Adventure tourists' electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) intention: The effect of water-based adventure experience, grandiose narcissism, and self-presentation

Abstract

This study aims to empirically examine the effect of tourists’ grandiose narcissism and adventure experiences on their self-presentation and electronic word-of-mouth communication (e-WOM) intention in a water-based adventure tourism setting. Data were collected through a personal-administered survey of 357 tourists who had participated in various water-based adventure activities offered at Kota Kinabalu coastal areas in Sabah, Malaysia. A partial least-square -based structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data. The results signify that tourists’ water-based adventure experiences had a direct effect on their positive self-presentation and e-WOM intention while tourist grandiose narcissism had an indirect mediating effect on e-WOM intention through positive self-presentation. The findings provide theoretical knowledge in the literature as well as practical implications for tourism managers and practitioners, particularly in water-based adventure tourism settings.