ENTER2018 eTourism Conference, PhD workshop presentation

1. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 1
Developing
the Concept of Social Media Power
in Tourism & Hospitality
Fuad Mehraliyev
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
fuad.mehraliyev@connect.polyu.hk

2. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 2
Background
• The influential power of social media platforms in
Tourism & Hospitality is no longer a question
• The concept of power, however, has not been
brought to social media studies.
• The purposes of this thesis are:
– to conceptualize Social Media Power
– To test the influence of platform power on customer
attitude & behavior in T&H

3. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 3
Literature & Theory
• “the fundamental concept in social science is
power” (Russell,1938, p. 12)
• Power is the ability to influence psychological
perceptions and behavior(French and Raven, 1959)
you can reward me if I do so
you can punish me if I don’t do so
you have right to tell me how to act
I relate myself with you and your actions
you have expertise and you know better
I will behave as you tell me to because I believe:
Social Power Theory

4. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 4
Framework
• Communication process (traditional)
Business as
Message Sender
Channel as
Medium
Customer as
Message Receiver
Business as
Sender/Receiver
Medium as
Sender/Receiver
User as
Sender/Receiver
What are the attributes of businesses/ users/ and platforms
in social media that make them powerful?
• Communication process (social media)
Message sender = power holder

5. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 5
Method
RQ: What makes social media users / businesses/
platforms powerful?
•Phase1. Qualitative Study
– Participants: Scholars, Practitioners, Social Media
Users
– Semi Structured Interviews
Purpose: to test the influence of platform power
•Phase2. Experimental Design (4 experiments)
– Between Subject Experiments
– Participants: U.S. Residents
– Stimuli: Online Review Platform
Experiment 1: Expert Power
3 (Specialization: Generalist; Travel Expert; Hotel Expert)
x 2 (Experience: Absence vs Presence)

6. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 6
Expected Outcome
Theoretical
Conceptualizing SMP
Extending social power theory to a social media setting
Empirically testing the power of medium
Practical
Results can be used by stakeholders that target tourists via Social Media
platforms

7. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 7