ELECTRONIC WORD-OF-MOUTH IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Stephen W. Litvin College of Charleston Ronald E. Goldsmith Florida State University Bing Pan College of Charleston

Stephen W. Litvin is Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the School of Business and Economics, at the College of Charleston (South Carolina); Ronald E. Goldsmith is the Richard M. Baker Professor of Marketing at Florida State University; and Bing Pan is Assistant Professor and the Director of the Office of Tourism Analysis at the College of Charleston.

Address correspondence to: Steve Litvin, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Business and Economics, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424. Phone 843-953-7317; Email litvins@cofc.edu

Submitted June, 20, 2005 to Tourism Management Revised and resubmitted May 09, 2006 Second revision October 1, 2006

ELECTRONIC WORD-OF-MOUTH IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT Abstract

Interpersonal influence and word-of-mouth (WOM) are ranked the most important information source when a consumer is making a purchase decision. This influence may be especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry, whose intangible products are difficult to evaluate prior to their consumption. When WOM becomes digital, the largescale, anonymous, ephemeral nature of the Internet induces new ways of capturing, analyzing, interpreting, and managing online WOM. This paper describes online interpersonal influence, or eWOM, as a potentially cost-effective means for marketing hospitality and tourism, and discusses some of the nascent technological and ethical issues facing marketers as they seek to harness emerging eWOM technologies.

Keywords: WOM, word of mouth, word-of-mouth, online marketing, reference groups, opinion leaders

1. Introduction

Cyberspace has presented marketers with