Social Recommendation Framework: A Case Study of Chinese Long-Stayers in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai (CNX), a popular city in northern Thailand, has attracted an increasing number of Chinese visitors to stay for a long term for diverse purposes, which facilitates local economic and cultural development. As social networks (SNs) are widely used to disseminate information and accelerate problem-solving, social recommendations (SRs) can be generated correspondingly to address the diverse and dynamic long-term residential demands of Chinese users in a multicultural context. This research aims to develop an SN-based recommendation framework for Chinese long-stayers in CNX to address the social recommendation problems for target long-stay users in a cross-cultural context. This paper employed a mixed-method research design based on the knowledge management processes to acquire, store, share and apply knowledge needed for SN analysis. The results showed that the proposed framework effectively provides filtering and efficient SRs that enable Chinese users to make decisions and formulate strategies during their long-term residence in CNX. The preliminary work also illustrates the positive impact of individual demographic and SN characteristics on the performance of SRs that researchers and practitioners need to develop innovative business and management strategies regarding Chinese long-stayers in a cross-cultural context. Further studies are required to identify additional factors to enhance the effectiveness and utility of SRs for Chinese long-term residents in a cross-cultural environment.