The Effect of Engagement in Online Social Network on Susceptibility to Influence

Abstract

The effect of consumer participation in online social networking activities on their susceptibility to influence is investigated in a context of restaurant consumption. This research identified a positive relationship between consumers engagement in social networking sites (SNS) on their susceptibility to global consumption influence, which is a multidimensional factor consisting of conformity to trend, social prestige, and quality perception. Furthermore, consumer engagement in SNS and susceptibility to global consumption influence positively affect social influence on SNS. That is, consumers with higher participation in SNS are more prone to global consumer convergence and peer influence on SNS. As implications for tourism and hospitality businesses, strategies to manage consumer-to-consumer communication on social media are suggested

Online Engagement Among Restaurant Customers: The Importance of Enhancing Flow for Social Media Users

“…The recent research demonstrates the positive influence of customer engagement on businesses, such as enhanced customer relationships and brand attitude and higher future purchasing intentions (e.g., Brodie et al, 2013; Hollebeek et al, 2014; Tussyadiah, Kausar, & Soesilo, 2015). For example, So, King, Sparks, and Wang (2016) conducted two studies on retail brands and concluded that customer engagement has a significant impact on customer–brand relationship quality and customer loyalty.…”

How Hotel Companies Can Foster Customer Sociability Behaviour on Facebook?

“…Remuneration company messages include specific information which is directly or indirectly associated with various benefits for customers including special promotions, trials and other offers (Cvijikj & Michahelles, 2013;Luarn et al, 2015;Kwok & Yu, 2016). These messages can encourage social contagion process and in turn, generate customer sociability behaviour on a company's Facebook page (Tussyadiah, Kausar, & Soesilo, 2015). An example of remuneration messages is as follows: "[...] share this message and wait for the 9th of October, when the winner will be announced!".…”

The Effect of Social Networking Sites’ Activities on Customers’ Well-Being

“…This study explored the relationships among SNSs’ activities, customers’ psychological needs, perceived well-being, and their brand usage intent. Different from previous SNSs’ studies that investigated the network externalities, marketing effectiveness, or consumer engagement (Kang & Young, 2016; Leung et al, 2015; Tussyadiah et al, 2018), this study examined the relationships between customers’ SNSs’ activities and their psychological needs. Results identified a possible mechanism that explained a positive influence of SNSs’ activities on customers’ well-being and their brand usage intent.…”

“…For instance, the number of friends on SNSs influenced people’s psychological outcomes, such as life satisfaction (J. H. Kim & Lee, 2011). Previous hospitality and tourism literature has examined the role of SNSs on customers’ behaviors (e.g., Tussyadiah, Kausar, & Soesilo, 2018); however, it was still puzzling what made customers fulfill their psychological needs that fostered their well-being perceptions when customers engaged with SNSs to share their hotel experiences.…”