Nagaoka University of Technology
   
 

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Yamada, C.K., Nakajima, M., & Kitajima, M. (2011)

Yamada, C.K., Nakajima, M., & Kitajima, M. (2011). The Styles of Online WOM-Senders and Online WOM-Receivers among Hot Springs Tourists. Proceedings of the IADIS International Conferences Web Based Communities 2011, and Collaborative Technologies 2011 and Internet Applications and Research 2011, 235-238.

 

The Styles of Online WOM-Senders and Online WOM-Receivers among Hot Springs Tourists

Japan has numerous numbers of hot-spring resorts (onsen). Visiting hot-spring resorts is one of popular leisure in Japan. The spread of broadband in Japan has increased the consumer interactions about hot springs in online communities. It is important to evaluate the impact of the consumer interactions in online communities on the decision making process of the hot-spring resorts' visitors. In this study, we investigated the ecology of word of mouth (WOM) communication for hot springs in web-based communities. We conducted a qualitative interview-based study by adopting the methodology, Cognitive Chrono-Ethnography (CCE: Kitajima et al., 2010). 18 adults (14 women; 4 men; mean age, 33.4 years) participated in in-depth interviews, who have experience using WOM in online community about hot spring trip. We found that the WOM-receivers showed different use characteristics of WOM depending on the degree of dependence on WOM. The WOM-senders were different in terms of motivation of writing.

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