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Travel-Related Influencer Content on Instagram: How Social Media Fuels Wanderlust and How to Mitigate the Effect

Author

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  • Björn Asdecker

    (Department of Business Administration, University of Bamberg, 96045 Bamberg, Germany)

Abstract

Tremendous efforts will be required in the coming decades to limit the harmful effects of climate change. This includes travel behavior, which not only has a significant impact on climate but also affects the perceived justice and trust necessary to manage the transition to net zero successfully. Technologies such as social media can promote behavioral change; unfortunately, also for the negative. Drawing on social comparison theory, social identity theory, and the theory of planned behavior, this study uses a PLS-SEM model to investigate if and under which circumstances exposure to travel-related content posted by professional influencers affects their followers’ travel intentions. It extends previous studies by explicitly focusing on influencers that use Instagram to make a living and considers the effect of pro-environmental attitudes. On the one hand, it shows that influencers are not only responsible for their travel behavior. Their content stimulates their audiences’ wanderlust through benign envy. On the other hand, the study suggests that reinforcing pro-environmental attitudes can help mitigate the negative climate effects of imitating influencer travel behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Björn Asdecker, 2022. "Travel-Related Influencer Content on Instagram: How Social Media Fuels Wanderlust and How to Mitigate the Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:855-:d:723254
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    Cited by:

    1. Sánchez-Amboage, Eva & Castellanos-García, Pablo & Crespo-Pereira, Verónica, 2024. "Traveler segmentation through Instagram Fashion Influencers. Mirror Tourist as a new segment consumer group," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Leonardo Ventimiglia & Linda Soma & Francesca Cellina, 2024. "The Long Road to Low-Carbon Holidays: Exploring Holiday-Making Behaviour of People Living in a Middle-Sized Swiss City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-25, July.
    3. Katharina Voltmer & Maria von Salisch, 2023. "Promoting Subjective Well-Being and a Sustainable Lifestyle in Children and Youth by Strengthening Their Personal Psychological Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Jeou-Shyan Horng & Chih-Hsing Liu & Sheng-Fang Chou & Tai-Yi Yu & Da-Chian Hu, 2022. "Marketing Management in the Hotel Industry: A Systematic Literature Review by Using Text Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Asmussen, Katherine E. & Mondal, Aupal & Bhat, Chandra R. & Pendyala, Ram M., 2023. "On modeling future workplace location decisions: An analysis of Texas employees," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).

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