ENTER2017 eTourism Conference presentation

1. Influence of social media on
corporate heritage tourism brand
Dandison Ukpabi
dachukpa@student.jyu.fi
Heikki Karjaluoto
heikki.karjaluoto@jyu.fi
University of Jyväskylä,
Finland
https://www.jyu.fi/
ENTER2017 Research Track
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2. • Introduction
• Why this study?
• The corporate brand
• Corporate heritage brand
• Corporate heritage tourism
• Why social identity theory?
• How come marketer-generated (MGC) media?
• How can consumer-generated media (CGM)
help?
• Discussion
• Contribution of the study
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Contents

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• There is a new research stream that has not yet
caught much of the attention of tourism scholars
• It is called CORPORATE HERITAGE TOURISM
BRAND/ATTRACTION (CHTB) (Balmer & Chen,
2016)
Introduction

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• It is the blend of the long established heritage
tourism with the corporate heritage brand
research streams
• It proposes that as corporate brands, CHTB can
be ‘tourism attractions in their own right’ (Balmer
& Chen, 2016. p.3).
Introduction – Cont’d
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5. ENTER2017 Research Track
Why this study?
• As a promising area for scholars and managers, we
conceptually extended Balmer & Chen (2016) study by
incorporating Social Identity Theory (SIT) and
demonstrate how social media through the prism of
both:
• marketer-generated media, and
• consumer-generated media can
• Foster a sense of identity among the
adherents;
• Influence visit intention to outer group
members
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6. The Corporate Brand
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• At the product brand level, consumers’ perceptions of
the brand are influenced by the brand identity and
brand image
• Similarly, Corporate brands develop out of corporate
identities
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7. The Corporate Heritage
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• First, heritage applies to the tangible, intangible and
metaphysical (Balmer, 2013).
• Thus, corporate heritage represents some aspects of
the firm’s past, relevant in light of contemporary
concerns and worth preserving for future generations
(Balmer & Burghausen, 2015).
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8. Corporate Heritage Tourism
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• Heritage is culturally ingrained, a representation of a
people’s nationhood, epitomising identities,
ethnicities and nationalities (Park, 2010).
• Additionally, heritage tourism has mainly being
investigated as the cultural, natural or built elements,
mostly in the past (Poria, Butler & Airey, 2003)
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9. Corporate Heritage Tourism (Cnt’d)
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• However, Balmer (2013) contends that CHTB/A
consists of:
• single tourism attractions;
• focuses on ‘living’ rather than ‘defunct’
heritage institutions;
• They bear cultural identities which resonate
with the historical progression of the people;
• Their attractiveness to domestic and foreign
visitors is anchored on its long-endured and
living identities
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10. Examples of CHTB/A
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Tong Ren Tang, China Moet & Chandon, France
Arabia, Finland
Artek, Finland

11. Why Social Identity Theory (SIT)
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• The SIT postulates that an individual’s definition of
self-worth is evaluated based on the community to
which he or she belongs (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).
• Thus, through the SIT, we contend that the nostalgic
feelings and sense of identity that a CHTB/A evokes
among its community fosters strong we-intentions
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12. How come marketer-generated (MGC) media?
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• As a community, we argue that marketers can
enhance consumers identity with the CHTB/A by
uploading contents that:
• keep them updated with the brand;
• Enhance their value co-creation, and
• Seek their views to optimise their satisfaction
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13. Consumer-
Generated
media
Social
Media
Visit
intentions
We-
intentions
Marketer-
Generated
media
Cognitive
Social
identityAffective
Evaluative
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Figure 1. Conceptual framework
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How can consumer-generated media (CGM) help?
• Since CGM are more persuasive because consumers
rely upon them more than MGC (Sparks & Browning,
2011)
• Communication in online forums among the CHTB
adherents increases brand awareness and leads to
purchase/visit intention
• Additionally, increased activities and communication
around the brand can also trigger a socio-
psychological switching from outer-group members to
the brand
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15. ENTER2017 Research Track
Discussion
• The aim of this study was to extend Balmer (2016)
study by incorporating the SIT and demonstrate how
marketer-generated and consumer-generated media
can influence CHTB awareness and purchase/visit
intention
• Social media has provided an actual platform where
consumers, through comments and reviews, have
actively contributed to corporate-sponsored content
thereby influencing the firm’s branding efforts.
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16. ENTER2017 Research Track
Discussion – Cont’d
• Through social identity, there is a union of purpose
among the adherents of the brand
• Therefore, social media as a platform fosters that
collective interest by providing a platform for
members to share and advance the brand.
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Contributions of the study
• First, our study is unique as it incorporates social identity
theory into the emerging corporate heritage tourism
brand research stream
• Second, our study also explicates how the two major
components of social media can be applied to foster the
corporate heritage tourism brand, thus useful to both
scholars and managers
• Finally, besides the seminal article on this area (Balmer &
Chen, 2016), our study is the second to investigate this
emerging research stream in the tourism literature.
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18. Dandison C. Ukpabi
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
ukpabison@yahoo.com
Heikki Karjaluoto
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
heikki.karjaluoto@jyu.fi
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