Credibility Assessment Model of Travel Information Sources: An Exploratory Study on Travel Blogs
Understanding how information consumers assess the credibility of travel information sources is important since credibility is a receiver-based judgment and tourism products are experience goods. This exploratory study uses Decision Making Trial and Evalu
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Abstract Understanding how information consumers assess the credibility of travel information sources is important since credibility is a receiver-based judgment and tourism products are experience goods. This exploratory study uses Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method to construct cause-effect non-recursive model to show how the various credibility dimensions and measurements are related and assessed. Two types of travel blogs: blogs set up by travel companies and blogs set up by frequent traveller writers (travel experts or "da ren") are studied. This study shows that using non-recursive models is necessary and insightful. It also shows that there is no "one size fits all" answer as to how the credibility of a source is assessed. Travel blogs cannot be treated as a monolithic type. Credibility transfer, celebrity factor and whether a medium is well established can affect the process and outcome of credibility assessment. Keywords: credibility; travel information source; travel blogs.
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Introduction
Credibility of travel information sources is important since tourism products are experience goods. Such products are also often viewed as high-risk purchases (Litvin, Goldsmith & Pan, 2008). Hence, tourists conduct information search to enhance quality of the trip and lower uncertainty. Tourists use a combination of travel information sources to reduce information asymmetries (Zehrer, Crotts & Magnini, 20 I 0). Information may also be sought for hedonic purpose. Hence, information is the lifeblood of tourism industry (Sigala, 20 I 0). Despite being widely discussed, there is no single definition of credibility (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008). Credibility is a complex concept with "dozens of other concepts and combinations" (Self, 1996, p. 421). Conceptually, credibility is often classified as source, message and medium credibility (Eysenbach, 2008). Though conceptually tidy, credibility dimensions may overlap (Chaffee, 1982). Information consumers often do not differentiate between these dimensions (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008). Many studies also do not make clear distinctions among these dimensions or focus on one or two of them selectively. Recursive model with unidirectional causal effects is frequently adopted in these studies. However, such an approach may be restrictive (Kline, 2005) since feedback loops do exist in many causal processes.
R. Law et al. (eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2011 © Springer-Verlag/Wien 2011
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Understanding how information consumers assess the credibility of an information source is important. This exploratory study explores how information consumers assess overall credibility of travel information sources through various credibility dimensions and measurements. This study suggests the existence of reciprocal causal relationships between these dimensions and measurements. To test for such an existence, Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method (Fontela & Gabus, 1976) is used to construct cause-effect non-recursive mo
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