How do people adopt information on social media? The role of e-WOM in revealing travel itineraries

Abstract

Social media represents a source of information exchange for individuals day by day. The information released in this environment has become an element of word-of-mouth communication. This type of information indicates an area that should be managed for all sectors, including the tourism sector. The purpose of this study is to explain the adoption behaviours of individuals towards tourism information in social media, within the framework of information-related factors and source-related factors. Four hundred seventy-nine participants aged from 18 to 55 were surveyed, and the data obtained were tested with covariance-based structural equation modelling by using AMOS 23. The results of the study showed the following: 1) source homophily positively relates to both source expertise and source trustworthiness; 2) effective factors on information credibility are source credibility, source expertise, and argument quality; 3) information credibility and former three positively relates to information usefulness; 4) information usefulness exerts a positive influence on information adoption.