eWOM, destination preference and consumer involvement – a stimulus-organism-response (SOR) lens

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderated-mediation impact of consumer involvement and destination preference on travel intentions. Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) and elaboration likelihood model (ELM) guided the conceptual framework of this study. Design/methodology/approach Churchill’s (1979) guidelines instrumentalize the scientific development and validation of measurement scales for data collection. The authors used higher-order multivariate analyzes such as structural equation modeling (SEM) and the Hayes process model for evaluating the hypotheses. The study uses Bauer et al. (2006) method to assess the conditional indirect effects of Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on travel intention through destination preference at varying levels of consumer involvement. Findings SOR and ELM model successfully explained the moderated-mediation effect of eWOM, consumer involvement and destination preference in influencing the travel intentions. Results broaden the applicability of SOR and ELM in tourism marketing. Results indicate that consumer involvement moderated the direct and indirect influence of eWOM on travel intention via destination preference, such that the eWOM influence in shaping travel intention is stronger for highly involved consumers. Research limitations/implications The present study broadens the applicability of integrated SOR and ELM models to explain the moderated-mediation network between eWOM and travel intentions. Study findings offer new avenues to tourism marketers for the magnified effect of eWOM for promoting tourism. Tourism marketers may use customer journeys to build destination preference through organic information exchange with prospective travelers. Future researchers and practitioners can build prescriptive and predictive models based on altered levels of consumer involvement. Originality/value Present study pioneers in examining the interactive effect of moderated mediation network of consumer involvement and destination preference in shaping the travel intention. Grounded in SOR and ELM model, the present study is a trailblazer to offer the integrated moderated-mediation model between eWOM, destination preference, consumer involvement and travel intention.