Shaping In-Destination Group Decision-Making: The Sociomateriality of Smartphones

Abstract

In-destination travel decisions exist due to uncertainties after arrival and the flexibility of leisure travel. Concurrently, smartphone use encourages instant information searching and communication, which promotes in-destination decision-making and plan changes. However, previous studies have provided a limited understanding of in-destination decisions, particularly when travel companions are involved. This study thus adopted sociomateriality as a theoretical tool to offer a sociotechnical perspective in examining the interactions between travelers and their smartphones in an in-destination group decision-making context. We identified three communication patterns in group decision-making during trips and four features of smartphone sociomateriality: knowledgeability, thriftiness, referenceability, and negotiability. This study responds to recent calls to extend the theoretical repertoire of information technology and tourism research, and to conduct more empirical studies on tourists’ in-destination behaviors in the mobile Internet age.