Antecedents and impacts of trust in travel-related consumer-generated media

This study investigated the factors influencing trust in travel-related CGM and the degree to which trust affects the benefits and impacts of using CGM when planning pleasure trips. An online survey of US Internet users was conducted with a total of 1170 individuals responding to questions regarding their perceptions and use of CGM for travel planning. The findings show that CGM use is widespread and that trust depends on the type of website on which the CGM is posted, perceptions of other CGM creators as well as CGM readers’ personality. Also, those who have greater trust in CGM report greater impacts and derive greater benefits from their CGM use.