Maximizing Word of Mouth (WoM) engagement: The role of relationship value and relationship satisfaction in hospitality brand social networking sites

• Published in: Heritage, Culture and Society: Research agenda and best practices in the hospitality and tourism industry - Proceedings of the 3rd International Hospitality and Tourism Conference, IHTC 2016 and 2nd International Seminar on Tourism, ISOT 2016
• Main Author: Ngelambong A.; Nor N.M.; Omar M.W.; Kibat S.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: CRC Press/Balkema 2016
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85016180042&doi=10.1201%2f9781315386980-46&partnerID=40&md5=aaf70e811d7a5237de01c00766ea65bf

The interest in word of mouth marketing has increased with the advancement of social networking sites. Although the topic has been widely researched, the effect of consumer-brand relationship on word of mouth in the online environment remains unanswered. A nation wide web survey was employed to randomly collect data from active members of the Top 200 hospitality brand Facebook page in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed direct and indirect structural paths among the latent constructs. The findings suggest that brand interaction, information and entertainment have a significant positive correlation with relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction is positively correlated with online word of mouth, and online word of mouth has a positive correlation with offline word of mouth. Therefore, the results provide an insightful perspective on the use of brand social networking sites as a platform for word of mouth engagement and developing consumer-brand relationship. © 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, London.