Role of social media influencers on marketing of sustainable hotels: gratification and the parasocial interaction perspective

ABSTRACT

Based on the concepts of gratification and parasocial interaction (PSI), we explore the effect of social media influencers on consumer behaviors in the marketing of sustainable hotels on Instagram (IG). We derive insights from 792 valid responses of consumers residing in the U.S. and analyze their behaviors and perceptions as related to both sustainable hotels and the leveraging of Instagram as a marketing tool. Through structural equation modeling, the findings of this study show that gratification increases consumer community commitment to IG through PSI. Moreover, PSIs positively influence consumer behaviors, such as booking intention, word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), through IG community commitment. Finally, the expertise of social media influencers strengthens consumer commitment to the IG community. The trustworthiness of social media influencers also strengthens consumer booking intentions.

基于满足和准社会互动(PSI)的概念,我们探讨了社交媒体影响者对Instagram上可持续酒店营销中消费者行为的影响. 我们从居住在美国的792名消费者的有效回复中获得了见解,并分析了他们与可持续酒店和利用Instagram作为营销工具相关的行为和看法. 通过结构方程建模,本研究的结果表明,满足感通过PSI增加了消费者群体对IG的承诺. 此外,PSIs通过IG社区承诺积极影响消费者行为,如预订意向、口碑和电子口碑. 最后,社交媒体影响者的专业知识加强了消费者对IG社区的承诺。社交媒体影响者的可信度也加强了消费者的预订意愿.

KEYWORDS:

• Parasocial interaction
• use and gratification theory
• social media
• Instagram
• social media influencer

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Science and Technology Council [MOST-110-2511-H-158-003].