Enhancing consumers’ sharing behaviour on social media platforms is crucial for tourism destination brands. This can lead to increased consumer–brand relationship outcomes, amplified reach and perceived trustworthiness of their communication. This study aims to investigate the impact of the tone of voice (corporate vs human) adopted by a tourism destination in its social media communication on users’ perceived hedonic value and sharing behaviour, while also considering the interplay with the type of cultural heritage dimensions (tangible vs intangible) highlighted in the communication.
A 2 (corporate vs human) × 2 (tangible vs intangible) between-subjects factorial design was used. A total of 400 respondents viewed a fictitious tourism destination brand page on Instagram, with posts manipulated according to the study variables and answered an online survey.
The conversational human voice generates a higher level of hedonic value than the formal corporate voice; in turn, the increased hedonic value positively influences sharing behaviour. The type of cultural heritage dimensions moderates the tone of voice effect. In this moderated mediation, higher outcomes are achieved when tangible rather than intangible elements are communicated by adopting a human tone of voice. These findings advance the knowledge of the causal process responsible for consumers’ sharing behaviour, thereby enriching the discourse on stakeholder engagement in destination branding literature.
This study addresses the issue of tone of voice from the perspective of tourism destination brands, an angle of analysis neglected in prior research. It also sheds light on the effect of interaction between tone of voice and cultural heritage dimensions, unaccounted for in previous studies.
旅游目的地品牌在社交媒体传播中的语调作用
提升消费者在社交媒体上的分享行为对旅游目的地至关重要。这不仅有助于加强消费者与品牌之间的关系, 还能扩大传播范围并提升感知可信度。本研究探讨了旅游目的地在社交媒体传播中采用的语调（官方语调 vs 人性化语调）对用户感知享乐价值及分享行为的影响, 并分析语调与文化遗产维度（有形 vs 无形）之间的互动效果。
采用了2（官方语调 vs 人性化语调）× 2（有形文化遗产 vs 无形文化遗产）的被试间实验设计。共有400名受访者查看了一个操控语调和文化遗产维度的虚拟旅游目的地品牌Instagram页面, 并完成了一份在线问卷。
结果显示, 人性化且口语化的语调相比正式的官方语调更能显著提升用户感知的享乐价值, 而享乐价值的提升会进一步增强用户的分享行为。此外, 文化遗产维度对语调效果具有调节作用。当传播内容聚焦于有形文化遗产并采用人性化语调时, 分享行为的效果最为显著。这些发现拓展了关于消费者分享行为因果路径的研究, 为目的地品牌化领域中有关利益相关者参与的讨论提供了新的视角。
本研究从旅游目的地品牌的角度分析语调对传播效果的影响, 这一视角在现有文献中较为薄弱。此外, 研究还揭示了语调与文化遗产维度的交互作用, 这在现有研究中尚未被深入探讨。 文章分类 研究论文
El papel del tono de voz en la comunicación de las marcas de destinos turísticos en las redes sociales
Resumen
Mejorar el comportamiento de los consumidores a la hora de compartir en las plataformas de redes sociales es crucial para las marcas de destinos turísticos. Esto puede conducir a mejores resultados en la relación entre el consumidor y la marca, a un mayor alcance y a una mayor percepción de confianza en su comunicación. Este estudio investiga el impacto del tono de voz (corporativo frente a humano) adoptado por un destino turístico en su comunicación en redes sociales sobre el valor hedónico percibido por los usuarios y el comportamiento de intercambio, al tiempo que considera la interacción con el tipo de dimensiones del patrimonio cultural (tangible frente a intangible) destacadas en la comunicación.
Se empleó un diseño factorial entre sujetos de 2 (corporativo vs humano) x 2 (tangible vs intangible). Un total de 400 encuestados vieron una página ficticia de marca de destino turístico en Instagram, con publicaciones manipuladas según las variables del estudio, y respondieron a una encuesta en línea.
La voz humana conversacional genera un mayor nivel de valor hedónico que la voz corporativa formal; a su vez, el aumento del valor hedónico influye positivamente en el comportamiento de compartir. El tipo de dimensiones del patrimonio cultural modera el efecto del tono de voz. En esta mediación moderada, se consiguen mejores resultados cuando se comunican elementos tangibles en lugar de intangibles adoptando un tono de voz humano. Estos hallazgos avanzan en el conocimiento del proceso causal responsable del comportamiento de los consumidores a la hora de compartir, enriqueciendo así el debate sobre el compromiso de las partes interesadas en la literatura sobre la marca de destino.
Este estudio aborda la cuestión del tono de voz desde la perspectiva de las marcas de destinos turísticos, un ángulo de análisis que se ha descuidado en investigaciones anteriores. También arroja luz sobre el efecto de la interacción entre el tono de voz y las dimensiones del patrimonio cultural, que no se han tenido en cuenta en estudios anteriores.
Introduction
Globally, over five billion people use social media platforms such as X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Individuals aged 16–64 spend almost 2.3 h daily on social media to maintain connections with friends and family, fill their spare time and seek inspiration for activities and purchases (We Are Social and Meltwater, 2024). The popularity of these platforms provides brands with huge opportunities to interact with consumers, foster engagement and cultivate relationships (Gretry et al., 2017). Tourism in particular has been disrupted by social media, which have drastically changed the way people seek and exchange information or come to a decision on which destinations to visit (e.g. Gaffar et al., 2022; Varkaris and Neuhofer, 2017). Given the intangible and inherently experiential nature of visiting a destination, social media platforms have become complementary to and sometimes even substitutes for conventional sources of tourism information (An et al., 2022). Concurrently, tourism destinations have integrated social media into their branding strategies designed to build their unique positioning and create emotional connections with tourists (e.g. Mandagi and Centeno, 2024). Hence, social media have become indispensable marketing resources for engaging stakeholders and effectively communicating the identities of tourism destination brands.
Despite the aforementioned importance, uncertainties persist regarding the optimal strategies for engaging with consumers on these dynamic platforms (Bastrygina et al., 2024). Specifically, questions remain regarding the ideal methods for triggering factors that could affect consumers’ willingness to share. Enhancing consumers’ sharing behaviour (SB) – that is, consumers sharing a post on their profile – is vital for tourism destination brands. This can result in enhanced consumer–brand relationship outcomes (Vinh and Phuong, 2020) and an expanded reach and perceived trustworthiness of online communication (An et al., 2022; Buchanan and Benson, 2019; Chu and Kim, 2011). Nonetheless, relatively little is known about how consumers’ sharing behaviour is affected by the communication style used by tourism destination brands on social media. Should a tourism destination brand adopt a more personal and humanised approach to these platforms? Alternatively, is it advisable to maintain a certain level of detachment and opt for a less intimate tone? The notion of conversational human voice in online communication – which refers to a tone of voice (ToV) that fosters a sense of closeness and authenticity and makes the brand seem more human (e.g. Park and Cameron, 2014) – remains relatively unexplored in the tourism literature, despite a growing interest in the topic (Barcelos et al., 2019). In addition, the extant literature predominantly focuses on tourist actors, such as hotels and restaurants, while a gap regarding the perspective of tourism destination brands remains.
Tourism destinations can engage consumers by leveraging their cultural heritage dimensions and hence their historical, artistic and creative assets (Chhabra et al., 2003; Steriopoulos et al., 2024). Consequently, another question arises: Can the impact of the tone of voice vary depending on which type of cultural heritage dimension is highlighted in online communication? Essentially, a possibility exists of an interaction between ToV and the type of cultural heritage dimensions that has not been considered thus far.
The present study aims to fill the aforementioned gaps by ascertaining whether and how, in the social media context, the tone of voice (corporate/formal tone vs human/informal tone), as well as the type of cultural heritage dimensions (tangible vs intangible), influence consumers’ sharing behaviour. Further, this study considers the role of hedonic value (HV) in mediating the effect of tone and cultural heritage on consumers’ sharing behaviour. To this end, a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design was used, and a fictitious tourism destination brand page on Instagram was created, with posts manipulated according to the study variables.
This research contributes to the tourism destination branding literature in the following ways. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to address the issue of tone of voice from the perspective of tourism destination brands. Second, the study expands the knowledge of tourism destination brands’ social media communication by considering the interplay between tone of voice and cultural heritage dimensions. Third, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on destination branding strategies as multiple stakeholders’ co-creative efforts by providing a deeper understanding of consumers’ sharing behaviour. Finally, the present study offers a contribution to the body of literature on online consumer engagement by advancing the understanding of sharing behaviour in the tourism domain. In addition to the theoretical contributions, the results hold managerial value as they can inform destination management organisations (DMOs) on how to improve their social media communication efforts to foster more positive consumer engagement.
Literature review and hypotheses development
Human tone of voice in tourism destination brands’ online communication
Although brands, even tourism destination brands, are not human beings, consumers may connect with and respond to them as if they were (Fournier, 1998). Given the very interactive nature of social media, on these platforms “the brand is always personified to a certain degree” (Barcelos et al., 2018, p. 61); essentially, it gains some human-like characteristics. In addition to this effect, the stylistic choices that define the brand’s online communication style can make the brand more or less “human” to users. Following a continuum in communication styles, the two extremes recognised in the literature are a “conversational human” voice and a “corporate” voice. The conversational human voice was originally conceived as “an engaging and natural style of organizational communication as perceived by an organization’s public based on interactions between individuals in the organization and individuals in the publics” (Kelleher, 2009, p. 177). Afterwards, the conversational human voice has been conceptualised as a natural and informal communication style which leads to brands being perceived as closer to the public (Park and Cameron, 2014; Park and Lee, 2013). This contrasts with the corporate tone, which is defined as being less natural and more formal, in which the brand maintains a greater distance from the recipient.
The tone of voice “is more than just the words we choose. It’s the way in which we communicate our personality” (Nielsen Norman Group, 2023). Hence, in addition to the choice of words, a human tone can be expressed using a first-person perspective (“I” or “we”), in contrast to a third-person perspective typical of corporate tone (e.g. “the brand X”, “the staff”); or through expressions of emotions, rather than the rational appeals that are typical of a corporate tone (e.g. Barcelos et al., 2018). In broader terms, ToV also depends on the musicality of the language used in spoken communication, the use of graphic elements within websites and the avatar used during the conversation (Gretry et al., 2017).
The influence of the brand’s online communication style on the nature of the relationship with stakeholders has been the subject of increasing empirical investigation in the marketing literature. Most of these studies analyse the adoption of a conversational human voice in the context of crisis communication, examining its effects on customers’ brand perceptions, such as reputation and trustworthiness (e.g. Park and Cameron, 2014) and employer attractiveness (Kapuściński et al., 2021). In the service literature, the conversational human voice has been primarily studied in offline service encounters. The focus has then shifted to online communication contexts, within which, beyond crisis communication, ToV has been investigated in terms of relational outcomes. It has been demonstrated that a conversational human voice is associated with customer commitment, satisfaction, trust (Kelleher, 2009) and positive corporate reputation (Dijkmans et al., 2015). Despite growing interest, the concept of conversational human voice in online communication remains relatively unexplored in the service literature, and studies are even more scarce in the tourism research field (Barcelos et al., 2019, 2018), where the perspective of tourism destinations is largely neglected.
Addressing this gap of knowledge is paramount given the strategic importance of social media communication for tourism destinations in shaping tourists’ expectations, knowledge and attitudes throughout the tourist journey (e.g. Liu et al., 2020). To this end, the present paper sets out to examine the communication styles in the context of social media from the tourism destination brands’ perspective. Drawing upon previous studies, it is proposed that a human tone of voice will result in an enhanced hedonic value of the online consumer experience, which, in turn, will increase the consumers’ propensity to share. In addition, it is proposed that the type of cultural heritage elements (tangible vs intangible) highlighted in the message moderates the relationship between ToV and HV. The following sections expand upon these arguments.
Hedonic value in online consumers’ experience
Traditionally, the literature has focused on the utilitarian value that consumers can derive from online experiences, concentrating on rational benefits. Consequently, extensive research has been dedicated to analysing the functional and instrumental dimensions of websites and digital platforms that support browsing and shopping (e.g. Childers et al., 2001). The focus has then shifted from cognitive and non-emotional outcomes to hedonic value and, hence, to emotional benefits.
Hedonic value is derived from the pleasure and enjoyment perceived during an experience and is associated with its multisensory, emotional and entertaining aspects (Li et al., 2022). Hence, HV stems from entertainment, high-arousal stimuli and effect-related aspects of the consumer’s experience (e.g. Chiu et al., 2014). Previous research has demonstrated that online experiences with a brand are moulded by the hedonic value that consumers can derive, for instance, from the interactivity of the website, sociability and flow perception (e.g. Rodríguez-Ardura et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2007). On social media, HV is strongly connected to sentiments of amusement and sociability obtained by interconnecting with brands or other consumers (e.g. Richard and Chebat, 2016). In these contexts, the brand communication style can play a pivotal role, given that a conversation that uses a human ToV is also a conversation with a greater social presence (Park and Cameron, 2014; Park and Lee, 2013), whose importance in transmitting emotions within media is acknowledged (McKenna et al., 2002).
As the role of the conversational human voice in enhancing the hedonic outcomes of the online consumer experience has been demonstrated in the hospitality industry (Barcelos et al., 2019, 2018), it is reasonable to assume that the same relationship applies to the context of tourism destination brands’ online communication. Hence, a tourism destination brand employing a human ToV is expected to be capable of conveying more emotions than employing a corporate tone, leading to an increase in consumers’ perceived HV. More formally, the following hypothesis is stated:
The more human (corporate) the voice used by the tourism destination brand on social media, the higher (lower) the hedonic value of the online experience for the consumer.
Sharing behaviour in online consumers’ experience
The development of social media, along with the increasing presence of brands in these channels, has allowed consumers/users to engage more frequently and intensely with both brands and other consumers. Activities such as sharing information, spreading word-of-mouth and offering feedback to brands have become widespread behaviours involving many more users than in the past. These online behaviours are indicative of a more involved and active user in the brand–user relationship; they fall under the umbrella of “consumer engagement”, defined as “consumer non-transactional interactions with a brand or with other consumers in a brand context” (Schamari and Schaefers, 2015, p. 21). Consumer engagement is posited to be related to several brand relationship outcomes, including the enhancement of consumer satisfaction, trust, connection, emotional bonding, loyalty and commitment (Brodie et al., 2013). The consequences of consumer engagement can extend beyond the dyadic consumer–brand relationship: interactions between the brand and the consumer on social media are visible to all users, thereby allowing each observer to form impressions of the brand (Barcelos et al., 2019).
Online consumer engagement behaviours can be categorised into four distinct behaviours: liking, commenting, sharing and creating (Vinh and Phuong, 2020).
The present paper focuses on sharing behaviour, which is defined as consumers sharing a post on their profile. The level of engagement in this case is higher than that of liking or commenting (Kim and Yang, 2017; Vinh and Phuong, 2020), as the consumer demonstrates a more intense relationship with the content while supporting it. This activity extends beyond the “individual” sphere by making the shared post visible to the consumer’s followers, and thereby amplifying its reach (An et al., 2022; Chu and Kim, 2011). Further, through the act of sharing, consumers communicate their opinions and thoughts to their followers, demonstrating that they are affected by the message and are personally involved in it. Consequently, they have the potential to affect the trustworthiness of the message perceived by their followers (Buchanan and Benson, 2019). In summary, for tourism destination brands, enhancing sharing behaviour is important in two ways: it leads to increased consumer–brand relationship outcomes; it maximises the reach and trustworthiness of the brand’s social media communication, thereby improving its efficiency and effectiveness.
From this perspective, hedonic value can play a crucial role, as it may make consumers more favourably disposed to marketing stimuli (Van der Heijden, 2004). It has also been demonstrated that HV affects Twitter use (Yoo et al., 2014) and users’ willingness to share articles from companies’ official accounts in the context of WeChat (Ma et al., 2018). Hence, it may be expected that the hedonic value of the online experience creates a more favourable disposition for consumers to share the posts published by the tourism destination brand on social media. More formally:
The higher the consumer’s perceived hedonic value of the online experience with the tourism destination brand, the higher the consumer’s sharing behaviour.
In light of the aforementioned literature and hypotheses, it is posited that hedonic value mediates the relationship between tone of voice and consumers’ sharing behaviour. HV is increased by the adoption of a human ToV, which conveys a greater consumer enjoyment than a corporate tone. Subsequently, enhanced HV leads to greater SB. Hence, it is hypothesised that HV fully mediates the relationship between ToV and SB. More formally, it is proposed as follows:
The influence of the tourism destination brand’s tone of voice on consumer’s sharing behaviour is mediated by the consumer’s hedonic value of the online experience.
Type of cultural heritage dimensions
Cultural heritage represents a fundamental means of identifying and differentiating a tourism destination in the market (Chhabra et al., 2003). It can be considered unique and attractive to both international and domestic tourists and represents a valuable asset in creating a competitive advantage (Lam and Hsu, 2006). It is consequently not surprising that cultural heritage is integral to destination branding strategies.
Cultural heritage is defined as “what we have inherited, which can mean anything, from historical buildings, to works of art, to characteristic scenarios” (Yale, 1991, p. 21). This legacy, inherited from the past, encompasses a multitude of local traditions – including lifestyles, dances, rituals, festivals, oral traditions – as well as built heritage assets, such as museums, buildings and parks (Poria et al., 2003; Qiu, 2023). Cultural heritage is classified into two distinct categories: tangible (or physical) and intangible attributes, both of which are typically leveraged by tourism destinations to attract tourists (Park, 2014; Yu and Xu, 2019). Hence, it is interesting to explore the possible interplay between the tone of voice used by a tourism destination brand in its social media communication and the cultural heritage dimensions highlighted in the message. This study posits that the effect of ToV on HV can be moderated by the type of cultural heritage dimension mentioned. Tangible cultural heritage dimensions are typically communicated by highlighting quantitative or factual information (e.g. monument building dates or functions) and more tacit values and qualities (e.g. symbolic meanings and architectural qualities) (Nofal et al., 2017). The intrinsic content of this communication may translate into more limited pleasure and enjoyment perceived by the recipient, in comparison to intangible cultural heritage dimensions. Indeed, it is acknowledged that intangible cultural heritage attributes can “increase the interactivity of destinations and consolidate the impression of local entertainment […]” (Qiu et al., 2022, p. 14).
Based on the literature above, it is argued that the effect of a conversational human voice on consumers’ hedonic value of the social media experience with a tourism destination brand should be stronger when the message highlights intangible cultural heritage dimensions. This is because of the benefits of a conversational human voice that is inherently emotional and can be reinforced by the emotional and entertainment aspects of the intangible dimensions of cultural heritage, such as festive events and lifestyle. Conversely, the influence of a conversational human voice on consumers’ hedonic value should be less strong when the message highlights tangible cultural heritage dimensions. The following hypothesis is stated:
The type of cultural heritage dimensions moderates the relationship between tone of voice and hedonic value, such that the influence of tone of voice results in a higher (lower) hedonic value when the cultural heritage dimension is intangible (tangible).
The relationships posited by H3 and H4, considered together, can be interpreted as a moderated mediation effect. The following hypothesis is proposed:
The influence of tone of voice on sharing behaviour via hedonic value is moderated by the type of cultural heritage dimensions. Specifically, the effect of tone of voice on sharing behaviour via hedonic value is higher (lower) when the cultural heritage dimension is intangible (tangible).
Figure 1 depicts the key paths of the posited moderated mediation.
The diagram presents a moderated mediation model with four rectangular boxes connected by directional arrows. At the lower left, a box labelled Tone of voice is connected by a solid arrow to a central box labelled Hedonic value. From Hedonic value, a solid arrow points to a box on the right labelled Sharing behaviour. A dashed horizontal arrow runs directly from Tone of voice to Sharing behaviour. Above the connection between Tone of voice and Hedonic value, a box labelled Type of cultural heritage dimension is linked by a solid arrow to the arrow connecting Tone of voice and Hedonic value.Proposed conceptual model of moderated mediation
The diagram presents a moderated mediation model with four rectangular boxes connected by directional arrows. At the lower left, a box labelled Tone of voice is connected by a solid arrow to a central box labelled Hedonic value. From Hedonic value, a solid arrow points to a box on the right labelled Sharing behaviour. A dashed horizontal arrow runs directly from Tone of voice to Sharing behaviour. Above the connection between Tone of voice and Hedonic value, a box labelled Type of cultural heritage dimension is linked by a solid arrow to the arrow connecting Tone of voice and Hedonic value.Proposed conceptual model of moderated mediation
Methodology
The present study aims to assess the influence of tone of voice and the type of cultural heritage dimensions on hedonic value, and its further effect on sharing behaviour. Consistent with this aim, the study took a post-positivist research perspective, asserting that causes determine the effects (Creswell and Creswell, 2018) and conducted a quantitative study. Particularly, given the research objectives, a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design was used to manipulate the tone of voice (corporate vs human) and the type of cultural heritage dimensions (tangible vs intangible) while also measuring participants’ hedonic value and sharing behaviour.
Instagram was selected as the social media platform for the research because of its broad usage and relevance to businesses (We Are Social and Meltwater, 2024), and for being a social media platform where users can view interactions with the brand and with other users – a characteristic beneficial for the study’s aims. For the study, a fictitious tourism destination brand page was created to test participants’ reactions without bias from profiles they already followed. The tourism destination chosen for the purpose of the study was Valencia (Spain) because it is a city rich in both tangible and intangible cultural heritage dimensions. Valencia was also selected because, although it is well-known, it is not an outstanding destination in terms of awareness and uniqueness of tourist attractions (compared with destinations such as Paris or Venice). In summary, Valencia was deemed an appropriate destination for examining the moderating role of tangible and intangible cultural heritage dimensions on the tone of voice effects, while concurrently mitigating the potential for bias stemming from a high level of destination awareness.
Stimuli and pre-test
The stimuli used in the study were posts on the tourism destination’s fictitious Instagram page, containing a combination of content and description. Two versions of the content (tangible and intangible cultural heritage dimensions) and two versions of the description (corporate and human tone of voice) were created, resulting in four experimental conditions. Precisely, three tangible cultural heritage dimensions and three intangible cultural heritage dimensions were posted on the fictitious account twice: one with a human-tone description and the other with a corporate-tone description ( Appendix). The tangible cultural heritage dimensions were monuments and buildings connected to the historical events of Valencia, whereas the intangible cultural heritage dimensions included traditions, customs and legends. Messages that adopted a corporate ToV used formal language and only transmitted essential information without expressing emotions or emoticons, whereas messages with a human ToV used a more informal, colloquial and conversational communication style with emotional language and a rich use of emoticons. Previous studies that dealt with linguistic choices and sentiments of closeness/humanness inspired the tone of voice manipulation (Barcelos et al., 2019, 2018; Park and Cameron, 2014; Park and Lee, 2013). To improve realism, each message was accompanied by an identical image for each experimental condition.
A pre-test was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the manipulations of the tourism destination brand’s tone of voice on social media. A total of 51 participants were exposed to the fictitious tourism destination brand’s social media page, which displayed the posts created. Subjects were randomly allocated to one of the two conditions (corporate ToV vs human ToV), and they responded to a four-item measure adapted from Gretry et al. (2017), assessing the extent to which the brand communicated informally (i.e. “communicates in an informal/unofficial/casual/easy-going way”); a seven-point scale was used (Cronbach’s α = 0.966). Subjects in the human ToV condition rated ToV as significantly more informal than those in the corporate ToV condition [MCorporate = 1.92, MHuman = 5.84; t(49) = −18.890, p < 0.001]. Hence, the results indicate successful manipulations of the tone of voice.
Main study, participants and procedure
A questionnaire was created for each of the four experimental conditions, comprising the following sections: introduction regarding the account expressly created for the study, its purpose (promoting the city of Valencia and its attractions) and links to the three posts related to a specific experimental condition, measurement of the dependent variables and socio-demographic questions.
A convenience sample of 467 individuals who had never visited Valencia participated in the study. This selection criterion was employed to prevent the respondents’ evaluations from being influenced by previous tourism experiences in the city (whether positive or negative). Participants were recruited on several social media platforms. After agreeing to participate, they were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions, and the groups were balanced for gender, age and average daily time spent on social media. Each participant was provided with a link to the corresponding questionnaire and was asked to read the introduction, open the links to the three posts and read them carefully. The participants completed the survey that included the study’s measures of interest after viewing the posts for as long as they wanted. The entire process took approximately 10 min on average.
Measures
To measure the different constructs, scales adapted from the literature were adopted (Table 1). HV was assessed with a four-item scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.878) adapted from Barcelos et al. (2018) and SB was assessed with a four-item scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.865) adapted from Evans et al. (2017), each measured on a five-point Likert scale, anchored by 1 = “strongly disagree” and 5 = “strongly agree”.
Mediator variable and independent variable
| Variable | Measurement items | Alpha |
|---|---|---|
| Hedonic value (adapted from Barcelos et al., 2018) | – I enjoyed spending time on the profile of the tourist destination | 0.878 |
| – Visiting the profile of the tourist destination was a pleasant experience | ||
| – Compared to other things I could have done, being on the profile of the tourist destination was really enjoyable | ||
| – I liked visiting the profile of the tourist destination for the pleasure of doing so, not just for the useful information I found | ||
| (1–5: strongly disagree – strongly agree) | ||
| Sharing behaviour (adapted from Evans et al., 2017) | – I am interested in sharing these posts with my friends on Instagram | 0.865 |
| – I am interested in sharing my experience with this tourist destination with my friends on Instagram | ||
| – I am willing to spread word-of-mouth about this tourist destination on my Instagram page | ||
| – I am willing to share these posts of the tourist destination on my Instagram profile | ||
| (1–5: strongly disagree – strongly agree) |
Methods of data analysis
Regression analysis, two-way ANOVAs and Hayes (2015) tests of mediation (Process Model 4) and moderated mediation (Process Model 7) were used to test the hypotheses. Data analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA; Release 28.00).
Results
Respondent characteristics
The final sample comprised 400 participants who completed the questionnaire. The participants’ average age was 27 years, ranging from 17 to 65 years; 269 (67.25%) were women, 129 (32.25%) were men and two (0.50%) preferred not to answer. A majority of participants (56.00%) declared that they spent, on average, less than one hour a day on social media, 25.00% spent one to two hours and 19.00% spent more than two hours. The analysis of the demographic data and time spent on social media demonstrated homogeneity among the groups as well as heterogeneity within each group for these characteristics (see details in Table 2).
Participants’ demographic characteristics and time spent on social media in the four conditions
| Experimental condition* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 31 | 35 | 33 | 30 | 129 |
| Female | 69 | 64 | 67 | 69 | 269 |
| Prefer not to say | / | 1 | / | 1 | 2 |
| Age | |||||
| 17–24 | 28 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 114 |
| 25–34 | 62 | 61 | 59 | 60 | 242 |
| 35–65 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 44 |
| Average daily time spent on social media | |||||
| < 1 h | 54 | 56 | 60 | 54 | 224 |
| 1–2 h | 27 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 100 |
| > 2 h | 19 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 76 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 400 |
Note(s):
*1 = corporate ToV and tangible cultural heritage dimension; 2 = corporate ToV and intangible cultural heritage dimension; 3 = human ToV and tangible cultural heritage dimension; 4 = human ToV and intangible cultural heritage dimension
Tests of hypotheses
First, the regression analysis determined that the impact of ToV on HV was significant [β = 0.532, p < 0.001; F(1, 398) = 44.063, p < 0.001]. Results from a two-way independent ANOVA showed a significant main effect of ToV on HV [MCorporate = 3.101, SD = 0.83; MHuman = 3.634, SD = 0.78; F(1, 396) = 44.379, p < 0.001]. Hence, the human ToV has a greater effect on HV than the corporate ToV, regardless of the type of cultural heritage dimensions. Based on these results, H1 is supported.
A mediation (i.e. Model 4, 5000 bootstrap samples) analysis was then performed employing Hayes (2015) process macro v4.2. Tone of voice was taken as an independent variable, hedonic value as a mediator and sharing behaviour as a dependent variable. Table 3 lists the output specifications. The model revealed that HV derived from the online consumer experience positively predicts SB (β = 0.9123, p = 0.0000). Based on these results, H2 is supported. The exclusion of zero from the confidence interval for the indirect effect indicated that HV mediates the relationship between ToV and SB (β = 0.4858, CI 95% [0.3419; 0.6438]). Hence, H3 is supported. The direct effect of ToV on SB was not significant (β = 0.0030, p = 0.9689), suggesting a full mediation (Baron and Kenny, 1986).
Results of the mediation analysis
| Consequent | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedonic value | Sharing behaviour | |||||
| Antecedent | Coeff | SE | p | Coeff | SE | p |
| Constant | 2.5688 | 0.1268 | 0.0000 | −0.2559 | 0.1621 | 0.1152 |
| Tone of voice | 0.5325 | 0.0802 | 0.0000 | 0.0030 | 0. 0758 | 0.9689 |
| Hedonic value | - | - | - | 0.9123 | 0.0450 | 0.0000 |
| R2 = 0.0997 | R2 = 0.5356 | |||||
| F(1,398) = 44.0632, p = 0.0000 | F(2,397) = 228.9476, p = 0.0000 | |||||
| Total, direct and indirect effects of Tone of voice on Sharing behaviour | ||||||
| Total effect of Tone of voice on Sharing behaviour | Effect | SE | t | p | LLCI | ULCI |
| 0.4888 | 0.1026 | 4.7653 | 0.0000 | 0.2871 | 0.6904 | |
| Direct effect of Tone of voice on Sharing behaviour | Effect | SE | t | p | LLCI | ULCI |
| 0.0030 | 0. 0758 | 0.0391 | 0.9689 | −0.1461 | 0.1520 | |
| Indirect effect of Tone of voice on Sharing behaviour | Effect | BootSE | BootLLCI | BootULCI | ||
| Hedonic value | 0.4858 | 0.0768 | 0.3419 | 0.6438 | ||
To examine H4 and H5, a moderated mediation (i.e. Model 7, 5000 bootstrap samples) analysis was carried out with Hayes (2015) process macro v4.2. Tone of voice was included as an independent variable, the type of cultural heritage dimensions as a moderator, hedonic value as a mediator and sharing behaviour as a dependent variable. Table 4 lists the details of the output.
Results of the moderated mediation analysis
| Mediator variable model (Hedonic value) | β | SE | t | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constant | 1.8450 | 0.3997 | 4.6163 | 0.0000 |
| Tone of voice | 1.0500 | 0.2528 | 4.1539 | 0.0000 |
| Type of cultural heritage dimension | 0.4825 | 0.2528 | 1.9088 | 0.0570 |
| Interaction: Tone of voice × Type of cultural heritage dimension | −0.3450 | 0.1599 | −2.1580 | 0.0315 |
| Conditional effects of the focal predictor (Tone of voice) at values of the moderator (Type of cultural heritage dimension) | β | SE | p | 95% CI |
| Tangible | 0.7050 | 0.1130 | 0.0000 | [0.4828; 0.9272] |
| Intangible | 0.3600 | 0.1130 | 0.0016 | [0.1378; 0.5822] |
| Dependent variable model (Sharing behaviour) | β | SE | t | p |
| Constant | −0.2559 | 0.1621 | −1.5787 | 0.1152 |
| Hedonic value | 0.9123 | 0.0450 | 20.2917 | 0.0000 |
| Tone of voice (direct effect) | 0.0030 | 0.0758 | 0.0391 | 0.9689 |
| Conditional indirect effects of Tone of voice on Sharing behaviour | β | SE | 95% CI | |
| Mediator | Moderating variable (Type of cultural heritage dimension) | |||
| Hedonic value | Tangible | 0.6432 | 0.1040 | [0.4439; 0.8490] |
| Hedonic value | Intangible | 0.3284 | 0.1100 | [0.1159; 0.5498] |
| Index of moderated mediation | ||||
| Type of cultural heritage dimension | −0.3147 | 0.1474 | [−0.6025; −0.0327] | |
To explore the potential moderation, the interaction effect was examined; the mediator variable model showed a significant interaction between the type of cultural heritage dimensions and ToV on HV, at a 0.05 level of significance (β = −0.3450, p = 0.0315). Therefore, the type of cultural heritage dimensions moderates the impact of ToV on HV. The simple slopes revealed that this impact was significant for both tangible (β = 0.7050, p = 0.0000) and intangible cultural heritage dimensions (β = 0.3600, p = 0.0016). To explore this further, a two-way independent ANOVA was carried out. The results showed that when tangible cultural heritage dimensions were communicated in the post, the effects on HV were significantly different between corporate and human ToV [MCorporate = 3.033, SD = 0.79; MHuman = 3.738, SD = 0.74; F(1, 396) = 38.894, p < 0.001]. The effects were also significantly different in the intangible cultural heritage dimensions condition [MCorporate = 3.17, SD = 0.87; MHuman = 3.53, SD = 0.80; F(1, 396) = 10.142, p = 0.002]. This interaction effect is portrayed in Figure 2, which graphically illustrates that a conversational human voice results in a higher perceived hedonic value than the corporate tone, for both tangible and intangible heritage dimensions. However, the steepest slopes were observed for consumers exposed to tangible heritage dimensions. In summary, the effect of ToV on HV is moderated by the type of cultural heritage dimensions. This effect was found to be weaker for intangible cultural heritage dimensions; consequently, H4 is not supported.
A two-line interaction graph shows the vertical axis labelled Hedonic value and the horizontal axis labelled Tone of voice, with two categories: Corporate and Human. The vertical axis ranges from three point zero zero to three point eight zero, marked at three point zero zero, three point two zero, three point four zero, three point six zero and three point eight zero. Two lines represent Type of cultural heritage dimension, identified in a legend as Tangible and Intangible. For the Corporate tone of voice, the Tangible condition is plotted at approximately three point one five, while the Intangible condition is plotted at approximately three point zero five. For the Human tone of voice, the Tangible condition is plotted at approximately three point five five, while the Intangible condition is plotted at approximately three point seven five. Both lines slope upwards from Corporate to Human, with a steeper increase for the Intangible condition.Moderating role of type of heritage cultural dimension
A two-line interaction graph shows the vertical axis labelled Hedonic value and the horizontal axis labelled Tone of voice, with two categories: Corporate and Human. The vertical axis ranges from three point zero zero to three point eight zero, marked at three point zero zero, three point two zero, three point four zero, three point six zero and three point eight zero. Two lines represent Type of cultural heritage dimension, identified in a legend as Tangible and Intangible. For the Corporate tone of voice, the Tangible condition is plotted at approximately three point one five, while the Intangible condition is plotted at approximately three point zero five. For the Human tone of voice, the Tangible condition is plotted at approximately three point five five, while the Intangible condition is plotted at approximately three point seven five. Both lines slope upwards from Corporate to Human, with a steeper increase for the Intangible condition.Moderating role of type of heritage cultural dimension
Then, the analysis focused on testing the moderated mediation. To determine whether the indirect effect of ToV on SB through HV varied across different levels of the moderator, conditional indirect effects were analysed. The index of moderated mediation was significant (β = −0.3147, CI 95% [−0.6025; −0.0327]), indicating that the mediating role of HV is moderated by the type of cultural heritage dimensions (Hayes, 2015). Specifically, the analysis showed that the conditional indirect effects were statistically different between tangible (β = 0.6432, CI 95% [0.4439; 0.8490]) and intangible (β = 0.3284, CI 95% [0.1159; 0.5498]) cultural heritage dimensions. In essence, HV plays a crucial mediating role in understanding the influence of ToV on SB and is conditional on the type of cultural heritage dimensions. In the case of tangible cultural heritage dimensions, the indirect effect of ToV was found to be positive: relative to the corporate ToV, the human ToV resulted in a higher HV, which in turn translated to greater SB. When the type of cultural heritage dimensions was intangible, the indirect effect was positive but weaker. As the indirect effect of ToV on SB through HV was weaker for intangible cultural heritage dimensions, H5 is not supported.
Discussion and conclusions
Main findings and implications
Since the beginning of the 21st century, user-generated content has emerged as a major topic in the tourism destination marketing literature. Studies have analysed the usage of photos and their connection with destination attractiveness, destination image and as a source of insights into tourists’ behavioural patterns (e.g. Giglio et al., 2019; Van der Zee and Bertocchi, 2018; Zain et al., 2024). The present study restores attention to the active role of tourism destinations in shaping users’ online engagement behaviours by analysing the impact of communication styles and content used on social media. Hence, from a theoretical standpoint, this study echoes Leung et al. (2019) call for deeper insights into social media marketing from a tourism supply-side perspective.
This study investigated whether the impact of tone of voice on sharing behaviour is mediated by the hedonic value perceived by consumers and whether this indirect effect is moderated by the type of cultural heritage dimensions discussed in the social media post. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to examine the relationships among these constructs considering tourism destination brands. This study contributes to tourism destination branding literature by advancing the understanding of the causal process that leads to consumers’ increased tendency to share. This understanding is relevant from the brand-building process perspective, given that destination branding strategies are acknowledged as co-creative efforts involving multiple stakeholders (e.g. Mandagi and Centeno, 2024). Consequently, by providing insights into consumer engagement, this study contributes to the theoretical discourse on fruitful collaboration among stakeholders.
The results of the 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design show that the use of a conversational human voice on social media generates a higher level of hedonic value for the consumer as opposed to a formal corporate voice; in turn, the increased hedonic value positively influences the consumer’s sharing behaviour. Moreover, the results show that the effect of tone of voice on consumer's sharing behaviour operates through hedonic value. The findings on the role of the conversational human voice in enhancing the hedonic outcomes of the online consumer experience are consistent with those of Barcelos et al. (2019, 2018) in the hospitality industry. Thus, this study confirms that a human ToV plays an important role in boosting consumers’ hedonic value, a conclusion that applies equally to tourism destination brands. Providing evidence for the positive mediating effect of hedonic value on the relationship between tone of voice and consumers’ sharing behaviour, the findings of the study reinforce existing knowledge on the role of perceived enjoyment in shaping consumers’ responses to marketing stimuli (Ma et al., 2018; Van der Heijden, 2004; Yoo et al., 2014).
In addition, the results underscore the interplay between “how to communicate” and “what to communicate”. The study demonstrates that the type of cultural heritage dimensions (the “what”) moderates the relationship between tone of voice (the “how”) and hedonic value. The hedonic value was higher when a human tone of voice was used (compared with a corporate tone of voice), regardless of whether the cultural heritage dimensions communicated in the post were tangible or intangible. This positive effect of the human tone of voice on hedonic value, and thus, on sharing behaviour, was stronger for tangible cultural heritage dimensions than for intangible ones. This result contrasts with what was expected, based on the greater impression of entertainment that is typically ascribed to intangible cultural heritage dimensions (Qiu et al., 2022). The expected interplay between the conversational human voice and the engaging aspects of the intangible heritage dimensions did not occur. Conversely, contrary to expectations, the positive influence of the conversational human voice on consumers’ hedonic value and, therefore, on sharing behaviour was heightened when the message highlighted the tangible cultural heritage dimensions. One potential explanation for this finding may be that individuals are accustomed to seeing tangible cultural heritage dimensions described in a formal manner, such as in educational settings, tourist guides and art history books. Consequently, a message that conveys these dimensions in a conversational/informal manner may prove to be a surprising and welcome deviation from the “standard”, thus enhancing the perceived enjoyment. This aligns with the common assumption that novelty is directly related to hedonic value (Berlyne, 1970).
From a managerial standpoint, this study’s findings are significant for promoting tourism destination brands, given that “in the dynamic landscape of social media, passive content consumption is no longer sufficient” (Bastrygina et al., 2024, p. 235). In this context, the ability to foster consumers’ sharing behaviour can maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of tourism destination brands’ social media investments by broadening the reach and trustworthiness of the shared content (Vinh and Phuong, 2020). From this perspective, the findings of the study are of interest to DMOs, who are responsible for the narrative of tourism destination brands and are in control of the content and communication styles used in social media communication. Destination branding strategies typically leverage both tangible and intangible cultural heritage dimensions. When these assets are highlighted to foster consumers’ sharing behaviour, the study’s findings show that increasing consumers’ enjoyment and entertainment is relevant. In that context, a conversational human voice, rather than a corporate voice, should be used because it leads to better results. Further, the best outcomes are achieved when a conversational human voice is used to communicate tangible cultural heritage dimensions.
This study’s findings hold significance also in guiding marketing managers of specific cultural tourism resources (for example, a given monument or cultural event). Peco-Torres et al. (2021) stated that these resources demand effective strategies to actively foster online consumer engagement. In this regard, the present study identifies the adoption of a conversational human voice as an effective way to engage consumers on social media platforms.
Limitations and future research
Like all empirical research, this study is not without limitations which point to areas for future research on topics of interest to both academics and DMO professionals. The first set of limitations is related to the research sample. Convenience sampling was used in the present study. Future research could adopt a more systematic approach for recruiting participants. Participants in the current study had never visited Valencia; however, familiarity with the destination was not taken into account. Future studies could deepen the understanding of the effects explored here by considering different levels of individual knowledge. Second, this study was based on Valencia, which is not a top global tourism destination. It would be beneficial to investigate whether the relationships reported here also hold significance for destinations that stand out in terms of awareness and uniqueness of their tourist attractions. Third, the manipulation considered the textual aspect of social media posts, with the visual aspect held constant across experimental conditions. Moreover, textual manipulation was not replicated. Given the variety of possibilities for a conversational human voice, future research might replicate this study using different textual approaches. Further insights may be derived from manipulating the visual aspect to analyse the potential interplay between the textual and visual elements of a post in driving consumers’ sharing behaviour. A further limitation is the “instantaneous” nature of the study. According to Vinh and Phuong (2020), online consumer engagement behaviours also depend on the duration of the brand–user relationship. A longitudinal study exposing consumers to multiple stimuli for an extended period could yield a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Finally, future research could investigate whether ToV and its interplay with the type of cultural heritage dimensions impact outcome variables other than hedonic value and sharing behaviour.
References
Appendix
Each post includes a collage image with the word Valencia overlaid and photographs of the cathedral exterior, bell tower, interior ceiling and sculpture, followed by standard Instagram icons for like, comment, share and save, the account name, and a caption. The left caption uses a corporate tone of voice, describing the cathedral's consecration in one thousand two hundred and thirty-eight, its Gothic, Romanesque and Baroque elements, the Holy Grail in the Chapel of the Holy Grail, and the climb of two hundred and seven steps to the Miguelete bell tower. The right caption uses a human tone of voice, addressing followers directly, inviting exploration of the cathedral, referencing the Holy Grail and architectural features, and encouraging the climb of two hundred and seven steps to the Miguelete, with emoji symbols included.Extract from the fictitious profile: post examples for tangible cultural heritage dimension (formal ToV on the left; human ToV on the right)
Each post includes a collage image with the word Valencia overlaid and photographs of the cathedral exterior, bell tower, interior ceiling and sculpture, followed by standard Instagram icons for like, comment, share and save, the account name, and a caption. The left caption uses a corporate tone of voice, describing the cathedral's consecration in one thousand two hundred and thirty-eight, its Gothic, Romanesque and Baroque elements, the Holy Grail in the Chapel of the Holy Grail, and the climb of two hundred and seven steps to the Miguelete bell tower. The right caption uses a human tone of voice, addressing followers directly, inviting exploration of the cathedral, referencing the Holy Grail and architectural features, and encouraging the climb of two hundred and seven steps to the Miguelete, with emoji symbols included.Extract from the fictitious profile: post examples for tangible cultural heritage dimension (formal ToV on the left; human ToV on the right)
Each includes a collage image with the word Valencia overlaid and photographs of festival sculptures and city landmarks, followed by standard Instagram icons and a caption. The left caption adopts a corporate tone of voice, describing Las Fallas as a traditional festival in honour of Saint Joseph, held annually from March fifteen to March nineteen, recognised as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation World Heritage Site in two thousand and sixteen, and explaining the creation and burning of ninots on March nineteen. The right caption adopts a human tone of voice, directly addressing readers, inviting them to experience fireworks, sculptures and celebrations, explaining that one ninot is saved by public vote, and describing parades, music and neighbourhood pride, with emoji symbols included.Extract from the fictitious profile: post examples for intangible cultural heritage dimension (formal ToV on the left; human ToV on the right)
Each includes a collage image with the word Valencia overlaid and photographs of festival sculptures and city landmarks, followed by standard Instagram icons and a caption. The left caption adopts a corporate tone of voice, describing Las Fallas as a traditional festival in honour of Saint Joseph, held annually from March fifteen to March nineteen, recognised as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation World Heritage Site in two thousand and sixteen, and explaining the creation and burning of ninots on March nineteen. The right caption adopts a human tone of voice, directly addressing readers, inviting them to experience fireworks, sculptures and celebrations, explaining that one ninot is saved by public vote, and describing parades, music and neighbourhood pride, with emoji symbols included.Extract from the fictitious profile: post examples for intangible cultural heritage dimension (formal ToV on the left; human ToV on the right)
