Neither more nor less: understanding positive emotion of posts and user engagement on tourism social media

Abstract

This study investigates how positive emotion in tourism social media posts influences tourists’ user engagement and its underlying mechanisms. Utilizing real-world data from Ctrip travel platform, our research adopts a multi-method approach encompassing archival analysis, survey, and experimental methods to provide robust evidence supporting the role of positive emotion in the tourism posts. Findings suggest a diminishing effect of positive emotion on user engagement. Drawing upon emotions as social information theory, we identify two contrasting mediating pathways: users’ positive affect and perceived persuasive motive. Importantly, mediators exert differential effects at varying levels of emotional expression, collectively contributing to an inverted U-shaped relationship between emotional expression and user engagement. The conclusions offer strategic insights into the emotional expression tactics employed by self-media users when posting, while also serving as a reference for businesses aiming to enhance higher engagement levels among potential tourists.