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The becoming of user-generated reviews: Looking at the past to understand the future of managing reputation in the travel sector

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  • Baka, Vasiliki

Abstract

The emergence of User-Generated-Content (UGC) is challenging the equilibrium of reputation management practices prompting widespread change and organizational restructuring. Formal accreditation schemes mingle with less formal mechanisms which place users in the middle making them draw their own conclusions about products and services. This paper explores how UGC reviews and ratings have intensified the contingency of organizational reputation in the travel sector. The findings are based upon a corpus of data including: a field study at the offices of the largest travel user-generated website, TripAdvisor, and a netnographic approach. In particular we discuss the shift from Word-Of-Mouth to eWOM, the consequences for the sector and provide a balanced view of the role of reviews, ratings and lists. We are concluding with a conceptual model for managing online reputation in the era of UGC, while acknowledging the current process of transformation in reputation management.

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  • Baka, Vasiliki, 2016. "The becoming of user-generated reviews: Looking at the past to understand the future of managing reputation in the travel sector," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 148-162.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:53:y:2016:i:c:p:148-162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2015.09.004
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    5. Xue Fa Tong & David Yoon Kin Tong & Wai Sern Tam, 2016. "Food Tourism: The Melaka Gastronomic Experience," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 236-246, September.
    6. Josef Zelenka & Tracy Azubuike & Martina Pásková, 2021. "Trust Model for Online Reviews of Tourism Services and Evaluation of Destinations," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Radostina Prodanova, 2021. "An Analysis of Hotel's Responses to Negative and Mixed Online Reviews in Varna," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 10(3), pages 33-43, December.
    8. Simona Franzoni & Michelle Bonera, 2019. "How DMO Can Measure the Experiences of a Large Territory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, January.
    9. Estela Marine-Roig, 2017. "Measuring Destination Image through Travel Reviews in Search Engines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, August.
    10. Berné Manero, Carmen & Ciobanu, Andreea V. & Pedraja Iglesias, Marta, 2020. "The electronic word of mouth as a context variable in the hotel management decision-making process," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    11. Zajadacz Alina & Minkwitz Aleksandra, 2020. "Using Social Media Data to Plan for Tourism," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 39(3), pages 125-138, September.
    12. Rosa Maria Fanelli & Luca Romagnoli, 2020. "Customer Satisfaction with Farmhouse Facilities and Its Implications for the Promotion of Agritourism Resources in Italian Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Zhang, Ziqiong & Zhang, Zili & Yang, Yang, 2016. "The power of expert identity: How website-recognized expert reviews influence travelers' online rating behavior," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 15-24.
    14. Rosa Anaya-Aguilar & German Gemar & Carmen Anaya-Aguilar, 2021. "Usability Analysis of Andalusian Spas’ Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    15. Ljubica Knezevic Cvelbar & Mojca Mayr & Damjan Vavpotic, 2018. "Geographical mapping of visitor flow in tourism," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(6), pages 701-719, September.
    16. Juan Pedro Mellinas & Eva Martin-Fuentes, 2019. "Does hotel size matter to get more reviews per room?," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 165-180, June.
    17. Radostina Prodanova, 2022. "Comparative Analysis of the Online Reputation of Class A and Class B Accommodation in Burgas," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 11(1), pages 120-129, April.
    18. Pantano, Eleonora & Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2017. "‘You will like it!’ using open data to predict tourists' response to a tourist attraction," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 430-438.
    19. CRISTIAN Mihai, 2019. "Ewom Impact On Hotels Rank: Comparative Study Between Cities From Romania," Revista Economica, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 71(5), pages 7-18, December.
    20. Jingchao Zhou & Jinfeng Wu & Zihao Wang, 2023. "Destination Reputation Management: The Divergent Role of Tourists’ Word of Mouth in Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-16, August.
    21. Marie Al-Ghossein & Talel Abdessalem & Anthony Barré, 2018. "Open data in the hotel industry: leveraging forthcoming events for hotel recommendation," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 191-216, December.

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