This document outlines a PhD research study exploring the motivations and barriers for Chinese tourists sharing their travel experiences on social media. The study will use a mixed methods approach, including online interviews and a questionnaire, to understand differences in motivations during versus after trips, across different Chinese social media platforms, and in comparison to Western tourists. The expected outcomes are insights into how these motivations and barriers differ in four key areas.

1. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 1
Exploring Motivations and Barriers
of Sharing Experiences in Social
Media during the Trip
Xinxin Guo, Juho Pesonen, Raija Komppula
University of Eastern Finland, Finland
xinxing@uef.fi

2. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 2
Background
• Sotiriadis, M. D., & Sotiriadis, M. D. (2017). Sharing tourism experiences in social media: A literature review and a set of suggested business
strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(1), 179-225.
• Knowledge acquisition and information
navigation.
• Mainly based on the Western culture
background and social media (Sotiriadis &
Sotiriadis, 2017).
• Purposes & Research Gaps
• Chinese social media features, Chinese
outbound tourists’ motivations and barriers of
sharing experiences
• Chinese Tourists & Western Tourists
• During trip & Post trip

3. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 3
Literature
• The process-based and outcome-based
experiences (Helkkula, 2011)
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation theory (Ryan
& Deci, 2000)
• Different scholars have identified many
different motivation factors of sharing
information.
• Two common motivation factors: altruism and
social involvement. (Wang & Fesenmaier,
2003)
• Helkkula, A. (2011). Characterizing the concept of service experience. Journal of Service Management, 22(3), 367–389.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1),
54-67.
• Wang, Y., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2003). Assessing motivation of contribution in online communities: An empirical investigation of an online travel community.
Electronic Markets, 13(1), 33-45.

4. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 4
Framework
• Main Research Questions
– Why Chinese tourists share or do not share their tourism
experiences in social media?
• Sub Research Questions
1. Why do Chinese tourists share their experiences in social media during the
trip?
2. Why Chinese tourists do not share their experiences in social media?
3. What are the criteria that tourists use when choosing a social media
channel and where they share experiences?
4. How motivations and barriers differ during the trip and after the trip?
5. How Chinese tourists differ from Western tourists regarding sharing
motivations and barriers?

5. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 5
Method
• A mixed research method
• Qualitative research: sub question 1, 2, and 3; online interviews; 15 to 20
interviewees.
• Quantitative research: sub question 4 and 5; online questionnaire; more than 200
participants.

6. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 6
Expected Outcome
• Four Different
– Different between Chinese outbound tourists & Western tourists.
– Different between during the trip and post trip.
– Different motivation and barriers on different Chinese social media.
– Different motivation and barriers to share different type of content.
All images adapted from Unsplash & Pixabay

7. ENTER 2018 PhD Workshop Slide Number 6
Expected Outcome
• Four Different
– Different between Chinese outbound tourists & Western tourists.
– Different between during the trip and post trip.
– Different motivation and barriers on different Chinese social media.
– Different motivation and barriers to share different type of content.
All images adapted from Unsplash & Pixabay