Drivers of eWOM intensity: differences between hoteliers’ perception and real reviews

This study aims to determine whether eWOM intensity is related to use intensity, commitment, and competence of brands’ review sites. The study is applied to hotels on TripAdvisor and compares brand’s perception and real effects. Results of a survey of 332 hotels listed on TripAdvisor are compared with data collected from TripAdvisor. The method consists of comparing these data with the perception of hoteliers, to determine if the drivers use intensity, commitment, and competence have similar effects on eWOM intensity. Regarding correlation analysis, some similarities are found, all drivers included in both models are positively correlated with each explained variable. However, regression analysis revealed differences between drivers of eWOM intensity when the explained variable is based on hoteliers’ perception instead of objective data. While, no variable is significant when eWOM intensity is based on perception, the variable use intensity shows a significant relation, when eWOM intensity is assessed by actual reviews. The findings suggest that use intensity is a determinant factor of eWOM intensity. Furthermore, differences between brands’ perception and real reviews are observed.