Millennial social media users' intention to travel: the moderating role of social media influencer following behavior

PurposeSocial media (SoMe) influencer marketing is a popular practice. The current study examines the interplays between SoMe influencers' source credibility, Millennial users' attitudes and intention to travel. It further investigates the moderating role of SoMe influencer following behav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational Hospitality Review Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 340 - 357
Main Authors Han, Joyce, Chen, Han
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bingley Emerald Publishing Limited 04.10.2022
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Emerald Publishing
Subjects
Attitudes
Audiences
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Credibility
Decision making
Hospitality industry
Influencer marketing
Intention to visit
Millennials
Millennials/Generation Y
Purchasing
Social media influencers
Social networks
Source credibility
Tourism
Travel
User generated content
Attitudes
Millennials/Generation Y
Source credibility
Social media influencers
Intention to visit
Influencer marketing
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Summary:PurposeSocial media (SoMe) influencer marketing is a popular practice. The current study examines the interplays between SoMe influencers' source credibility, Millennial users' attitudes and intention to travel. It further investigates the moderating role of SoMe influencer following behavior on the aforementioned relationships.Design/methodology/approachA total of 212 useable responses were collected through an online survey. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical multiple regressions were employed for hypotheses testing.FindingsResults indicated that source credibility had a significantly positive influence on the SoMe users' attitudes, which in turn was positively associated with the intention to visit the endorsed destination. Moreover, both relationships were strengthened for SoMe influencer followers than for nonfollowers.Originality/valueThe study expanded the source credibility theory to the use of SoMe influencer marketing on travel destinations among Millennial SoMe users. In addition, the research applied the self-determination theory to fill the gap in literature by examining the moderating role of SoMe influencer following behavior.
ISSN:2516-8142
2516-8142
DOI:10.1108/IHR-11-2020-0069