Motives, Modes of Participation, and Loyalty Intentions of Facebook Tourism Brand Page Consumers

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between motivations, modes of participation and loyalty intentions of consumers of tourism brand pages on Facebook (TBPF). The study introduces an integrative theoretical and exploratory model that describes the impact of motivation on online consumer behavior (extent of participation and degree of active contribution) and attitudes toward particular brands (repurchase and recommendation intention). A digital survey posted on TBPF elicited 903 responses. Four factors of motives for participation were identified—functional, social-psychological, hedonistic, and incentive motives—with varying levels of importance. Social-psychological motives were the main predictors for “active-participation” in TBPF. There was a positive significant correlation between all the modes of participation and consumers’ loyalty intentions. The findings were significantly different from previous studies of online tourism communities with regard to the impact of social-psychological motives on consumer’s electronic word-of-mouth participation and loyalty intentions. The implications for the theory and marketing management are discussed, as is the study’s contribution to effective marketing management of TBPF.