Open AccessInstagram: Balancing Information Asymmetry of the Tourism Industry
Author(s) -
Josué Gutiérrez Barroso,
Alberto Javier Báez García,
Francisco Flores Muñoz,
Diego Valentinetti
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
scientific annals of economics and business
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 2501-3165
pISSN - 2501-1960
DOI - 10.47743/saeb-2021-0025
Subject(s) - conversation , tourism , business , information asymmetry , marketing , explanatory model , industrial organization , destination management , destinations , economics , sociology , political science , finance , philosophy , communication , epistemology , law
This study focuses on the use of Instagram by tourism companies. Specifically, it aims to analyze how Instagram empowers individuals over corporations in the digital dialogue, thus balancing the information asymmetry between corporations and stakeholders. Four categories of metrics have been collected to analyze the use of Instagram by companies: presence, impact, conversation, and influence. Additionally, OLS regressions have been performed to identify potential explanatory factors to explain the different behavior of each firm and its corresponding communities. While the use of Instagram by the selected firms is still scarce, significant results are as follows: corporations are using Instagram as an additional channel in their current communication; some explanatory factors account for significant differences in countries, size, and industries; and users are somehow reactive to the stream of pictures and texts disclosed by firms. The presence and impact of companies on Instagram are a highly important source for driving stakeholders’ conversation within the digital arena.