Perceived influence on behavior of user-generated content on social network sites: An empirical application in the hotel sector

Abstract

This study develops an integrative model to explain the influence on behavior, as perceived by users, of the content posted by other users on social network sites. In particular, empirical research was carried out in the hotel sector, where social network sites are widely used by individuals in the pre-purchase stage (i.e. information search and choice). The results, obtained from a sample of 776 social network users in Spain and Portugal, indicated that the influence on behavior, as perceived by the individuals, of the content about hotels published by other users on the main social network site used by those individuals, is determined by the information value, the source credibility, and the interaction between both variables, but not by the similarity between the user and the generators of content on the social network sites.