The roles of online travel communities in the holiday decision-making processes
Author
Jackowska, Magdalena
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2012
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvilke roller online rejsefællesskaber spiller i feriebeslutningsprocessen. Med et sociologisk og induktivt udgangspunkt bygger studiet på semistrukturerede interviews med brugere af fællesskaberne samt forfatterens egen deltagelse for at konstruere en forståelse af deres roller, understøttet af litteratur om sociale medier, forbrugeradfærd og turistens beslutningsproces. Studiet sammenholder brugernes perspektiver med fællesskabernes egen selvforståelse og identificerer tre roller, som ifølge respondenterne hjælper i præ-beslutningsfasen: at assistere informationssøgningen, at finde information og at evaluere information. Troværdighed fremstår som centralt i evalueringen og udfordrer i denne kontekst den teoretiske antagelse om, at tillid online primært opbygges gennem sociale relationer. Resultaterne peger på, at indflydelsen fra online rejsefællesskaber er koncentreret før købet, og der foreslås fremtidig drøftelse af deres roller efter ferien.
This thesis investigates the roles online travel communities play in holiday decision-making. Taking a sociological, inductive approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with community users and the author’s own participation to construct an understanding of these roles, supported by literature on social media, consumer behavior, and the tourist decision-making process. It contrasts users’ perspectives with communities’ self-descriptions and identifies three roles respondents perceive as aiding the pre-decision stage: assisting the information search, finding information, and evaluating information. Trustworthiness emerges as central to evaluation and, in this context, challenges the theoretical assumption that online trust is primarily built through social relationships. The findings indicate that the influence of online travel communities is concentrated before purchase, with future discussion suggested on their roles in the post-purchase stage.
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