1. INTRODUCTION

Word of mouth is the communication of ideas, feedback and perception about various types of products and services by consumers or customers who are independent of the company. It is a form of informal communication which has the potential to persuade someone to use the product or discard it. WoM highly influences customer’s choice of tourist places.

WoM also plays a crucial role in the service sector which makes the pre-purchase trial impossible (Ziethaml et al, 1996). This idea was initially restricted to one-to-one conversation but with the increasing growth in digital era the concept has expanded in a manner has given a less personal and more ubiquitous form of WOM which is known as electronic word of mouth (Silverman, 2001.p.25). The research on e-WoM has been increasing with the passage of time with 542 papers in the year 2011-2012 whereas about 634 papers in the year 2016-2017. Many scholars have been researching upon the increasing impact of e-WoM on travel and tourism industry and have interpreted the growing need of research on this particular topic. Several reviews have been conducted through online and offline surveys to assess the tourism choices of consumers by means of e-WoM which have shown various methods their orientations and respective scopes. (O’Neill et al, 2002) This research paper has been written with the objective to study the significance of e-WoM on consumer choices and preferences with regard to the tourism industry. A Systematic Review of Literature methodology has been adopted to answer the question “What are the main strategies and topics of research which indicate the role of e-WoM in tourism?” In this paper, we will be discussing the scopes, details, approaches and limitations associated with the topic.

2. SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY:

Management literature reviews are biased and usually lack the precision required. They are narrative in nature and hence are not perceived to be effective. For the same reason, they are criticized as well. Hence a Systematic Review of Literature method has been adopted for the purpose of this study. In this section, we have emphasized on the scope and the process for the identification of literature that is relevant for this study.

2.1 Scope of the review:

In this review, we have identified two criteria to define the scope and relate to the content. In terms of form, we have included ‘certified knowledge’ and many kinds of academic articles for this research paper. Certified knowledge is put through a detailed and critical review by many researchers. Non- academic articles and chapters pertaining to books are excluded. For content, we have focused on the engagement aspect of the customers with the social media where the responses provided by them to the e-WoM have been analysed. At the earlier stage, we have confined our research to these responses and hence, the articles on the usage of such tools by the corporates for promotional activities externally have been excluded.

2.2 Identifying relevant literature:

We identified the literature and its review in a single phase in July 2017. We have primarily used Ebsco and Scopus for our research. During our initial research, we had used keywords like ‘tourism-industry’, ‘E-WoM’, ‘consumer behaviour’, ‘social media impact on tourism’.

2.3 Exclusion and Inclusion of relevant study:

We have chosen these research sources on the basis of the quality of their academic content, keeping in mind their relevance to the research in the business and management field. Initially, our research yielded 98 results. We took papers from the year 2008 to 2017. Our search criteria was based upon AB Abstract. The source type was academic journals. We took papers relevant to the subject ‘electronic-commerce’ in order to get the relevant set of papers. The information that we have extracted in this research is inclusive of papers which included details like the title of the articles, journal and document type, their year of publication, etc. Based on this, we narrowed down our research to 74 articles. The duplicates, 24 in number, were eliminated. We excluded around 30 articles due to irrelevant matter. (Refer table 1) This led to the selection of 44 articles which were then extracted for detailed examination and final inclusion. (Refer figure 1)

Table 1. Database according to search criteria in the first phase

Database	Scope and search criteria	Date of search	No of items
Scopus	Search:Titles, Abstract, Language: English Document type: article Keywords-e-commerce, social media, tourism sector	25/07/2017	46
Ebscohost	Search:AcademicJournals,title, abstract, keywords : e-WoM, consumer behavior Document type:article Language- English	25/07/2017	52
Total			98

3. METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW:

This methodological review gives us the various methods used in research of how e-WoM affects tourism. There were expert methods extracted from each article. After selecting several methods, we subdivided them into qualitative research which mainly used interviews of customers about tourism, quantitative research which was based on surveys. Then comes mix methods which are a mixture of qualitative and the quantitative methods of study. Then the next method is the non-empirical method which consists of traditional essays and written concepts. Quantitative surveys become easier as many customers are now aware about social media and surveys can be posted on social media platforms. Thereafter, taking the surveys forward, other customers can make decisions. This plays a very important role in e-WoM in tourism sector.

The qualitative research papers were used in 50% of all the reviewed articles. Here, the number of articles was 22. Followed by quantitative approaches with 34.09% with number of papers as 15. The number of non-empirical papers selected is 5 with 11.3% and the mix methods as 2 with 4.61% of the literature. The dominance of qualitative and quantitative and qualitative in this paper is mainly because of the novelty of the topic.

When research is done in a new area it is always focused on first definition, then a study is done in detail so that the attention doesn’t get deviated to methods and various theories. Therefore, in this topic we decided to work on limited papers and discussions which made the research go easy.

Table 2: Research methodologies used in the reviewed literature

Type	Number	Percentage (%)
Qualitative	22	50
Quantitative	15	34.09
Non-empirical	5	11.3
Mixed	2	4.61
Total	44	100

4. THEMATIC REVIEW:

The major themes were determined by four authors of the research in the reviewed literature. Previously, reading their complete texts to formulate a list of repeating themes, each investigator studied the abstracts and keywords of the 44 articles carefully. As a result, basic concept of e- WoM was identified to be the top theme of research with 22 articles, followed by consumer behavior and E-WoM with 10 articles and opportunities and challenges of e-WOM with 12 articles.The reason and motive behind the changing level of interest determined by researchers to each research is not obvious, but the literature is giving the possible description and the bare reflection of the role of e-WOM in tourism sector and of the debates and discussion raised in the practitioner literature.

Figure 2: Main themes of research on E-WoM in tourism sector

4.1 Basic concept of E-WoM:

All of the informal communications directed with regard to the consumption experience of products and services and their providers to consumers through the Internet is known as e-WoM. It is any positive or negative statement shared through the internet (e.g., web sites, instant messages, news feeds, social networks,) made by the former, actual, or potential customers about the company which is provided to lots of people and organizations. (Hennig-Thurau, Qwinner, Walsh and Gremler (2004).

Through the advancement and modernization of technologies, the number of tourists who are using internet have increased for seeking information regarding destination and for conducting online transaction. About 67% of Indian tourists are using internet to find destination information or schedule or to check prices (TIA 2005). Along with this, 41% Indian travelers have also booked their trips via this medium and the percentage is rising. The internet empowers both the service provider and the consumer and gives a new platform to communicate and hence provides a medium to share opinions and information from Business to Consumer and from Consumer to Consumer. The consumers get the opportunities to share their opinions and acquire information of products through internet (Hennig et., 2004). According to Tucker, 2011, e-WOM is more significant than the traditional form of advertising. E-WoM occurs at the time of consumption of a product (Bone 1992). Anderson (1998), explained that e-WoM can be positive, negative or neutral

4.2 Consumer behaviour towards e-WoM:

Word of mouth comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we have highlighted the positive and negative impacts of e-WoM. In this regard, three theories have been proposed by Steinkuehler and Williams (2006). The opinions of satisfied customers are taken into consideration which lead to preference towards a particular destination based on e-WoM. E-WoM helps to draw attention, reduces cognitive conflict and those involved appear knowledgeable to others. The negative impact of e-word of mouth includes venting dissatisfaction. Consumer behavior is becoming less receptive to the traditional style of advertising and conventional marketing techniques. It has begun to be severely impacted by the electronic word of mouth which is based on verbal and peer-to-peer communication. Also, e-WoM can be manipulated by providing monetary or non-monetary benefits to the consumers. Due to all these reasons, e-WoM is not always the most reliable source for forming opinions and making choices.

4.3 Opportunities and Challenges of e-WoM:

There are new opportunities and challenges being created by the digitalization of word of mouth for marketers. E-word of mouth is creating a new dynamic environment in the market with unprecedented impact by providing low cost access and exchange of information (Dellarocas 2003). Also there may be little control on the information being shared which can create problems for businesses. As a result, misconceptions and out of context messages can be spread. (Hennig-Thurau, Walsh, Gwinner and Gremler 2004). Increasing number of consumers enjoy the benefits given by media like low cost and broader scope that simply amplify the suggestion of online opinion leaders. Nowadays, to locate destination information more and more travelers are relying on search engines (e-Marketer 2006).E-WoM varies the structure and the accessibility of the information regarding travel and also perception and knowledge of travel products. The fact that reviews given by tourists are very crucial information sources for tourism companies and tourists has led researchers and experts to analyze and understand online tourists review by using technologies (Jalilvad et al.,2012). For example, according to Brin and Page, 1998, Google utilizes the PageRank algorithm that takes the advantages to build the structure and model of the web space and rank the matter of web pages be the most significant web pages.‘Google Bombing’ is a tool which take advantages of knowledge Google’s algorithm to manipulate search results (Tatum 2005).Electronic-WoM becomes the technique of ‘Google bombers’ that can be used to manipulate the hyperlink form of the web space. There is a huge difference between physical WoM and e-WoM. E-WoM influence readers during online searches by building a virtual relationship to create a new reality.

5. LIMITATIONS:

There are three limitations to this research paper. First limitation is that the keywords, methods, literature and abstracts used in the research paper might be overlooked due to which the important methods or literature have not been selected and a comparatively less important method has been selected. Another limitation is all research papers which are there could not be included in this research. There was a research bias done on selection of articles and papers taken before the research was started. Third limitation is in the selection of main themes of the research. There were very interesting themes available for this research paper but limited themes were selected and many themes had to be left out.

6. FUTURE SCOPE OF E-WOM:

As we have observed e-word of mouth is being used as a popular tool for marketing. Today’s marketing strategy and marketing stability are based on electronic media. Various campaigns relating to consumer feedback and consumer promotion are being held on Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, looking at the popularity and fame that e word of mouth as a marketing tool has garnered, it can have both positive and negative repercussions in the future.

Looking at the statistics, e- word of mouth will surge and continue to provide millions of revenue to the tourism sector and various other sectors where it is used as an instrument for marketing. Future of e-word of mouth can be revolutionary in terms of tourism sector as it can bring as and when and what the consumers demand in few seconds. Various online portals like make my trip, and various other informative applications have led to a rise in the revenues of tourism sector by a great percentage therefore it will continue to lead to a greater rise in the growth of the sector by an even greater percentage.

7. CONCLUSION:

E-WoM has managed to offer a competitive advantage over the years because of the increasing distrust of the consumers towards the conventional methods of advertising. It is becoming a powerful tool for marketing as it greatly affects a consumer’s decision-making. In this research paper, we have attempted to highlight how the electronic word-of-mouth influences the travelling intentions of people. It has been observed that the online reviews that are generated by means of feedback and surveys become instrumental and determining a tourist destination. But, e-WoM can impact the choices of a consumer both positively as well as negatively. There are various platforms that serve as sources of e-WoM such as electronic-mails, blogs, travel portals, etc. This study has shed light on the existing travelling community, highlighted the various limitations attached to it and the future scope of e-WoM. In this paper, we have selected various research papers based upon specific criteria, analysed the same and derived conclusions. Travelers use various methodologies for selecting their tourist destinations and thus, it becomes imperative for the destination managers to study these methodologies and adopt the necessary strategies which can generate a positive impact on the tourists. Many travel developers these days use the internet as a means to extract the information about the interests of the tourists in order to promote their travel destinations. This is becoming a successful business today. However, it is very important for them to keep in mind that the involvement of online sources in building potential consumers will increases with the passage of time. This study will prove to be beneficial in contributing to the marketers by providing them valuable insights into the attitudes and perceptions of the consumers towards tourism sector. This can thus be used by them to better understand and respond to the needs of the consumers and to eliminate the barriers to the choices of consumers.

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Received on 21.11.2017 Modified on 30.12.2017

Asian Journal of Management. 2018; 9(1):829-833.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2018.00131.2