Who Posts Positive Hotel Reviews on Social Media? Examining Experiential Value, Online Social Capital, and Personal Attributes

Abstract

This study aims to identify key attributes which significantly distinguish people with high intentions to generate positive hotel review on social media from others by examining three major factors associated with online hotel review generation which include hotel experiential value (e.g., utilitarian value, hedonic value, atmospheric value, and service quality), online social capital (e.g., social interaction tie, norm of reciprocity, and social identification), and personal attributes (e.g., opinion leadership, Internet self-efficacy, and hotel loyalty). The results of this study suggest that utilitarian and atmospheric values were the two most critical hotel experiential attributes in determining guests’ high intention to generate positive hotel review on social media. This study found that norm of reciprocity and social identification within social media function as social force in hotel review generation. Further, all proposed personal attributes enhanced positive hotel review generation. The findings intensify our knowledge regarding positive online hotel review generation, and advise practitioners with effective management strategies.