abstract: Social networking sites (SNSs), which are platforms based on user interactions, currently play increasingly important roles in sharing electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) among tourists. Viewing eWOM communication on SNSs as a network based on the users' social relationships, this study applied social network analysis to examine the communication characteristics of travel-related eWOM on SNSs from the perspective of both ego and whole networks. Results show that travel-related eWOM communication via SNSs relied on existing social relationships, ties of which can be categorized as strong, of middling strength, or weak. Furthermore, the effect of transmitted information was stronger than that of influential decision-making. The communication network studied was found to be structured, loose-knit, flat, and of high centrality. These results enrich current research on the effects of eWOM and provide a dynamic perspective for understanding how eWOM disseminates and influences users through interactions. Keywords: Travel-related electronic word-of-mouth; Communication characteristics; Social networking sites; Social network analysis; Ego network; Whole network (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:touman:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:274-282 DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.07.007 Access Statistics for this article Tourism Management is currently edited by Chris Ryan More articles in Tourism Management from Elsevier |
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