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Purpose Using the stimulus-organism-response model as the theoretical basis, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a social media-based destination brand community (SMDBC) on tourists’ emotions, and the subsequent effect on the intention to co-create value and visit. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical framework was tested using survey data from 551 Chinese social media users who were followers of Japanese social media pages. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling was adopted to perform the latent variable analysis. Findings The findings reveal that SMDBC plays a considerable role in shaping tourists’ emotions, including joy, love and positive surprise, which, in turn, have a significant impact on consumers’ intention to co-create value and visit. Contrary to previous studies, the effect of joy on tourists’ intention to co-create and visit is found to be insignificant. Research limitations/implications The present study elucidates the importance and relevance of SMDBC in evoking tourists’ positive emotions, and subsequently their intention to co-create value and visit. Future research is recommended to compare and contrast SMDBC with other marketing and branding activities to provide greater insights into the phenomenon in a dynamic environment. Practical implications This study enables academics and business practitioners to better comprehend the effectiveness of SMDBC in driving tourists’ favourable assessment and behavioural intentions to improve resource allocation. In particular, destination marketers are recommended to optimise SMDBC and encourage discussion on SMDBC among users. Originality/value As literature in relation to the importance of SMDBC in evoking tourists’ emotions incorporating its link with tourists’ intention to co-create value and visit is relatively scarce, this study contributes to the branding and destination tourism research by empirically articulating the relevance of SMDBC in stimulating tourists’ emotions and subsequently value co-creation and visit intention.

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become an important source for customers and hoteliers, and likewise, the interactivity of Web 2.0 has allowed customers to write and share online reviews. Our study aims to examine: (1) the influence of post-stay evaluation factors toward eWOM, (2) the relationship between eWOM and hotel revisit intention, and (3) the influence of country differences as a moderating factor. A total of 872 usable responses were collected from three emerging countries. Our results suggest that post-stay evaluation was the key predictor of positive eWOM, and later transferred greater hotel revisit intention among Gen Y. In terms of country level, all countries depicted a positive relationship for all paths, and the influence of the respondents’ country moderated for some relationship in this study. Our findings also shed further light on the understanding of the generational cohort theory across emerging countries, especially in the hospitality context.

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During disasters, information sharing across group boundaries is seen as highly significant. It requires extensive information sharing flow between different groups and individuals in the community, and among the different response teams. People who receive and share information during a disaster are also known as knowledge brokers (KB). The importance of information sharing during a disaster has been discussed in both academic and practitioner. However, very little attention has been paid to the individual level. This study explored the nature of cross-group boundary information sharing by knowledge brokers during a disaster, specifically in New Zealand. Our objective was to identify how KB assesses the veracity of the information they receive and to whom the information is relevant during a disaster. We used multiple case studies via in-depth face-to-face interviews. Case studies were taken from past New Zealand disasters. The scenario experienced by the KB was the level of analysis. 10 different disasters involving 22 unique scenarios were analyzed. It was found that a KB went through two phases in deciding on the veracity and relevance of information they received. In both phases, KB received information across four types of boundaries and used different types of cognitive resources in the process.