ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 1

Analysing Ecotourists’ Satisfaction in Socialisation and Knowledge Sharing Intentions via Social Media

Sudipta Kiran Sarkar,

Norman Au,

Rob Law

School of Hotel and Tourism ManagementHong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 2

Agenda

• Introduction

– Problem

• Literature Review

• Method

• Results

• Discussion and Conclusion

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 3

Introduction• Ecotourism is a fast developing tourist activity that emanates from

the sustainable tourism development concept.

• Ecotourism is growing at a rate of 20-34% since 1990s; consumers of ecotourism or ‘ecotourists’, are an important facet of global tourism (Lu & Stepchenkova, 2012; Sharpley, 2006).

• Ecotourists are travellers who experience and appreciate nature-based attractions and visiting such nature-based attraction is at least one of the main activities undertaken by them during a trip (Tao, Eagles

& Smith, 2004).

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 4

Introduction• Social interactions and knowledge sharing are key drivers of

ecotourists’ satisfaction from an ecotourism experience(Chan & Baum,

2007).

• Ecotourists engage in promoting awareness on sustainability among each other through social interactions (Wearing & Neil, 2009).

• Social interactions among ecotourists have been found to take place in the form of word-of-mouth exchanges (Weaver, 2002).

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 5

Introduction• However, such social interactions are limited only during the trips

taken by the ecotourists.

• Given the desire and imperativeness for ecotourists to socially interact, this study identifies the need for socialisation within ecotourists beyond the trips taken by them.

• Social media which is a two-way communication platform can play a significant role in facilitating ecotourists in socialisation through word-of-mouth exchanges.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 6

Introduction• Social media has the potential to address needs of ecotourists beyond

the basic utilitarian needs of tourists (Nusair, Erdem, Okumus & Bilgihan,

2012).

• However, the dynamic role of recent Internet technologies like social media in word-of-mouth exchanges has found very little mention in the existing literature on ecotourism.

• Moreover, there are no studies on the role of social media in addressing ecotourists’ needs of socialising and knowledge sharing.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 7

IntroductionObjectives: As socialisation is a vital aspect of ecotourists’ experience, this study

tries to examine the potential of social media in enabling satisfaction through online socialisation to ecotourists.

This study focuses on examining factors (cooperation and reputation) leading to socialisation for ecotourists using social media.

Finally, as knowledge sharing is also an important activity of ecotourists, this study will shed light on the ability of social media in enhancing such sharing as a result of socialisation.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 8

Literature Review• Socialisation and Knowledge Sharing:

The social bonds developed through social interactions in an ecotour leads to ecotourists satisfaction of ecotourism experience (Chan & Baum, 2007; Lu &

Stepchenkova, 2012).

For instance, ecotourists like birdwatchers have been found to develop strong social ties among them during hedonic ecotourism experiences (Eubanks Jr, Stoll, &

Ditton, 2004).

Socialisation enables ecotourists to have social influence, personal development and self-image enhancement (Harlow & Pomfret, 2007).

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 9

Literature Review• Social Media: Social media is one of the most revolutionary extensions of the

Internet technology (Lew, 2007; O’Reilly, 2005).

In the context of tourism, social media has enabled co-production of travel-based content between tourists.

Tourists have been found to increasingly rely on social media-based recommendations (Facebook and Trip Advisor) (Santos, 2012).

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 10

Literature Review• Social Media: In ecotourism, though the potential of social media as an effective

interaction tool have been recognised, its actual use is not evident (Lu & Stepchenkova, 2012; Gibson, Dodds, Joppe & Jamieson, 2003).

However, it is interesting to note that ecotourists have been found to be internet savvy (Lu & Stepchenkova, 2012).

Therefore, social media can play a significant role in facilitating ecotourists an intense process of social interactions and knowledge sharing in a voluntary manner.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 11

Literature Review• Social Media: The satisfaction in the socialisation via social media is vital.

• Social Exchange Theory The Social exchange theory (SET) has the ability to predict social

interactions and exchanges between individuals leading towards sustained relationships (Cameron & Webster, 2011; Homans, 1958, p.606).

The SET suggests the factors of reciprocity, cooperation, altruism, trust, social norms, community identification and power vital in examining the intensity of social interactions.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 12

Literature Review While this study recognises the importance of all these factors, it

focuses on the factors of cooperation and reputation only.

Cooperation involves the cooperative motives of individuals that enables voluntarily reciprocation between them (Geffen & Ridings, 2002).

The cooperative motive is imperative given that there are no set of laws or rewards that necessitates to reciprocate in social exchanges as in economic exchanges.

• Hypothesis 1: Cooperation among Ecotourists’ will positively influence their satisfaction in socialisation through social media.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 13

Literature Review Secondly, reputation refers to enhancement of self-image by means

of social interactions with others through online communication (Nambisan & Baron, 2010).

Ecotourists have also been found to experience self-image enhancement through socialisation (Galley & Clifton, 2004; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007).

• Hypothesis 2: Ecotourists’ personal reputation will positively influence their satisfaction in socialisation via social media.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 14

Literature Review• Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)

The theory of reasoned action suggests attitudes based on beliefs shape behavioural intention (Hsu and Lu,2004).

Previous studies have used TRA in linking satisfaction (as an attitude

towards online interaction) with intention to engage in online activities (Hsu & Lu, 2004; Hsu & Lin, 2008; Shiau & Luo, 2012).

• Hypothesis 3: satisfaction in socialisation via social media being an attitudinal aspect can positively influence ecotourists’ intention to share knowledge via social media

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 15

Conceptual Model

Cooperation

Reputation

Ecotourists’ Satisfaction in

Socialisation via Social Media

Ecotourists’ Intention to

Share Knowledge

+H1

+H2

+H3

Figure 1: Conceptual Model

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 16

Methods• Participants: Ecotourists visiting three ecotourism/nature-based

attractions in and around Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. The spots were Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), Dark Caves, and the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park (Bukit Burung).

• Field Survey: on-site field survey with using structured questionnaire.

• 200 completed questionnaires Independent factors (cooperation and reputation), dependent factors

(satisfaction with socialisation via social media and knowledge sharing intentions) - 7-point scale.

Socio-demographic aspects, social media use and ecotourism activities. Regression analysis

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 17

Results

• H1: Cooperation among Ecotourists’ will positively influence their satisfaction in socialisation through social media- Confirmed

• H2: Ecotourists’ personal reputation will positively influence their satisfaction in socialisation via social media- Confirmed

Table 1. Regression Analysis (Satisfaction for ecotourists in Socialisation via Social Media) __________________________________________________________________________________ Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. Collinearity Statistics Coefficients Coefficients Tolerance VIF ___________________________________________________________________________ B Std. Error Beta ____________________________________________________________________________ (Constant) .793 .255 3.107 .002 Cooperation .535 .066 .481 8.143 .000 .524 1.908 Reputation .345 .053 .388 6.559 .000 .524 1.908 _____________________________________________________________________________ Dependent Variable: Satisfaction for ecotourists in Socialisation via Social Media

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 18

Results• H3: - Ecotourists satisfaction with socialisation via social media can positively

influence their knowledge sharing intentions- Confirmed

Table 2: Regression Analysis ( Intention to Share Ecotourism Knowledge) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. Collinearity Statistics Coefficients Coefficients Tolerance VIF _____________________________________________________________________________________ B Std. Error Beta

_____________________________________________________________________________________ (Constant) .817 .212 3.848 .000 1.000 1.000 Satisfaction .870 .039 .843 22.097 .000 for ecotourists in Socialisation through Social media ________________________________________________________________________________________ Dependent Variable: Intention to share knowledge

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 19

Discussions 90% of the respondents were in age-range of 25-44 and 95% had

university qualifications confirming that ecotourists are relatively younger and more educated than other tourists (Lu & Stepchenkova, 2012).

Facebook is the most popular and widely used social media sites (Santos, 2012).

Ecotourists derive significant satisfaction from social media enabled socialisation and appears to be vital for ecotourists beyond the offline context.

Socialisation leads to sharing and building of ‘collective knowledge’.

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 20

Discussions Social exchange theory (SET) can be potentially used in non-organisational

(individual-to-individual) online interaction context (Abdul-Ghani, 2011) beyond the usual organisational context (Nambisan & Baron, 2010).

Cooperation as an SET factor in leading towards satisfaction in socialisation through social media.

Reputation as an SET factor (particular to ecotourists) leading towards satisfaction in socialisation through social media.

Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) in examining the positive relationship between attitude and intentions is proven (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Shiau & Luo, 2012).

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 21

Discussions and Conclusion Practical insights for DMOs and management authorities of ecotourism

attractions:• Understanding the importance of encouraging more satisfactory social

media enabled interaction between ecotourists.

• Social media, a useful tool knowledge sharing.

Limitations and Conclusions: • This study did not attempt to examine the implications of satisfaction of

ecotourists in socialising with social media on their satisfaction with the actual ecotourism experiences.

• Role of other SET factors.

• Future studies can also look into perceptions of ecotourists who do not use social media

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 22

THANK YOU!!