Travellers' acceptance of consumer-generated media: An integrated model of technology acceptance and source credibility theories

Despite the rising influence of social media, the use of consumer-generated media (CGM) for the task of travel planning still meets with scepticism among certain online travel consumers. Hence the need to further explore the psychological factors underlying this aspect of online behaviour. The study proposes a model of consumer-generated media acceptance for the purpose of travel planning which integrates the Technology Acceptance Model with the Source Credibility Theory. Using an online survey of 661 valid responses and structural equation modelling, the findings highlight the critical factors relevant to the cognitive processes which determine online travellers' affective and conative responses to the use of consumer-generated media for travel planning. The results suggest that integrating technology acceptance factors with that of information adoption can enhance the understanding of consumer-generated media usage in the vacation planning context. The study outcome holds implications for theory and practice. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.