Purpose – The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies’ social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer. Design/methodology/approach – The research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance. Findings – The results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies. Research limitations/implications – The two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer’s point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship. Originality/value – The study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.

Exploring usage, expected benefits and perceived usefulness of social media in travel agencies: an empirical investigation in Italy

Simone Splendiani;Mauro Dini
;
Tonino pencarelli
2023

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies’ social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer. Design/methodology/approach – The research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance. Findings – The results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies. Research limitations/implications – The two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer’s point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship. Originality/value – The study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Splendiani et al., 2023.PDF

solo utenti autorizzati

Tipologia: Versione referata/accettata
Licenza: Pubblico con Copyright
Dimensione 553.12 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
553.12 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2714071
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact