Transformations  in
Business & Economics

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF FUNCTIONAL OR EMOTIONAL REVIEWS ON TOURISTS' TRUST AND TRAVEL INTENTIONS⁵
Tingting Yi, Jiani Sun, Hua Guo

ABSTRACT. Online tourist reviews (OTRs) have become one of the mainstays of information as it is difficult for tourists to accurately evaluate the quality of products. Some researchers believe negative OTRs have more influence than positive ones. Negative OTRs may bring destinations an unprecedented trust crisis and affect people's travel motivation.
This study proposed a conceptual model that investigates the impact that negative OTRs (functional vs. emotional) have on destination trust, travel intention, and negative word-of-mouth sharing. The moderating effects of destination reputation (good vs. average) were predominantly examined. The results of two experimental studies revealed conclusions. First, the impact of negative functional reviews on destination trust, travel intention, and negative word-of-mouth sharing was stronger than negative emotional reviews. Second, when a destination reputation was average, the impact of negative functional reviews still showed stronger. Nevertheless, when a destination has a good reputation, the distinction between two different reviews became insignificant.

KEYWORDS:  tourist reviews, functional, emotional, destination reputation, travel intention.

JEL classification:  M31.

⁵Acknowledgement:  This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71802086).