Analysis of persuasive communication process on online hotel review platforms through examination of attitudes and persuasive cues

Context of online hotel review platforms is not yet clearly defined which makes it difficult to study the communication processes occurring on these platforms. It is foreseen that defining context in which hotel reviews are produced from social psychological perspective will be of important significance for the future studies in the regarding filed. One of the goals of this study is to understand the structure, characteristics and functions of the attitudes expressed in online hotel reviews. In addition, by in-depth examination of persuasive communication occurring on these platforms, it aims to identify how persuasive messages should be defined by the hotel representatives responsible of answering to guests' reviews. For the purpose of this research, the researcher adopted a qualitative research approach. Data collected from participant observation, netnographic research, document analysis and interviews, with various stakeholders related to online hotel reviews management, were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. It was found in this research that the attitudes expressed in online hotel reviews can be cognitive, affective and behavioral. Attitudes in online hotel reviews are found to be of the following characteristics: explicit, specific, general or ambivalent. Besides having certain characteristics, attitudes in hotel reviews are of certain functions that vary in the level of significance for the person that holds them. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) represents useful and comprehensive theoretical framework for examination of persuasive messages. With the contribution of this theoretical framework, in the current study hotel representatives are being offered with the cues on what central or peripheral information should be present in management review responses. In summary, the results of this study are considered to provide an important contribution to understanding the features of persuasive communication occurring on online review platforms, the structure, characteristics and functions of attitudes expressed in online reviews as well as central and peripheral cues that may be found in management responses to these reviews.