There is a phenomenal success of social media regarding adoption and usage levels. They cause standard swing: for instance, how they segment ideas, how brands have involved with them, goods and businesses, and even how persons connect and connect with each other. Furthermore, significant customer knowledge is developed by social media. Therefore, in the holiday, previously social media’s influence has been defined for instance, marvellously mainly until the empirical nature of tourism goods and particularly of travelling; buying is measured risky, and consequently, decision-making processes are information rigorous.
It is a fact that past different studies try to reveal the character and influence of social media on characteristics of customer behaviour through the travel process; that is pre-travelling, during and afterwards the travel. Though, nearly everyone uses a micro method, concentrating whichever on social medium’s category (review of the buyers and websites ranking) otherwise on a TripAdvisor exact review or exact decision-making process (data finding) otherwise on the exact step of the trip procedure (beforehand of travelling). Notwithstanding the benefits of this micro tactics still, the general picture on how customers use social media and their influence by way of a whole, through all stages of the travel procedure and during all procedure of decision-making remain indistinct.
Key words: social media, tourism, consumer behavior
1. Introduction
The internet revolutionised not only the way how people and organisations communicate and also how they access information and interact with their daily activities (International Telecommunication Union 2017). Communication theorists recommend the Internet as a media communication tool: 1) to make community further dynamic and engaged 2) to the innovative era of more genuine and better democracy” (Burnett and Marshall 2003, p6). While the internet has taken over virtually everything, the last decade has seen a phenomenal growth of social media sites (SNS). What constitutes of social media may vary from one person to the other. McKinsey (2009) defines social media as a platform for sharing user-generated content. These include blogs, social network sites, content communities, forums, boards and feed aggregators.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Objective and Overview of the Literature Review
This literature review will illustrate business concepts and theories from the academic literature. It will focus on the topic “Social Media and its Impact on Consumer Behavior in the Tourism Industry”. In this literature review, the term “social media” and its meaning are defined.
2.2. Social Media and Issues in Definition
Theories examples will be discussed as well as consumer behaviour theories and models with an example in the tourism industry. The literature review shows that there is no, up till now, a unique arrangement about the term practised to call a social media. It is predictable to a degree assumed the undeveloped stage of the ideas elaborated. The same concept interchangeably used in fifteen different terms. Fountain and Constantinides (2008, p.231) call the social media term like a synonym to Web 2.0 requesting the term social media and Web 2.0 might be interchangeably practised. Likewise, Cox et al. (2009, p.744) practice the Web 2.0 websites term in similar with “user-generated content website” term to illustrate wikis, social networks blogs like “user-generated content sites key types of Web 2.0”. On the other hand, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, p.60) recommend what the relations are diverse. So, they reflect web 2.0 as a conceptual and industrial basis in the procedure of stage that allowed the development of social media and also nowadays allows their process.
2.3. Social Media and Its Identification
As a term, Xiang and Gretzel (2010, p.179) profoundly defined social media as a beginning point towards the determination; realise a sympathetic of their influence on the behaviour of the consumer. Furthermore, agreed on the diversity of term practised to define social media. Additionally, it is not astonishing that there is a deficiency of official better acknowledged social media description. Mangold and Faulds (2009, p.360) also attempted to define social media by adopting Blackshaw and Nazzaro’s explanation of customer produced media; a diversity of innovative sources of online data which are shaped, services, brand, issues, and personalities (Blackshaw and Nazzaro 2004, p.2).
The above method might be well-thought-out like limiting for two explanations; number one, it links social media solitary as bases of information, abandoning different functions including self-expression. Number two, it edges social media only inside a market situation like let say all content produced.
In 1997 John Barger defined the term blog of the term weblog (Blood 2000). Peter Merholz in 1999 changed the word into weblog so then this meaning changed as a blog (Blood 2000). Labs Pyra in 1999 also created ‘’blogger’’ a software platform (a web-based) sometimes it is called hosting blog application. Also, it is described as “pushing tool” (the push-button).
2.4. The Context
of the Tourism in Blogs
Exposes of holiday blogs “characteristic of kaleidoscopic of tourist understand at the destination” Pan et al. (2007, p.42) individuals in nature observations connected to entirely characteristics of the travel experience and the tourism goods including attractions, housing, dining and different impersonations. Moreover, Bosangit et al. (2009, p.62) mentioned in more general style holiday blogs are measured “consumption of tourism expressions”.
2.5. Microblog
Definition of “microblog” was cleared by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, p.63) as ‘’internet built applications that permit people who share to share minor elements of content including short verdicts, separate video links or images’’. Moreover, the varieties of microblogging requests are Weibo, Twitter and Jaiku Plurk to name a few. Nevertheless, the largest one is twitter that is only one that drives the development of microblogging Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, p.63). It was clear that Twitter users in 2014 sent around 6000 million tweets every day and had around 300 million monthly online users. Moreover, most users access Twitter through mobile devices, and the number of active users on mobile devices measured it was 78% of active Twitter users (Twitter 2017).
2.6. Microblogging in the Tourism Context
Hay (2010) asked DMO and executives in the hotel to find out how tourists use twitter. By opinion of professionals, it was recommended that Twitter be used as an instrument to study of the journeys from different people, however, from native businesses too. Also by way of a group, development of the platform contains potential tourists to a destination who are distributing data mostly valuable for first-time visitors and solitary visitors and aimed at communication among travellers and travel product providers at the journey. Moreover, for previous and upcoming tours it was contributing promotions and functional data including authorised entry supplies. As an instrument of microblogging, it was planned for classifying and monitoring the appearance of travel and travel connected mawkishness. A two-choice keyword algorithm was used by Claster et al. (2010) to find out and measure mawkishness travel in Cancun and also In Thailand.
2.7. Consumer Behavior; Origins, Theory, and Models
Understanding consumer behaviour, and more specifically, the buying decision-making method is of supreme importance to both the academic and industry. It allows marketers to well empathetic the details behind customers’ activities inside the market, also consequently to deliver visions on in what way to affect customers at numerous steps of their consumption or ordering procedure, therefore realising the actual and well-organised use of marketing resources. Aimed at academics specifically Maclnnis and Folkes (2009, p.900) customer behaviour is a scholar field of question a substitute discipline of marketing which produces technical knowledge about a multifaceted system of human behaviour. By deliberating the phases in the chapter, the progress of customer behaviour, tracked by methods, or viewpoints that are accessible for researchers who study customer behaviour.
Maclnnis and Folkes (2009)
2.8. Defining Customer Behavior
Between the late 1960s and 1970s, consumer behaviour was attempted to be defined, however, until this time there was no agreement on a specific description. In the old workbooks, concentrating entirely on customer behaviour that seemed in the 1970s did not contain explanations however as an alternative tried to define its limitations.
The question in relations of the object, the original effort on consumers was slowly lifted to customers and decision-making units. Currently, it shelters not separate solitary end-users nonetheless then again groups’ organisations and household.
By way of procedure, the period is worried the original focus on the performance of acquisition itself, lifted to pre-buying process and practice and today such as a wide variety of procedures and actions by pre-buying to nature.
Initially, the domain of selections enclosed purchases of economic products and services. Ronald Frank defines the domain of human behaviour, by way of media and family development behaviour; work-related selections; motion; factors of productiveness charges; attitudes toward and usage of social services and factors of “informative attainment” (Frank 1974, p.4).
Currently, most academics contain services and goods, and involvements. The modern definition refers to customer behaviour as the physical and mental actions that consumers assume either as per part of procedures, or like self-governing acts, once they search, assess, dream, find, consume or arrange products, services, philosophies, and knowledge, inside physical or simulated situation. Though, aimed at the determinations of this learning and assumed the service nature of its background trip clearance is of no significance and will not be additionally considered.
2.9. Consumer Behavior Models
Among the influences that donate to the difficulty of the study of customer behaviour are the different tremendous variables that are complicated, and the multifaceted connections and persuading associations between them. Tools models planned by researchers to overcome this type of difficulties, by way of they classify related variables, specify interrelationship, features of variables, and deliver a theoretical framework of the situation (Loudon and Della-Bitta 1993, p.15).
Loudon and Della-Bitta (1993, p.16) explained a model as a “simplified representation of reality” which means to abridge multifaceted variables, a blueprint covering the essential foundations of a big organisation. Buyer behaviour theory was developed by Sheth and Howard (1969, p.10) and they tried to clarify the purchasing behaviour of equally customers and business consumers alike over a period. Though its emphases on the choice of the brand, the theory comprises of broader connected actions. Sheth and Howard (1968, p.33) they resisted in earlier texts that ‘’our theory is an effort to clarify the buyer brand choice.
The purchaser’s internal states of theoretical concepts are separated of two courses; what to obtain and the process of the related information are Perceptual Constructs. However, those that simplify conceptual formation are Learning Constructs. The following contains Perceptual Constructs;
Information of sensitivity; Mechanism of the buyer regulating the information incoming its anxious system, becoming the purpose of number 1 stimulus degree of vagueness and number 2 brand predisposition toward of the buyer.
2.10. Decision Making or Consumer Models?
Tourism-review connected customer behaviour literature indicates that the term “decision making” and “consumer behaviour” were used interchangeably to define the same models.
The meaning “consumer behaviour model associated to tourism” is used by Gilbert (1991, p.94) to mention the effort of Schmoll (1977, p.14), Wahab et al. (1976, p.23), and Jarvis and Mayo (1981, p.88).
Furthermore, some different models and theories classified by him including (Cromton and Gitelson 1983; Middleton 1988; Wall and Mathieson 1982 and Francken and Raaij 1984) as “secondary theories of consumer behaviour” until to their “overreliance on the grand theories” Gilbert (1991, p.98). It is clear the Gilbert is in favour of the “buying behaviour” model direction is similarly revealed, he mentions to Wall and Mathieson’s process of traveller decision-making of the model as “a five-step process of travel buying behaviour” (Gilbert 1991).
2.11. Classification of Consumer Behavior Models
There have been different approaches towards the classification of consumer behaviour models. Among them is the classification that divides them into two broad categories comprising of Monadic and multi-variable models (Chisnall 1997, p81). Monadic models are criticised for their simplicity as they try to explain consumer behaviour from the perspective of a single subject, failing to recognise the complexity of consumer behaviour. Perceived model, black box model, the psychoanalytical models are an example of monadic models (Chisnall 1997, p.101).
On the other hand, multivariate models encompass some disciplines in their analysis of consumer behaviour. Chisnall (1997) includes Howard-Ostlund, the Engel-Kollat –Blackwell, and the Nicosia as an example of multivariate models. Other classification such as those suggested by Bowen and Clarke (2013), divides models into big and small, referring to them as grand as they can explore every step of consumer behaviour to the last detail and market reaction models that can be used to model market activities.
Another classification based on the scope of the models categorises them into either comprehensive or specific (Loudon and Della-Bitta 1993, p.17). Comprehensive models will explore all the consumer behaviour aspects in general while the specific model will focus on one specific aspect to discuss (Loudon and Della-Bitta 1993, p.20). Other categories include traditional models, which explain behaviour using the earlier economic approach that dominated, the earlier economists while the contemporary look at consumer behaviour in a modern microeconomic perspective.
2.12. The Need for Tourism-Related Consumer Behavior Models
The models of the travel-related need are validated through the actual nature tourism. The goods of the tourism are mainly services, consequently with an inherent imperceptible nature; through a high-speed feature requiring a high-risk decision process, therefore needing a highly absorbed customer who is complicated in the buying decision (Swarbrooke and Horner 2003).
Trip tours are mainly related to an essential helping of a person’s disposable income. Therefore evaluation may not be earlier than buying. An unsuccessful trip has an irreparable opportunity rate. Meanwhile, for majority individuals of holidays go wrong the next available holiday money or time will be accessible in a year’s period (Seaton 1994). Furthermore, three factors are identified by Decrop (2006, p68) as enacting the requirement for a diverse viewpoint in amplification travel:
i. The buying of travel services, outstanding to the complex nature of the goods, includes different decisions and sub decisions (including terminus mode of transportation, activities, accompanying customers).
ii. Holiday decisions are energetic in the feast every time and include complete limits, therefore connecting extended choice procedures with the typical period over several months (Dellaert et al. 1998, p315)
iii. Some holiday trips and tourism are dissimilar to other goods beginning from a social-economic opinion:
So, they are a vital human action that needs time, talking, thinking about and wide-ranging preparation. Therefore, they need a cooperative decision connecting household friend member, and they characterise the primary expenditure of the domestic budget that reoccurs in regular intermissions.
Wahab et al. (1976) supports proposals by Decrop (2006) and were the foremost to contrivance a successive tourism customer behaviour model allowed the model of tourist purchasing decision. The need for separate tourism related model substantiates by them for the reason that the individuality of the tourist purchasing decision that is a consequence of 1) the non-spontaneous and non-capricious purchase. 2) The spending is nice planned over substantial time that may be up to several months and 3) the substantial expenditure involve 4) the nonappearance of the tangible reappearance of speculation; 5) the substantial spending involve. The decision-making process supported by Wahab et al. (1976, p.156) for somewhat goods shadows the similar ten stages no matter if the buying is very prompt (buying of a bus ticket) or take years to contend (buying of an air fighter). Throughout the original stimulus step, the consumer who previously might have wants and needs, become mindful of travel good over a communication absorbed to him, producing what Wahab et al. (1976) named an ‘’illusion’’. The consumer at that time frames different theories about other satisfactions (it could be great to travel to a warm Greek island this summer. Lest having Greek travel therefore ingoing the theoretical context stage. Formerly the purchaser transfers to the detail meeting stage so to find out for info that will allow him to admit or discard his theories. That evidence is split into different groups:
a. Satisfaction elements that gratify him rendering to this need and requirements, character and standards.
b. Cost basis that is connected to cost of the different components of the goods.
c. A refusal factor which makes the customer discard the goods and;
d. Total disappointment basics facts that content him rendering to his requirements and needs, standards and personalities.
2.13. Tourism Related Consumer Models
Tourism-related consumer behaviour models can be classified into two broad categories: those with limited scope or those that generalise concepts (Decrop 2006, p.70). For this study, those that have a limited scope are not considered as important as the purpose of the study is to explore the consequences of social media as a whole rather than a section. The conceptualised category is further divided into microeconomic models, which model the tourism industry into the demand-supply economy, cognitive models, which focus on the mental decision-making process, and interpretive framework that leads to a naturalistic approach. The cognitive model is what will be adopted for this research.
2.14. Tourism-related Cognitive Models
The core part of cognitive models is information processing and perception. In this model, consumers are thought to be active decision makers Decrop (2006, p.82). It is essential to understand the difference between the structural and processes models. A process model supports the idea that decision making is a sequential process that follows a certain number of steps (Wahab et al. 1976, p.160). On the other hand, structural models assume that consumer behaviours are based on the buyers’ inbuilt psychological characteristics.
3. Methodology
3.1. Introduction
In this chapter, the justification of the choice of the methodology about research objectives is discussed extensively. It is understood that knowledge of research philosophies is a crucial part of the research process. Therefore, this chapter introduces the essential discussion on research paradigms and explains the philosophical thought adopted. The researcher’s choice of a social constructivist approach as the philosophical approach of choice is not only adequately supported but also rationally. The choice to use qualitative data along with the different focus group targeted in the research is as well justified in the chapter.
For ease of reference and coverage of the necessary information, the chapter is divided into three sections. The first section is focused on discussing the choice of the philosophical perspective and the justification of selection of qualitative data. The second section discusses, in a significant length, the research design, sampling approach, research setting and research instruments. The third and last section focuses on the ethical consideration of the data collection methods employed, the validity of the data collected, its reliability and the generalizability applied to the data.
3.2. Research Philosophy
Discussion of research philosophy is of great importance to any research; not just because of its role in helping researchers recognise the different philosophical perspective available to them but also its great importance in helping the researcher formulate informed decisions on their choice of methodology. Different research philosophical approaches in consumer research are presented through the adoption of different paradigms (Sarantakos 2005, p.66). These different paradigms give the researcher the ability to confer on important epistemological, ontological and methodological questions (Denzin and Lincoln 2005). Several past kinds of literature indicate some paradigms that researchers may conform to. However, Guba and Lincoln (1994) present four paradigms that they deem are the most suitable for research concerning social and consumer behaviour: critical theory, positivism, constructivism, and post-positivism. These are not the only paradigms available. Johnson et al. (2007, p120) introduce the pragmatic paradigm and disqualify the positivism paradigm claiming that it does not represent modern quantitative researchers. Although there are others such as the corporative paradigm (Denzin and Lincoln 2005, p115); only three of the paradigms: pragmatism, constructivism and postpositivism will be discussed for this research. The discussion below aims at substantiating the basis on which the selection of one paradigm among the three was selected through a comprehensive explanation of each of the three paradigms.
3.2.1. Positivism
Positivism is described, in an ontological way, as a less sophisticated version of realism that looks at a one-way reality; suggesting a fixed reality as seen through the ordinary human senses (Fotis, 2015, p.154). Through this perspective, positivism allows researchers to predict the behaviour outcome of humans; meaning it represents human behaviour as deterministic. Methodologically, however, the real nature of positivism allows it to be measured empirically and therefore presenting human behaviour as quantitative rather than qualitative (Guba and Lincoln 1994, p.193).
3.2.2. Postpositivism
In response to the criticism that faced positivism, postpositivism attempts to rectify the some of the challenges posed to positivism such as the assumed objectivity of reality. Similar to positivism, postpositivism allows the presentation of a one-way objective reality. However, unlike positivism, it opposes the possibility of discovering the absolute truth and therefore, denies the researcher the ability to prove a hypothesis but the power to reject (Phillips and Burbules 2000). Although methodologically postpositivism allows a researcher to apply qualitative techniques in the collection of data to understand human behaviour, it ontologically limits the subjectivity of a researcher by presenting a deterministic outcome (Guba and Lincoln 1994, p108).
3.2.3. Pragmatism
Unlike both positivism and postpositivism, pragmatism as a philosophical research paradigm not only gives attention to the research question but also the ramification of the research. The core pillars of pragmatism lie in its promotion of examining consequences to understand practical problems and develop logical decisions (Johnson et al. 2007). Also, pragmatism does not commit to a single reality or any specific philosophical system (Creswell and Creswell 2009, p.75). Ontologically, pragmatism removes the limitations of positivism and postpositivism by accommodating both subjective and objective approach (Feilzer 2009, p.7). Methodologically, pragmatism helps researchers concentrate on the research problem, the approach involved and the ramification of the research question rather than the methodology involved as well as amending qualitative and quantitative approaches to research giving researchers the ability to utilise the power of both approaches (Creswell and Creswell 2009, p.76).
3.3. Choice of Paradigm
Choice of any of the paradigms discussed in the previous section or any other paradigms depends mainly on the school of thought of the researcher towards an ontological and methodological approach to the research. However, each of the paradigms provides researchers with different approaches to the research questions and therefore will undoubtedly influence the methodology adopted, the research instruments used and the research design (Guba and Lincoln 1994, p.111). Nevertheless, as they are philosophical thoughts of other people, paradigms are considered to be self-evident and therefore cannot be subject to proof but are not error proof (Guba and Lincoln, 1994). Through critical analysis as expressed in the extensive discussion in the entire section 1.2, this paper considers pragmatism as the suitable philosophical paradigm to analyse consumer behaviour. The pragmatic approach will allow the researcher to approach the research question and achieve the research objective from a social constructionism outlook. Through social constructionism, the meaning is developed within a social space as a collective responsibility, unlike the individuality focus found in constructivism (Bryman 2008).
3.4. Data Collection
The research approach was qualitative with the choice carefully guided by the discussion on research philosophy in the earlier section (1.2). Patton (2015, p.35) notes that the following four are the primary methods of collecting qualitative data: interviews, questionnaires, observations, and review of published documents. For this research, questionnaires were employed as well as a review of published documents.
3.4.1. Sampling Approach
In a qualitative approach, the non-probability approach of sampling is plied with an emphasis on the desired characteristics of the target sample contrasting the randomised sample used in quantitative approach (Patton 2015, p.42). In line with the suggestions of Patton (2015) that all samplings in qualitative research are purposeful, the target subjects for this study were to have specific characteristics.
3.4.2. Sampling Process
Although there are numerous sampling strategies based on purpose approach (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008), the primary strategy used for this study was Criterion sampling. This strategy was deemed useful because it asserts that participants in the study meet specific criteria and therefore provide quality assurance (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008). For this study subjects of research were constrained to meet two conditions: be active on across diverse social media platforms and indicate ability or possibility of regular travelling. For the first criterion, vibrant was measured in the sense that a participant had had an update in any of his social media platform in the last 12 months. For the second, the measure of regular travelling or its ability was based on the visual content the participant had shared on their social platforms.
3.4.3. The Study Sample
The study was made up of 30 participants with 20 of them being female and ten being male within the age brackets of 18 years to 60 years old. Questionnaires were sent to the respective participants via emails. 18 of the participants were of English nationalities, 10 American and 2 of Kenyan nationalities. All participants were residing in the United Kingdom at the time of the study. A summary of their profiles including the social media platforms they were using, the frequency they used the respective social media and the number of times they had travelled over the last 12 months is available in appendix 2. Appendix 1 contains the complete list of questions that participants were asked during the study.
3.4.4. Other Considerations
Ethical Considerations
By the ethical guidelines of the University, this research took exceptional measures to ensure that all concerns on ethics were addressed. Participants were assured that all their opinions were kept anonymously. Nevertheless, participants were also asked to sign a consent form to acknowledge that they were fully aware of the role they were playing. Furthermore, no personal data was collected during the research to minimise the risk exposure as well as the expense of storing such data.
Reliability, Generalizability, and Validity
Concerns have been made concerning the reliability and validity of qualitative data. Much of these concerns surround the limitations that qualitative data presents given the fact that it cannot be empirically measured (Jacoby 1978). However, it is also observed that networks created online and the views expressed are merely an extension of the physical, social network (Denzin and Lincoln 2008, p213). Therefore qualitative data, although not categorically proven, is valid and can be reliable. Six types of generalizability have been identified: statistical, tentative, variation based existence, theoretical, and analogical (Jacoby 1978).
3.4.5. Limitations
Although great detail and attention were given towards this study, the following two limitations were unavoidable:
i. Biased data collection
This study collected data from selected people on various social media. This prior section of the desired people can lead to predetermined findings which might make the study’s recommendation to be of limited help.
ii. Data were collected via questionnaire only
While questionnaires are compelling, they are limited in some ways. One way is that they do not give the researcher the power to monitor the data collection process. As a result, data collected could be from undesirable persons.
4. Analysis and Discussion
4.1. Analysis
4.1.1. Introduction
Unlike other studies conducted on the same subject before, this research tackles the subject holistically as discussed in section 1 of this paper by looking at the general behaviour of participants before,
