International Journal of Tourism Cities

Analyzing the influence of electronic word of mouth on visit intention: the mediating role of tourists'
attitude and city image
Shabnam Doosti Mohammad Reza Jalilvand Ali Asadi Javad Khazaei Pool Parisa Mehrani Adl
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To cite this document:
Shabnam Doosti Mohammad Reza Jalilvand Ali Asadi Javad Khazaei Pool Parisa Mehrani Adl , (2016),"Analyzing the
influence of electronic word of mouth on visit intention: the mediating role of tourists' attitude and city image", International
Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 2 Iss 2 pp. -
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 Analyzing the influence of electronic word of mouth on visit intention: the mediating
role of tourists' attitude and city image
1. Introduction
Research of the past two decades has demonstrated that image is a valuable concept in
understanding the destination selection process of tourists. Several studies centered on the
relationship between city image and preference or visitation intentions (Jalilvand et al., 2012;
Moon et al., 2011). A particular research stream investigated the impact of information
sources of tourists on city image (Jalilvand et al., 2012; Jalilvand and Samiei, 2012a,b;
Jalilvand et al., 2011). The initial image formation stage before the trip is the most important
phase in tourits’ city selection processes. WOM has been shown as one of the most important
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information sources of tourists (Ye et al., 2011). The power of WOM has been researched for
several decades in the marketing literature. However, despite the importance of WOM in
tourism city choice, existing research in tourism is limited. Although commercial sources of
information, such as brochures and magazines, may be important for developing awareness,
WOM communication sources strongly influence city image formation (Beerli and Martin,
2004). Recent tendency of tourists towards eWOM have increased researchers' attention to
online travel WOM, including online travel review, or travel blogs (Leung et al., 2015).
eWOM utilizes large scale, anonymous, ephemeral nature of the Internet and introduces a
new way of capturing, analyzing, interpreting, and managing the influence of communication
in hospitality and tourism marketing (Yoo et al., 2015; Filieri and Mcleay, 2014). Many
studies have examined e-WOM's effects on non-service products (Sotiriadis and Van Zyl,
2013; Yolanda and Ngai, 2011; Jason et al., 2010). However, only few of these studies
focused on tourism and hospitality products. Further, no study has examined the effect of e-
WOM on city image. Hence, the paper aims to evaluate the tourists’ attitudes towards a
tourism city in the information seeking processes in a cyberspace environment. This paper is
organized in six sections. First, we provide some descriptions about Pool city. Second, the
constructs central to the present study, the research model and its hypotheses are introduced.
Then, the methodology is detailed. Next, the results of the analysis discussed. Finally, the
present study’s implications, limitations and future directions are considered.

2. Pool as a tourism city

The city of Pool maintains a moderate and humid climate. In this city, the green landscape,
mild coastal breeze, hospitable and friendly people, grilled fish, and confectionaries are
awaiting the tourists. Its main goods are rice, dairy products, and citrus fruits. A number of

1
 historians believe that this city's history dates back to 3rd Century AD. The scenic landscape
and nature of Pool region is a top destination of eco-tourists; and every year thousands of
tourists visit this region. Wooded hills roll down almost to the beach itself while the powerful
outlines of the Alborz mountains range form an impressive background. Since the mountain
stops only a few hundred meters short of the coast in this point, the town is squeezed into
little more than one main street, and the natural limits to its development have helped to make
this the most attractive of the seaside resorts.
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Figure 1. Natural Forest Park in Pool City

Figure 2. The Magnificently Colorful Pool Road in autumn

Pool’s two luxury hotels are constructed on two adjacent terraces looking out upon a restful
landscape. The oldest hotel, today looking more like a museum than a hotel, has an old-
fashioned charm as well: extraordinary cast-iron statues covered with aluminum paint
produce a wildly rococo effect. The new hotel designed as a modern accommodation
equipped with all facilities for the tourists, forms a large white splash amidst the greenery. A
long alley of palm- trees leads from both hotels to the beach. The hotels have six restaurants
with qualified personnel capable of providing the tourists not only with all sorts of services
but also excellent local and foreign dishes. Furthermore, other facilities such as the

2
 handicrafts shop, bookstore, prayer halls, volleyball ground, swimming pools (for both
sexes), cinema, children’s playground, a number of mineral water springs; post and
telecommunications, and finally a convenient and spacious parking lot for those traveling by
car, are provided for you.
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Figure 3. Pool Luxury Hotel in the Mountains

The other tourist attraction sites of this region are its mountains which are blanketed with
snow and are situated 60 kilometers southwest of the city of Pool. This region is a top
destination for eco-tourists and mountaineers in the summer season.

Figure 4. The Mountainous Region of Pool City with Beautiful Foothills of the Alborz Mountain
Range
3. Theoretical background
3.1. E-WOM as an information source
According to Woodside and Lysonski's (1989) destination choice model, information source
is a force which affects the formation of destination image. Similarly, in Um's (1993) model
of pleasure destination choice, the perceptual evaluation of attributes are formed by external

3
 factors which include various information sources such as symbolic stimuli (promotional
efforts of a destination through media) and social stimuli (friends and relatives'
recommendations or WOM). The role of information sources in this formation is also
emphasized in Fakeye and Crompton's (1991) model. Their model described tourists
developing the images of a set of alternative destinations from various non-tourism
information sources. With the desire to travel, they may get involved in an active information
search and resort to specific information sources. Gartner (1993) noted that the type and
amount of external stimuli (information sources) received influence the formation of
destination image. Burgess (1978) hypothesized that the type, quality, and quantity of
information would determine the type of image is likely to develop. In this study, eWOM
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have been selected as information sources with potential influence on pre-visit image for a
number of reasons. Firstly, eWOM as an information source exhibits considerable differences
relative to other sources, such as accessibility, convenience, real-time information service,
interactive communications, etc. These features make eWOM a singular information source
worthy of deep analysis (Luo and Zhong, 2015; Lien and Cao, 2014). Secondly, several
authors have posited the view that eWOM is an information source that may well diminish
the importance of other sources (Baber et al., 2016; Marchanda and Hennig-Thurau, 2013).

3.2. E-WOM effects

Consumer perception of the credibility of eWOM information is important due to the lack of
personal knowledge about the motivation of unknown strangers offering recommendations
and the possibility of commercial interests being involved with a website or online forum
(Chatterjee, 2001). The receiver of eWOM message may not trust the sender's reliability and
may need to estimate it within the message and its environment. When eWOM message was
viewed on a website that sells the products, the positive source credibility effect is diminished
(Sen, 2008). eWOM may offer an easy and cost-effective opportunity to measure and trace
WOM communication because the messages about a product or service may be posted on the
website accumulating within a planned term (Godes and Mayzlin, 2004). eWOM
communication allows consumers to obtain information related to goods or services from a
vast, geographically dispersed group of people (Dellarocas, 2003). Web-based consumer
opinion platforms (online communities, review sites) are the most widely used eWOM
formations (Henning-Thurau et aI., 2004) that allow consumers to read other consumers'
opinions and experiences as well as write own contributions. eWOM has been categorized as
positive and negative eWOM. Park and Lee (2009) found that the effect of eWOM on

4
 products purchasing decision is greater for negative eWOM than for positive eWOM.
Furthermore, the product type associated with eWOM messages moderated negative eWOM
effects. A negative eWOM effect appears to be more significant when eWOM is used for
experience goods rather than for search goods (Park & Lee, 2009). In this case, search goods
are products about which complete information can be acquired prior to purchase while
experience goods are products that cannot be known until the purchase. Experience goods can
sustain greater damage from eWOM due to negative eWOM information that magnifies
consumers' prevailing uncertainty and fear initiated by poor cognitive knowledge of
experience goods (Park and Lee, 2009). Because tourism services can be categorized as
experience products with a large uncertainty component, the negative eWOM effect may be
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more significant than for search products. Conversely, in a study using attribution theory,
Chatterjee (2001) investigated the effect of negative online reviews on consumers' evaluation
and patronage intentions. The study revealed that the consumer's familiarity with the product
provider mitigated the harmful effect of negative eWOM on perceived reliability of product
provider and purchase intention. Consumers who decided to patronize a product provider
based on familiarity were more likely to attribute the cause of negative eWOM information to
situational or temporary factors, not to recurring or stable causes; hence, they were less likely
to change their purchase intention. In the case of negative hedonic reviews, consumers feel
that the negative reviews are not related to product quality and that they are guided by
internal reasons (Sen & Lerman, 2007). As the products of tourism can be categorized as
hedonic products, consumers may not rely on negative eWOM about their tourism destination
expressed in online reviews. Furthermore, tourists may use eWOM communication at different
stages in the travel decision-making (Hollis, 2008; Christy and Dimple, 2012) or city image
formation process (Jalilvand et al., 2012). Gretzel and Yoo (2008) revealed that online travel
reviews are used to generate ideas and to narrow down choice in the decisive stages of travel
planning; however, they are underused for en route decision-making that eWOM receivers
involve reviews during a travel. Additionally, Jalilvand et al. (2013) concluded that the
information of eWOM advertising has a significant effect on tourists' attitude towards visiting
a certain destination. Govers et al. (2007) also asserted about tourism that the information
shared in social networks on the web about destination, namely eWOM, influences overall
image of a destination. Three hypotheses were derived from this argumentation for a tourism
city:
H1. eWOM relates significantly to tourists’ attitude towards a tourism city.
H2. eWOM relates significantly to a tourism city image.

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 H3. eWOM relates significantly to intention to visit a tourism city.
3.3. City image
City image can be defined as an individual’s overall perception or the total set of impressions
of a city (Fakeye and Crompton, 1979). It is regarded as the mental portrayal of a city (Seaton
and Benett, 1996). A city’s image can be developed based on the estimation or understanding
of a city’s characteristics. Current tourism and marketing literature suggests that an improved
city image positively influences tourists’ visiting intentions and actual visit (Murray and
Vogel, 1997). Enhanced destination image of host cities can positively influence the decision
making process regarding future visit intentions in addition to a number of other positive
benefits. In his review of 142 destination image studies conducted between 1973 and 2000,
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Pike (2002) showed that tourists’ image perceptions of a city may influence a wide range of
matters including top of mind awareness, length of stay, frequency of visits, and even
perceived value of the city. Supporting Pike’s findings, Stepchenkova and Morrison (2008)
found that when potential US travelers lacked objective information about Russian tourism
attractions, those with more (less) negative image of Russia as a tour destination were less
(more) willing to tour Russia. The authors stressed the importance of marketing efforts to
correct the negative perceptions in order to help spur Russian tourism. In summary, there is
substantial evidence to support the positive influence of favorable city image on tourist
behavior (Hultman et al., 2015). Lopes (2011) also believed that the concepts of image and
attitude are interrelated. Lita et al. (2014) and Han et al. (2009) found that attitude towards a
particular place influences overall image. Cruz and Fill (2008) believe that attitudes are
shaped by past experiences and applied as a link between thoughts and behaviors. The study
of Jalilvand et al. (2013) revealed that tourists' attitude toward tourism city has a significant
relationship with visit intention. In addition, tourists' intentions and behaviors can partly be
predicted by the image that they have of the city and can affect the process of city selection.
A tourism city, with a stronger and more prominent image than other cities, guarantees the
tourist's welfare better so that he will have more intention to select it (Lopes, 2011). In sum,
the effect that overall image of a city has on tourists' behavioral intentions has been widely
studied by researchers (Beerli and Martin, 2004; Pike and Ryan, 2004; Park and Nunkoo,
2013; Kim and Lee, 2015).

H4. Attitude towards a tourism city significantly influences city image.

H5. Attitude towards a tourism city significantly influences intention to visit the city.
H6. City image positively influences intention to visit the city.

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 Figure 5 summarizes the relationships in the six hypotheses.

Attitude
toward city
H5
H1
H4
e-WOM Intention
H3
about city to visit city

H2
H6
City image
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Figure 5. The research model

4. Method
4.1. Participants
We recruited tourists who attended the Pool City for tourism or other purposes in the region
of Mazandaran in Iran. Visitors were selected at different locations of Pool city
including Div-Cheshmeh, Sed-Anjili, Imam-Zadeh Ali and Taleghan. Visitors were
also asked to fill the questionnaire at the arrival stage of their trip. Data was
gathered during the winter 2015. The participants were assured that participation was
voluntary and collected information would be kept confidential. A total of 362 visitors agreed
to participate. However, the researchers included 241 usable cases for data analyses, yielding
the response rate of 66.6%. Of a convenience sample of 241 respondents, 54.1 percent were
male, 52.6 percent were aged 30-39, 85.2 per cent were married, and about 65 percent had a
college degree. In terms of monthly income, 66.8 percent were had more than 2000 dollars
per month. Finally, there is a clear predominance of individuals had no previous
experience of travel to Pool City (73.8%).

4.2. Instrument
The primary goal of this study was to examine how eWOM affects tourists’ intention to visit
a tourism city through attitude and overall image. To do so, the researchers modified existing
scales, which were translated into Persian with the assistance of a tourism marketing faculty

7
 member who is fluent in both English and Persian. Socio-demographic information of
research participants was obtained by items including sex, age, marriage, education level, and
monthly income. Following Jalilvand and Samiei (2012a) and Jalilvand et al. (2013),
we measured eWOM by using six items (see Table 1). City image was measured with a total
of 4 items adapting from Chi and Qu (2008). Following prior studies (Jalilvand et al.
2013, Jalilvand et al., 2012), we measured attitude towards tourism city by using four
items. Finally visit intention was measured by a four items (Table 1) scale adapted
from Usakli and Baloglu (2011). The final questionnaire included a total of 18 items, and
the format was a five-point Likert type scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly
agree (5).
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4.3 Data analyses

Before analyzing predictor variables, we analyzed descriptive statistics and psychometric
properties of the measurement scale. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
using AMOS 18. Several goodness of fit indices were evaluated including chi-square statistic
(χ2), normed chi-square statistic (χ2/df ), the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), and comparative fit index (CFI). The cut-off value of
Normed chi-square (χ 2/df ) is less than 3.0 (Hu and Bentler, 1999). The RMSEA value
below 0.05 indicates an excellent fit and values below 0.06 indicate a good fit (Hu and
Bentler, 1999). The GFI is an absolute index and measures the relative amount of variance
and covariance in the sample data (Byrne, 1998). The CFI value takes sample size into
account and should be the index of choice, and values equal to or greater than 0.95 are
indicative or good-fitting model (Hu and Bentler, 1999). For scale reliability and validity,
internal consistency measures (i.e. Cronbach alpha and average variance extracted (AVE)),
convergent validity (i.e. indicator loadings and critical ratios), and discriminant validity (i.e.
interfactor correlations) were tested. Alpha reliability coefficients were calculated for the
identified factors. Cronbach’s alpha values greater than 0.07 are acceptable and deemed to be
adequate (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994). AVE values above 0.50 are considered to be
adequate (Hair et al., 2006). The indicator loading greater than 0.50 is assumed to be
acceptable. Discriminant validity is established when the estimated correlations between the
factors is below 0.85 (Kline, 2005). Structural equation model (SEM) test with maximum
likelihood estimation was employed to test the relationships among the research variables.

5. Results
5.1. Reliability and validity

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 Table 1 illustrates indicator loadings, critical ratios, Cronbach’s alpha, and AVE values of
each factor. All of the indicator loadings were significant with critical ratios ranging from
7.20 to 8.99 (p≤0.05). The factor loading values were greater than 0.5 threshold, ranging from
0.65 to 0.87. In addition, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of all four factors were greater than
0.7, ranging from 0.76 (intention to visit city) to 0.89 (eWOM) and the AVE value of the
factors are greater than 0. 5, ranging from 0.728 (intention to visit city) to 0.813 (city image).

Table 1. Indicator loadings, critical ratios, Cronbach’s alpha (α), and AVE values
Factor and items Indicator Critical α AVE
loadings ratios
eWOM
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I often read other tourists’ online travel reviews to know -

0.66
what cities make good impressions on others
To make sure I choose the right tourism city (like Pool), 8.210
0.85
I often read other tourists’ online travel reviews
I often consult other tourists’ online travel reviews to 7.892
0.70 0.89 0.752
help choose an attractive city (like Pool)
I frequently gather information from tourists’ online 8.020
0.76
travel reviews before I travel to a certain city (like Pool)
If I don’t read tourists’ online travel reviews when I 8.562
0.85
travel to a city (like Pool), I worry about my decision
When I travel to a city (like Pool), tourists’ online travel 8.991
0.87
reviews make me confident in travelling to the city
City image
Pool city is safe and secure 0.83 8.324
Pool city offers exciting and interesting places to visit 0.65 6.587
0.84 0.813
Pool city has beautiful scenery and natural attractions 0.71 7.663
Pool city has a pleasant climate 0.74 -
Attitude toward city
As a tourism city, I think that Pool is: -
0.65
Very bad/Very good
Very worthless/Very valuable 0.77 7.200 0.81 0.759
Very unpleasant/Very pleasant 0.79 7.746
Very boring/Very attractive 0.80 8.011
Intention to visit city
I predict I will visit Pool city in the future 0.81 8.314
I would visit Pool city rather than any other tourism city 0.79 7.669
0. 76 0.728
If everything goes as I think, I will plan to visit Pool city 8.285
0.82
in the future
I recommend other tourists to travel Pool city 0.83 -

Table 2 presents the interfactor correlation analysis among each variable of structural model.
They were all below 0.85, ranging from 0.346 (between attitude and city image) to 0.685
(between city image and eWOM) and the correlation was significant by p≤0.05. All squared

9
 correlations were less than the AVE value for each factor, representing good discriminant
validity.

Table 2. Means, standard deviations, and correlations

Component Mean Standard Interfactor correlations
deviations 1 2 3 4

1. eWOM 3.589 0.8013 -

2. City image 3.544 1.015 0.685* -
3. Attitude 4.212 0.835 0.563* 0.346* -
towards city
4. Intention to 3.655 0.822 0.666* 0.562* 0.574* -
visit city
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Notes: *P≤0.05

5.2. Results of SEM test

The overall model fit was good, χ2/df =1.54, RMSEA=0.06, GFI=0.95, CFI=0.97,
and AGFI=0.93. All tests are directional t-tests of the critical ratios of the regression weight
estimates over the estimates of their standard errors provided in the AMOS output. As shown
in table 2, all of six paths specified in the hypothesized model are found to be statistically
significant. When critical-ratios are in the range of -1.96 to 1.96, the hypothesis (H0) will
reject (Hair et al., 2006). As indicated in Table 3, the relationship between eWOM and
attitude towards the city was significant (β= 0.41, CR= 6.52), supporting H1. It indicates that
eWOM is significant predictors of attitude. The path coefficients from eWOM to the city
image was positive and significant (β= 0.39, CR= 5.12). The more positive eWOM, the better
tourists’ image of Pool City. Therefore, H2 was supported by the data. As predicted by H3,
the influence of eWOM on visit intention was significant (β= 0.23 CR= 2.64). Attitude
towards the city also had a positive and significant influence on city image and visit intention,
supporting H4 (β= 0.25, CR= 2.83) and H5 (β= 0.31, CR= 4.27). Finally, the linkage between
city image (β= 0.42, CR= 6.84) with visit intention was positive and significant as well,
supporting H6.

Table 3. Results of path analysis

Hypothesis Path Β C.R. Result
H1 eWOM → Attitude 0.41*** 6.52 Supported
H2 eWOM → City image 0.39*** 5.15 Supported

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 H3 eWOM → Visit intention 0.23** 2.64 Supported
H4 Attitude → City image 0.25** 2.83 Supported
H5 Attitude → Visit intention 0.31*** 4.27 Supported
H6 City image → Visit intention 0.42*** 6.84 Supported
Notes: ***P< 0.001; **P< 0.01

6. Conclusion and implications

Using the framework of the defined conceptual model, this research has investigated the
effect of eWOM, attitude towards a tourism city and the image of a city on visit intention.
Our findings showed that eWOM has a positive, direct and significant influence on city
image, attitude towards a tourism city and visit intention. Further, it was revealed that eWOM
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affects indirectly visit intention through city image and attitude towards the city. Finally,
attitude was an important predictor of city image. The result obtained by testing the first
hypothesis is in line with the results of the research conducted by Jalilvand and Samiei
(2012a) and Jalilvand et al. (2013). Their research showed that eWOM has a positive effect
on attitude toward a particular destination. According to the results of the second hypothesis,
it can be stated that tourists' online reviews about tourism cities influence the formation of a
city image. This is in consistent with the findings of Lita et al. (2014). We found that attitude
and city image are associated with each other which supports the findings of Lita et al.
(2014), who came to the conclusion that tourists' attitude has a considerable effect on the
image of hotels and restaurants. We found that the tourists' more favorable attitude toward the
city, the more intention to visit a tourism city. This finding supports works conducted by Lita
et al. (2014), Jalilvand et al. (2013), Dennis et al. (2009) and Ajzen (2001), who showed that
the more favorable one's attitude is toward a behavior, the more intention he will have to
conduct that behavior. Finally, it was indicated that the relationship between city image and
visit intention is significant. It was consistent with the findings of Lita et al. (2014) that their
research revealed a positive relationship between overall image of Islamic destinations and
travel intention. Our findings provide tourism city managers with several implications.
Firstly, The senior managers of tourism cities should make tourists satisfied by presenting
them with excellent services and facilities, because it would be more likely that the satisfied
tourists visit to that city again and they are more willing to talk to their friends and
acquaintances about their enjoyable experiences of that visit and even recommend them to
visit to that city. This type of advertising or recommendation can be considered the most
valid source of information for potential tourists. The tourism cities should notice that an
enjoyable experience of a travel can remain in the tourist's mind for ever, which will develop

11
 a positive attitude toward the city for tourists and non-tourists. Second, city managers should
try to encourage tourists to participate in discussing in the online community. When tourist
reviews on a city is positive, the positive information about a certain city will disseminate
among potential tourists and as a result, the possibility of forming a suitable city image will
increase. At present, the activity that travelers write the tourist blogs and tourist reviews is
not very high. Hence, city managers need to stimulate the tourists to publish online reviews.
For example, cities can give some prizes to the member of community if he/she publishes a
tourist review or writes a blog. Managers may also monitor the exchange volume of eWOM
to evaluate the image of tourism city and the tourist’s cognition through the content of online
reviews. City managers may purposefully mold the image of tourism city.
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6.1. Limitations and future directions

There are two limitations associated with this research. First, this research examined the
attitudinal consequences and intentions of eWOM in a city of Iran, namely Pool city, and
may not be generalized to the other cities. Second, eWOM, attitude and city image of a
destination had been recognized as three important psychological variables for visit in
tourism literature, were employed in our research. These three variables may not reflect
tourists' motivation for visit perfectly. For future research, tourists’ evaluation in other
tourism cities of Iran may create a new insight about the relationships among eWOM,
attitude, city image and visit intention. Moreover, other studies can deal with other variables
related to visiting tourism cities including value, culture and social motives. In addition, we
focused on eWOM about a tourism city and its role in attitudinal consequences. However,
other sources of information may play a significant role in the process of image formation.
Then, comparing the effectiveness of eWOM with other information resources is an
interesting area of research.

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