Gen Z Travelers in the Instagram Marketplace: Trust, Influencer Type, Post Type, and Purchase Intention Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi, Hwabong Lee Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 2024 Despite the growing role of virtual influencers in the tourism and hospitality business, there is a lack of research on Gen Z travelers’ trust in Instagram marketplace and virtual influencers. Thus, this study applied trust transfer theory to explore how Gen Z travelers’ trust in Instagram marketplace transferred to trust in tour program sellers and purchase intentions. In addition, it examined influencer type (human vs. virtual) and post type (sponsored vs. non-sponsored) as potential moderators of this relationship. A mixed methods approach was adopted that comprised in-depth interviews with Gen Z travelers (Study 1) and three between-subjects experiments (Studies 2–4). Key findings revealed that the interaction effect of high (vs. low) trust in Instagram marketplace and sponsored (vs. non-sponsored) posts resulted in higher trust in sellers when a virtual influencer was deployed than when a human influencer was deployed. In addition, trust in sellers was found to play a significant mediating role in the relationship between Gen Z travelers’ trust in Instagram marketplace and purchase intentions. These findings are pioneering insights into the effects of virtual influencers on Instagram from a marketing perspective.
Emotional or rational? Effective ESG advertising messages for travel enterprises Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 2024 This study investigates the effect of ESG advertising messages on consumer support for ESG management in the context of travel enterprises by integrating persuasion theory and regulatory focus theory. This study adopts a mixed-method approach. Study 1 explores how travel enterprises leverage ESG performance effectively in their advertising by conducting in-depth interviews with tourism and hospitality professionals. In Study 2, a 2 (ESG advertising message: emotional vs. rational) × 2 (regulatory focus: prevention vs. promotion) between-subjects experiment is conducted. The findings make several contributions to the literature and also have practical implications.
Creative Event Design and Management: An Exploratory Study of Event Professionals’ Perspective Eudora Bangura, Miju Choi International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems, 2024 This study explores the trends, influencers and processes involved in event design, particularly in the UK private event sector. Specifically, this study identifies how design ideas are transmitted between event professionals and clients and examine the opportunities available for clients to contribute their ideas throughout the event design process. In-depth interviews with 14 event professionals were conducted in the UK. Data were analysed using inductive thematic coding to identify and analyse themes emerging from the relevant data. The results indicate that prioritising the “wow factor” in design, meticulous planning, and budgeting is crucial for successful events. Furthermore, social media is vital for keeping up with trending designs and inspiration. Neglecting these elements can lead to obstacles in meeting expectations. Event design is essential and has over time evolved. Therefore, understanding how designers perceive and execute the design to meet clients’ evolving demands is crucial. Co-creation between clients and designers is essential for successful event planning and execution. Event design is essential and has over time evolved. Therefore, understanding how designers perceive and execute the design to meet clients’ evolving demands is crucial. Co-creation between clients and designers is essential for successful event planning and execution.
Exploration of the diversity of virtual influencers used as tourism ambassadors in South Korea Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2024 This study explores the diversity of virtual influencers used as tourism ambassadors. Using qualitative research methods, in-depth interviews with 27 tourism professionals were conducted from August in 2023 to January in 2024. Data analysis revealed four key themes: Visual Impact, Control Over Image and Messaging, Promotion of Unrealistic Beauty Standards, and Limited Diversity Representation. This study offers an in-depth perspective on how diversity is reflected in virtual influencers, how the diversity of virtual influencers is connected to the values of modern tourists. Findings have managerial implications for the development of strategies to improve diversity using virtual influencers in tourism.
Effective airbnb advertising during COVID-19 pandemic: Message format and hypothetical distance Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi Journal of Vacation Marketing, 2023 Airbnb hosts encounter difficulty in choosing an approach to advertising during unprecedented times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores effective Airbnb advertising messages with a particular focus on hypothetical distance based on construal level theory. A 2 (message format: abstract vs. concrete) × 2 (hypothetical distance: low vs. high likelihood of travel) between-subject experiment was conducted. Data collection was conducted in the US during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that the ‘abstract’ message results in a higher intention to stay when hypothetical distance is ‘low’, whereas the ‘concrete’ message results in a higher intention to stay when hypothetical distance is ‘high’. In addition, the mediating role of message relevance in the relationship between message format and intention to stay was also found. These findings provide meaningful theoretical contributions and have practical implications for tourism and hospitality research.
Human vs robot baristas during the COVID-19 pandemic: effects of masks and vaccines on perceived safety and visit intention Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi, Seongseop (Sam) Kim, Frank Badu-Baiden International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 2023 Purpose This study aims to compare the effect of barista type (human vs robot) on perceived safety and examine the role of two moderators (mask-wearing and coronavirus vaccination) on the effects of barista type on perceived safety and visit intention. Design/methodology/approach The research design consists of three studies. Three experiments were sequentially designed and conducted to address research questions. Findings Study 1 found that perceived safety mediates the effect of barista type on customers’ visit intention. Study 2 revealed that the mask-wearing of human and robot baristas differently influences perceived safety. Study 3 showed that customers, especially where robot baristas are used, perceive the effect of mask-wearing differently depending on their coronavirus vaccination status. Research limitations/implications Given that the levels of restrictions vary worldwide, together with the extent of countries’ vaccination rollouts, caution is required when generalising the research findings. Practical implications The findings have practical implications for the hospitality industry, where the roles of face masks and coronavirus vaccines in shaping consumer psychology and behaviour have been underexplored. Originality/value Coronavirus vaccination is considered one of the most important driving forces for the recovery of hospitality businesses. As a heuristic-systematic model postulated, this study identified that vaccination status (fully vaccinated vs not vaccinated) changes the level of involvement when customers assess the level of risk in service environments. By pinpointing the function of service robots in safeguarding customers from the potential spread of the disease, this study broadens the scope of human–robot interaction research in hospitality.
Digital natives: internal defence mechanism to distrust tourism advertisements Miju Choi, Youngjoon Choi, Do-Yeon Kim Current Issues in Tourism, 2023 Tourism enterprises add commercial information in the hashtags on their business Instagram accounts, whereas digital natives tend to avoid advertisements. Digital natives actively analyse the intentions of advertisements, form an internal defence mechanism to distrust advertisements, and show a strong tendency to intentionally avoid advertisements. How to offset the negative effects of commercial information remains an open question. Thus, it is theoretically meaningful to investigate digital natives’ perceptions of source credibility related to hashtags and the resistance theory underlying those perceptions that evokes a cognitive response to accept (i.e. persuasion) or reject (i.e. resistance to persuasion) commercial information. This study applied resistance theory to examine the roles of commercial information in hashtags and source credibility in the relationship between the number of hashtags and digital natives’ travel intentions. A 3 (number of hashtags: low vs. moderate vs. high) x 2 (commercial information in hashtags: presence vs. absence) between-subjects experiment was conducted. The findings revealed that commercial information in three levels of hashtags influences source credibility differently. Source credibility mediates the effect of the number of hashtags on click-through intention and travel intention. The findings provide insights on digital natives’ internal defence mechanism against commercial information from marketing perspectives.
