Award Date

1-1-2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Hotel Administration

First Committee Member

Seyhmus Baloglu

Number of Pages

85

Abstract

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication such as online hotel reviews is getting serious attention from marketing managers in the hotel industry. Consumers are becoming more comfortable with providing and receiving information online and doing so more frequently. In recent years it has become more common to see consumers seeking advice on restaurants, tourist destinations or hotels on the internet, reflecting the importance of eWOM in the hospitality industry. As a result, eWOM is becoming a major marketing tool for many goods and services in the hospitality industry. The factors that affect customers' involvement in eWOM in the hotel industry were identified and the relevance of these motive factors and their impact on consumer behavior are examined in this study. The results illustrated that consumers read online hotel reviews mainly to obtain benefits by getting buying related information and maximizing product benefits to costs. The findings also indicated that their motives for reading online hotel reviews strongly influence their behavior. By differentiating these individuals based on their motivation for reading eWOM, hotel managers can observe characteristics and behaviors of these different groups and effectively manage the impact of eWOM accordingly.

Keywords

Behavior; Buying; Communication; Electronic; Ewom; Motives; Mouth; Online; Read; Relationships; Word

Controlled Subject

Marketing

File Format

pdf

File Size

2478.08 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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