Abstract
The popularity of new media channels in recent decade has offered fertile ground for electronic word-of-mouth (e WOM) communication. By enabling interaction between organizations and customers, e WOM communication may increase organizations’ capability of customer engagement (CE). Despite the acknowledged importance of e WOM as an important new channel for customer engagement in tourism industry, our understanding remains limited, especially the unique features of e WOM in the interaction. This research utilizes affordance theory to explain how e WOM help to realize customer engagement in the context of travel organizations, considering the symbiotic relationship between human activities and technological capabilities. Interpretive case study was conducted among three travel service providers. Six affordances of e WOM were identified to support customer engagement, i.e. interactive, reach, sharing, visibility, monitorability, and co-creation. Our study contributes practically to customer engagement and e WOM application in organizations, and also theoretically to technology affordances literature in IS field.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Ping, "The Role of Ewom In Customer Engagement In Travel Service Organizations: An Affordance Perspective" (2017). WHICEB 2017 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/whiceb2017/4