Spill-over effects of a hotel scam: how public perception influence communicative actions in social media in China

Abstract

The present study defines spill-over effects in terms of forwarding and sharing negative information via social media and constructs a hypothetical model on the basis of one hotel scam that has drawn massive media coverage in China. To examine the spill-over effects of tourist scams, situational theory of problem solving is integrated with the multiple dimensions of risk perception. A total of 1167 respondents were surveyed to explore the perceptual, cognitive, and motivational antecedents of information forwarding and sharing behaviours. Results show that perceptual and motivational variables are antecedents to tourists’ communication behaviour. Furthermore, the multiple dimensions of risk perception play an important role in predicting the likelihood of information forwarding and sharing. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations for future research are likewise discussed.