online social networks as a driver of social travel- can social networking sites increase travel...
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study was conducted in order to determine whether or not online social
networking sites (SNS) influence social travel. The research focused on student travel
because it had emerged as a popular travel segment which had increased alongside
sharp rises in overseas education throughout the 1990’s.
The research adopted a positivist hypothesis building approach using quantitative
questionnaire data provided by 80 Coventry University overseas students. Non-
probability convenience sampling was used to avoid the bias associated with selecting
samples; the respondents in this study were selected randomly and upon their
immediate availability to participate in the survey.
The research draws attention to the fact that emotional transfer on online social
networks are more restrictive than traditional social networks, overseas friends are
also likely to arrange travel meet-ups if they keep in contact using a social networking
site. In addition, travel desire can be caused by looking at holiday photographs;
however, students do not tend to travel to the others home country because they are
more likely to travel overseas together as mutual tourists.
The findings suggest that SNS makes social networks visible in online space, overseas
friends that may tend to be forgotten about with time, are now an apparent connection
that requires social stimulus much like local friends. The research finds that the
student travel market is a lucrative segment and travel marketers need to align
themselves best with this target audience. As a new generation of higher education
students begin to encounter greater opportunities of making overseas friends, striking
advertisements that motivate travel conversation on SNS should be considered,
especially because SNS provides a trusted form of knowledge transfer between
friends.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Despite being in theory the easiest part of the dissertation to write, I have had a rather
difficult time constructing this chapter! Since completing this study I have glanced
back and forth at my previous dissertation’s rather short and formal
acknowledgements chapter. I remember it being difficult to write back then because
to be honest I didn’t quite know who to thank, but this time around I have so many
people to thank and for that reason this chapter has still been difficult to write!
Firstly I would like to start with preliminary acknowledgements for Pete, James and
Ali who I have been good friends with since meeting back in 2005, and this year we
should all finally be graduating. Also Hon who gave me the push in needed to study
Msc International Business when all I could think about was how much it was all
going to cost. I would also like to thank Ina and Pauline who were kind enough to
hold the last room available at Liberty Park for me whilst I struggled to find a
guarantor’s signature due to my family being in Hong Kong! I am also grateful to my
Aunt and Uncle who have been taking care of my mother and her recent bouts of
depression
My gratitude from an academic standpoint goes out to Dr. Emanuel Gomes, Suresh
George and Mark Hayles who have provided me with a new set of lenses for
approaching new career paths. I would also like to thank Dr. Steve Jewell and Marie
Hardie for providing very helpful dissertation workshops and seminars.
My personal thanks goes out to the September 2009 Msc International Business
cohort who have provided me with a foundation of knowledge, cultural insight and
support in many academic and non academic related areas.
Finally I would like to thank all of the respondents who took part in this study and
also my Supervisor: Heitham Al-Hajieh who supported and educated me throughout
the meticulous drafting and re-drafting of this dissertation.
p.s. Thanks to my brother David who took on the role of grammar checker / troll!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... III
TABLES & FIGURES ............................................................................................................ V
1. BACKGROUND TO STUDY ................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Research Questions & Objectives ....................................................................... 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 3
2.1. Background to Social Interaction ........................................................................ 3 2.1.2. Traditional Social Networks ......................................................................... 4 2.1.3. Social Behaviour within Traditional Social Networks ................................. 4 2.1.4. Communicating Irony .................................................................................. 5 2.1.5. The disparities of CMC and FtF as a Communication Platform .................. 5 2.1.6. The Evolution of CMC ................................................................................. 7
2.2. Background to Online Social Networking .......................................................... 7 2.2.1. Social Networking sites ................................................................................ 8 2.2.2. The use of Photographs as a Communication Tool ...................................... 8
2.3. Social Networking over Distances ...................................................................... 8 2.3.1. Overseas students ......................................................................................... 9 2.3.2. Network capital ............................................................................................ 9
2.4. The Role of Technology in Coordinating Face-to-Face Meetings .................... 10 2.4.1. Overlap between Social Networks ............................................................. 10 2.4.2. Macro-coordination and Micro-coordination ............................................. 11
2.5. The Travel Market ............................................................................................. 11 2.5.1. The Push & Pull Forces in Travel .............................................................. 12 2.5.2. Use of Social Networks in Travel .............................................................. 13 2.5.3. VFR Travel ................................................................................................. 14 2.5.4. VFR Travel from International Student Perspective .................................. 14
2.6. Summary ........................................................................................................... 15 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 16
3.1. Research Philosophy ......................................................................................... 16 3.2. Research Approach ........................................................................................... 17 3.3. Research Design ................................................................................................ 17
3.3.1. Research Strategy ....................................................................................... 18 3.3.2. Research Choice ......................................................................................... 18 3.3.3. Research Time Horizon .............................................................................. 19
3.4. Credibility of Research Findings ....................................................................... 19 3.5. Ethical Considerations to Research Design ....................................................... 20
4. DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................... 22
4.1. Sampling Process .............................................................................................. 22 4.1.1. Research Sample ........................................................................................ 23
4.2. Sampling Method .............................................................................................. 24 4.2.1. Non-probability Questionnaire Sampling .................................................. 25
5. DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS ......................................................................................... 26
5.1. Editing ............................................................................................................... 26
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5.2. Coding ............................................................................................................... 27 5.3. Sample Profile ................................................................................................... 27
5.3.1. Age & Gender Characteristics .................................................................... 29 5.3.2. Nationality .................................................................................................. 29 5.3.3. Finance ....................................................................................................... 30
5.4. Descriptive Analysis ......................................................................................... 31 5.5. Hypothesis Testing ............................................................................................ 33
5.5.1. Hypothesis 1: Social Behaviour transfer on SNS ....................................... 34 5.5.2. Hypothesis 2: Travel Coordination through SNS ...................................... 35 5.5.3. Hypothesis 3: Instilment of Travel Motivation through SNS use .............. 36 5.5.4. Hypothesis 4: Influence of Overseas Social Networks in Travel Destination ........................................................................................................... 37
5.6. Correlation Analysis .......................................................................................... 38 5.6.1. Additional Findings .................................................................................... 40
6. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 41
6.1. Limitations ........................................................................................................ 42 6.2. Recommendations ............................................................................................. 43 6.3. Implications ....................................................................................................... 44
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 46
8. APPENDIX .................................................................................................................... 50
SECTION A (GENERAL) ..................................................................................................... 51
SECTION B (TRAVEL) ...................................................................................................... 53
SECTION C (SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE) ............................................................................. 53
SECTION D (SOCIAL NETWORK CAPITAL) ............................................................................ 54
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TABLES & FIGURES
FIGURE 2.1. PROPORTION OF IRONIC TURNS PRODUCED IN FTF AND CMC SETTINGS ....................6
TABLE 2.1. USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TRAVEL COORDINATION..................................................11
FIGURE 2.2. INBOUND TOURISM STATISTICS, 2007................................................................12
FIGURE 2.3. MAIN MANIFESTATIONS OF ONLINE SOCIAL CAPITAL...........................................14
TABLE 2.2. WORLD ARRIVALS BY PURPOSE OF VISIT.............................................................14
FIGURE 3.1. THE RESEARCH ‘ONION’.................................................................................16
FIGURE 4. 1. POPULATION, SAMPLE AND INDIVIDUAL CASES.................................................23
FIGURE 5.1. TRAVEL PURPOSE...........................................................................................28
FIGURE 5.2. GENDER OF RESPONDENTS BY AGE....................................................................29
TABLE 5.1. RESPONDENT NATIONALITIES............................................................................30
TABLE 5.2. RECEIVING MONEY OUTSIDE UK BY EMPLOYMENT TYPE IN UK..............................30
TABLE 5.3. PERCEPTION OF RESPONDENTS TOWARDS SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES......................31
TABLE 5.4. PERCEPTION OF RESPONDENTS TOWARDS OVERSEAS TRAVEL...................................32
TABLE 5.5. SNS INFLUENCE ON SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR WITH TIME SPENT ON SNS PER DAY .........34
TABLE 5.6. ARRANGING OVERSEAS MEET-UPS WITH SNS MESSAGING USERS.............................35
TABLE 5.7. TRAVEL DESIRE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS WITH DISCUSSION OF TRAVEL ON SNS...........36
TABLE 5.8. OVERSEAS SOCIAL NETWORKS INFLUENCE ON SNS USERS TRAVEL DESTINATION......37
TABLE 5.9. CORRELATION OF HYPOTHESES USING SPEARMAN’S RHO.......................................39
FIGURE 8.1. ETHICS APPROVAL FORM................................................................................50
FIGURE 8.2. RESPONDENT SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................................51
TABLE 8.1. RULES OF CORRELATION COEFFICIENT SIZE........................................................55
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Acronym Definition
CMC Computer Mediated CommunicationFtF Face-to-Face communication
MPTM Mobile Phone Text MessageSNS Social Networking Service / Social Networking Site
VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives
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1. BACKGROUND TO STUDY Is there a difference between face-to-face (FtF) relationships and relationships
conducted through the internet? The purpose and research aim of this study has been
to build upon academic studies linking traditional social networking and social travel
together. Therefore, this study investigated the online social networking environment
and the travel motivations of students with overseas networks. Because only a few
research papers were available on the topic of online social networking, this study has
contributed to the gap in research whilst also entering new research territory by
investigating the travel motivations of an online social network.
1.1. IntroductionSocial network services or social networking sites (SNS) have taken the social
networking concept into a digital age where it has boomed in popularity since 2006
(American Library Association 2007). Online social networks are much more
complex than offline social networks; users are given the freedom to present
themselves however they see fit by creating profiles that can be optimised for social
or business purposes. The online presence of a user grows through the size of their
social network and the sharing of personal information such as photographs, messages
and common interests (Ahn et. al. 2007). In the digital age where the internet is
freely available, the ability to find friends and family anywhere across the world is
almost without limit; furthermore, as the world continues to undergo sustained
globalisation, time-space distanciation or the spatial stretching of social networks will
become increasingly common in our lives (Giddens 1990 cited in Larsen et. al. 2007).
It is in the 21st Century where the travel market has become increasingly relevant to
the study of social networking. An increasingly networked world makes it possible
for us to travel to foreign destinations to meet distant friends and family. Since 2008,
UK flights to Europe have been cut by four minutes and flights to New York have
been shortened by up to eighteen minutes (Wanderlust 2008). This may seem
minimal at first glance, but the ever shrinking travel time of air flights since the
1980’s has cheapened the cost of travel and also inspired the internationalisation of
countries and cultures. Continual improvements to the planning of flight routes has
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shortened network distances and contributed to the time-space compression
phenomena within society. Within the travel industry, the student demographic has
become a lucrative segment because they are the likeliest and most frequent overseas
travellers more so than any other demographic. Moreover, young adults make up
more than 20 percent of international arrivals (Kim et. al 2007) making the student
travel market a multibillion dollar business (Bywater 1993 cited in Chadee & Cutler
1996). The expansion of student travel is fuelled by the growth in university students,
a highly profitable target market for travel (Kim et. al. 2007). In the academic year of
2006/07, 15% of people studying in the UK for a degree in higher education were
international students (UKCISA 2007), this rising trend of students has allowed the
niche youth market to carve out a large segment in the current travel system (Wilson
2004 cited in Kim et. al. 2007).
1.2. Research Questions & ObjectivesThe research questions are as follows; these questions also form the hypotheses under
investigation:
1. Does a higher usage of SNS lead to an increased degree of emotional
detachment arising from a lack of FtF social transfer?
2. Can the SNS platform increase the accessibility for people to coordinate FtF
meet-ups with their overseas social network?
3. Are people instilled with the desire to travel from looking at photographs on
SNS where talk of travel more likely?
4. Are people who use SNS more attracted to travel destinations close to their
overseas social networks?
The following research objectives were used to answer the research questions, they
are:
1. To analyze the impact of SNS on the development and evolution of traditional
social networks
2. To analyze the effectiveness of SNS in the coordination of social gatherings
over international distances
3. To measure the effect that SNS has between people and their overseas social
network
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter brings together literature ranging from social psychology,
communication in society, computer-mediated communication, vacation marketing,
travel research, and tourism analysis. In this chapter many fields of research were
selected for review; this was because there was a lack of academic literature
surrounding social networks in the travel market.
Online social networking has only recently been recognised in academic circles as a
relevant research area, with Newsweek and Time magazine recognising in 2006 the
influence of social networking services on society (American Library Association
2007). This literature review is a synthesis of many fields of research thematically
related to the core of this project; it will attempt to fill the knowledge gap between
social networking and the travel market.
Omissions in literature have been made toward surface travel (such as road and rail)
and the wider travel market because the research focus was specifically on overseas
travel at a global scale.
The framework of this chapter will cover the following topics:
• Traditional social networking
• Online social networking
• Networking over long distances
• Using technology to coordinate meetings
• Travel in the context of VFR
2.1. Background to Social InteractionScientific studies of human behaviour have dated back to the 1950’s where the
physical and psychological similarly between rhesus monkeys to humans has enabled
us to conduct experiments for the purpose of better understanding our own traits in
social interaction. In these experiments infant monkeys possessed a strong emotional
bond to their mothers which limited social interaction from taking place outside of the
immediate family network (Suomi 2005). This serves the purpose of showing us how
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networking can start small but expand as we mature; however, will the introduction of
computer based technologies interfere with how our social network evolves? This
study will explore whether computers have a beneficial or adverse affect on the
development of social networks (as discussed in chapter 2. 1. 4).
2.1.2. Traditional Social NetworksA communication network is formed from a group of peers, this type of network
usually emerges out of circumstance (such as being work colleagues); however, this
can inevitably lead to peers discovering shared common interests or ideas (Coyle &
Vaughn 2008) which creates a level of social interaction and when maintained it can
form the basis of a social network.
Having active social relationships with other humans is a survival trait which is
important for our health and wellbeing because humans survive through unity;
furthermore, we are able to offer emotional support such as encouragement, empathy
and wise counsel to each other (Coyle & Vaughn 2008; Ramsey 2004). Social
networks are also reliant upon a certain degree of reciprocity between peers where
giving and receiving time and friendship is very important.
2.1.3. Social Behaviour within Traditional Social NetworksBond’s (2008) research into the social behaviour of traditional social networks
investigated the theory of how human behaviour is shaped by other humans within
their social network. Such examples included the effect on mood such as happiness
and depression, personal tastes in music or food, and habits such as smoking. His
review of literature concluded that the strength of our social network seemed to
reinforce our health and state of mind in the long-term. Furthermore, our friends and
their friends social network indirectly affected our network, highlighting the
interconnected nature of multiple social networks.
Bond’s theory was inductive in reasoning because it was based on secondary research;
however, his theory was important for this study because it argued that short network
distance and frequent social contact were important for acquiring social behaviour
from others. This raised the question of whether or not our social behaviour could be
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influenced by social networks arising from mobile and internet communication
technologies. Therefore, one of the research aims of this study was to identify
whether friends in online social networks (to be discussed in chapter 2. 1. 4) could
indeed influence the social behaviour of others.
2.1.4. Communicating IronyNetworking via Computer mediated communication (CMC) on the internet has fast
become a necessary substitute in the absence of FtF communication. However,
computer conversations are complex in understanding because sometimes in a
conversation what is said is intentionally meant not to be true. For example, after a
disappointing meal at a high class restaurant “one friend smiles and says to the other,
‘Well that may be the best meal I’ve had in years!” (Hancock 2004). The smile and
the presence of a linguistic cue would have alerted the friend to the ironic undertone
of what was just said.
In a CMC environment, because irony is conveyed only when the other person
interprets the statement as lie, there is a high risk for ironic statements to be
misinterpreted as true because the information is miscommunicated or misinterpreted.
In FtF settings, changes in vocal tone or speed, expressions of laughter, hand gestures
(Anolli et. al. 2000; Bryant & Fox Tree 2002; Capelli et. al. 1990; Cutler 1974; Gibbs
2000; Haiman 1998; Milosky & Ford 1997; Rockwell 2000 cited in Hancock 2004)
and facial expressions, such as smiling, eyebrow-raising (Coates 1991; Haiman 1998;
Kreuz 1996 cited in Hancock 2004) are used to convey the notion of irony.
2.1.5. The disparities of CMC and FtF as a Communication PlatformCMC speakers do not share the same physical space as each other so physical
expressions of irony are limited; however, text based signals such as “amplifiers,
ellipsis, punctuation (e. g. , “!!!” or *lovely*); emoticons [e. g. , “”] and adapted
vocal signals (e. g. , “haha” “mmmmmyum”)” have emerged from the once limiting
communication medium (Hancock 2004: 453).
Hancock’s (2004) study into the use of irony found that there were differences in its
rate of usage between the two communication platforms. Participants were paired
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into groups of two and were ask to complete a set of tasks designed to elicit the use of
irony. Half of the cohort completed the tasks in an FtF setting, with the other half
being allowed only to use CMC. The results found that’s CMC groups favoured the
use of irony when completing the tasks more so than the FtF groups. However, it is
mentioned that the research may be flawed because CMC groups used irony knowing
that repercussions would never need to be confronted in an FtF setting whilst the FtF
group wanted to make a good first impression on each other; therefore, the first time
meeting situation may have influenced the outcome of the result.
Hancock’s research does however show that the FtF setting fostered a situation where
politeness was factored into the equation in order to avoid offending other people
(especially when making first impressions), on the other hand, CMC raised a barrier
which negated first impression politeness and fostered humour instead. This is more
apparent when the communication barrier makes being oneself hard to convey; in its
place, irony is used to compensate. From figure 2.1 it is clear to see that human
characteristics changed according to the communication environment.
FIGURE 2.1. PROPORTION OF IRONIC TURNS PRODUCED IN FTF AND CMC SETTINGS
(Hancock 2004)
Hancock’s study showed that when CMC was used in conjunction with FtF
communication, it complimented increased the social connectivity of a social
network. Because this study was concerned with the differences between the two
communication mediums, Hancock’s research highlighted the change in ones
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personality when in an FtF setting or a CMC environment. His research also showed
the dangers of CMC if it were to be used as a long-term substitute for FtF
communication. This was because CMC personality may give rise to potential
conflict between friendships established by means of FtF communication; the effect
may result in a sense of disconnect between friends.
2.1.6. The Evolution of CMCThe social networking site (SNS) platform closes the gap between FtF and CMC
because it combines macro-coordination with micro-coordination by fostering a
conversational communication environment where the communication is relaxed.
Response time is not instant but because of a highly networked society of blackberries
and 3G, it can be much shorter than expected. Thereby bridging the awkwardness of
long pauses found in traditional forms of CMC. The SNS platform also creates a
personal online space to be shared with friends where photographs are used as a
communicative tool to express personality; this is an intangible trait which is lost,
modified or poorly expressed in the common CMC environment. However, because
social networking cannot replace the absence of voice and FtF communication (Coyle
& Vaughn 2008); the need for travel is required to reinforce the FtF and emotional
ties lost through CMC.
2.2. Background to Online Social NetworkingSocial networking has moved from traditional methods towards an internet centric
method of networking. Internet messenger is used to chat directly to people in your
contact list. Over time, that list is built up and an online social network emerges. A
person’s contacts on internet messenger are likely to reflect their traditional social
network because ID’s (email addresses) need to be exchanged before someone can be
added to the contact list (Meng & Zuo 2008).
SNS such as Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo expand the internet communication
medium by allowing individuals to view one another’s social network (i.e. friends
list). Unlike internet messenger contacts, SNS features a public profile which allows
users to add a person as a contact despite not having met in person.
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2.2.1. Social Networking sitesA person’s online social network will tend to be larger than the size of a traditional
social network because the size of an internet community is much larger than the size
of a local community. Culture also plays a role in the size of a person’s online
community; for example, China’s conservative eastern culture is quite the opposite in
their online communities perhaps as a result of the “single child” generation, where
the younger generation prefer to extend their social network by making friends with
strangers in order to replicate a larger family-esque network (Meng & Zuo 2008).
2.2.2. The use of Photographs as a Communication ToolSNS can substitute forms of FtF presence; popular sites such as Facebook allow users
to maintain a constant presence in their social community using photographs that can
be uploaded onto an SNS and shared for friends to see. These photographs act as a
form of impersonal communication between SNS friends, by allowing online friends
to look and comment on photographs thereby reaffirming a reciprocal relationship i.e.
a participation in friendship.
Photographs posted on SNS can be used to maintain social capital which is generated
by keeping in contact with friends. In essence, a new form of communication has
emerged on the internet where the exchange of personal items such as sharing
photographs is now treated as a form of communication and social bonding; the key is
to keep a high level of presence online friends and contacts (Coyle & Vaughn 2008).
This lowers the barrier of communication for contacts that would normally shy away
from starting or responding to a conversation, these people now have the chance to
express themselves through photographs or commenting on the photographs of others
(Ellison et. al. 2007).
2.3. Social Networking over DistancesThe main advantage of SNS over traditional social networks is that it can be used to
keep in contact with friends and family who are living abroad, on holiday, studying
internationally or working internationally.
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SNS can prevent a sense of disconnect between friends, experienced in the absence of
any contact or relationship; however, SNS is not a permanent fix to the effects of long
distance relationships because the relationships we have with others are founded on
emotion, it is universal to satisfying our human needs (Daigremont et. al. 2008), so
does SNS bring people closer together or simply highlight the distance between one
another? This study aimed to answer this question by exploring overseas students and
their overseas social networks.
2.3.1. Overseas studentsStudents are deemed overseas students or international students when travelling from
their home country to an international country for the purpose of study; it is to reside
in a country or territory which is not a permanent residence (Taylor et. al. 2004).
These overseas students were a perfect cohort to study because they came from a
variety of cultural backgrounds and had the ability to create overseas friends;
therefore, international students were highly likely to possess a strong element of
network capital in their own social network.
2.3.2. Network capitalWhen a social network is spatially stretched across geographic distances, there is
network capital; because modern society is highly networked, the amount of social
ties we have that span over cities, countries and continents is also high (Larsen et. al.
2008).
People communicate with their social ties using the telephone, text messages, and the
internet when distance is too far and the barrier for FtF communication too high.
People also travel using cars or public travel such as trains and airplanes to see distant
friends (Larsen et. al. 2008); visiting friends and family is important in closing the
distance between network capital because it allows us to reconnect on a social level
which eliminates network distance and prevents a strong bond from becoming a weak
tie (Ellison et. al. 2007).
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2.4. The Role of Technology in Coordinating Face-to-Face Meetings
Ever since landline telephones have connected place-to-place, technology has closed
the gap on network distances. The telecommunication platform has evolved towards
the mobile and internet medium which has provided connectivity on a person-to-
person level. The email platform which was built from the inflexible nature of
traditional mail has increased the speed of delivering messages from sender to
recipient. This has created a platform for large-scale networking whereby a message
can be sent to multiple recipients who can then reply in a relatively short response
time. This has contributed in creating a flexible coordination environment where
meetings are no longer fixed to a date and can actually be made to revolve around
schedules and conflicts (Larsen et. al. 2008).
2.4.1. Overlap between Social NetworksIgarashi, Takai and Yoshida (2005 cited in Subrahmanyam et. al. 2008) investigated
the correlation between undergraduate Japanese students in their FtF social networks
and mobile phone text message (MPTM) mediated social networks. Their study
identified an overlap between the students’ FtF social network and MPTM social
network because MPTM was used for communicative support between close FtF
friends.
Subrahmanyam (2008) followed up these findings with university students in Los
Angeles. 131 participants answered questions in a laboratory and also a follow-up
online survey designed to calculate the overlap between friends in FtF
communication, instant messaging, and SNS. Instant messaging contacts were
reserved for the closest FtF friends (much like MPTM) with SNS contacts being
extended beyond friends. The research highlighted the interconnectivity that could
take place over multiple social networking platforms, the findings suggested that
MPTM and instant messaging was used for coordinating FtF meetings and social
gatherings in short distance settings. Therefore, one of the research aims of this study
was to investigate whether SNS could help in coordinating social gatherings over
international distances.
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2.4.2. Macro-coordination and Micro-coordinationTravel coordination can roughly be segregated into two categories as seen in table 2.
1. Macro-coordination and micro-coordination compliment each other when used for
arranging FtF meetings. Email is used for making general arrangements and
determining the availability of each individual whilst micro-coordination is used when
plans are finalised and the journey has begun. A male sales advisor says: “…The date
was arranged by email but [not] the finer details…when I was coming down, I’d be
texting my brother and my friends to say can you pick me up from here. If he can’t
do it, I’ll text the next one and so on…” (Larsen et. al. 2008: 651).
Table 2.1. Use of Technology in travel coordinationEmail / Internet (Macro-coordination) Mobile Phone (Micro-coordination)
Long distance communication Short distance communicationFormal / General Arrangements Informal / Finer Journey Details
Making Long-term Plans / Booking
Travel & Flights
Impulsive Plans / Modifying Plans
Texting / TalkingCompiled from Source (Larsen et. al. 2008)
2.5. The Travel MarketOutbound tourism is the tourism of residents outside of the country of reference;
inbound tourism is the tourism of non-residents to the country of reference (OECD
2001).
Tourism is the largest and fastest growing economic sector in the world; in 2005
international tourist arrivals were at 800 million, this grew to 900 million in 2007 and
it is expected to reach 1 billion by 2010 and 1. 6 billion by 2020 (WTO 2008). In
addition, student travellers have been increasing over the past decade and have
contributed to a significant sum of profits within the travel system (Kim 2007).
Student travel was once considered a small segment for the travel market; this travel
demographic emerged from the 1990’s as international education started to become a
highly valued export for many countries (Taylor et. al. 2004). Britain has become a
popular choice for international education where 40% of postgraduate students come
from overseas (Paton 2009).
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In recent years outbound tourism has been driven by emerging economies such as
Brazil, Russia, China and India (UNWTO 2009). Figure 2.2 highlights main the
motivations of inbound tourism with holidays and visiting friends and relatives (VFR)
representing a significant segment of tourism. Air travel is also the most favoured
method of transport, a statistic which is expected to gradually increase (WTO 2008).
Figure 2.2. Inbound tourism statistics, 2007
(WTO 2008)
2.5.1. The Push & Pull Forces in TravelPush forces are regarded as the desire for travel which occurs when people are
instilled with an internal desire to travel for many reasons such as personal escape,
adventure, and social interaction. Pull forces are associated with the choice of travel
destination which is an external force such as physical attractions and family which
ultimately brings the person to the destination. Push and pull forces act together and
motivate people to travel (Kim et. al. 2007).
Kim et. al. (2007) examined travel decision making behaviour by revising an older
model of push motives created by Cha et. al. (1995 cited in Kim et. al. 2007). Data
from Likert-scale questionnaires were collected from three public universities in the
Great Lakes area of the US.
The study showed that a student will be more influenced by factors such as “fun” and
“accessibility” and not by “friends” and “sports” this was regardless of the travel
destination being either domestic or international.
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Kim et. al.’s (2007) research placed emphasis on the motivations of the US travel
market and the travel decision making behaviour of students. Kim et. al.’s (2007
Likert-scale questionnaire provided this study with a strong methodological approach
to gathering data. Kim et. al. (2007) research also focused mostly on the domestic
travel of students which allowed this study to build on his findings by placing more
emphasis on the overseas travel market.
2.5.2. Use of Social Networks in TravelLarsen et. al. (2008) examined social networks and effect on travel destination choice
where he focused on social networks separated by long distance. The study was
highly qualitative with the core research being conducted through interviews. The
findings showed that when social networking was taken into consideration, the
obligatory and reciprocal nature of friendship was found to drive a person’s travel
destination choice towards a friend’s location because of host hospitality. In addition,
the attractiveness of the destination influenced the length of stay by VFR (Backer
2008).
However, the travel destination may not be a primary concern for travellers as long as
he/she is able to meet or travel with friends; most importantly, trust plays a key
component in travel decision making (Lai 2008). When combined with the flow and
knowledge transfer that social networking offers, it is easy to see the potential that
SNS have to provide trusted flows of knowledge transfer (figure 2. 3). This study
builds upon the theoretical underpinning of social networking and travel studies by
further investigating the relevance that SNS may indeed have on travel.
13
Figure 2.3. Main manifestations of Online Social Capital
(Lai 2008)
2.5.3. VFR TravelInternational students act as push and pull force for attracting VFR with the length of
stay being determined by the destination’s ability to offer pleasure based activities and
attractions (Backer 2008). Table 2. 2 highlights the increase in travel share VFR has
had from 19. 6% in 1990 to 25. 9% in 2004; conversely, leisure travel share has
decreased over the same ten year period.
Table 2.2. World Arrivals by purpose of visit
UNWTO 2005
2.5.4. VFR Travel from International Student PerspectiveHigher education students are a profitable market segment for leisure travel; however,
overseas students are able to influence tourism in a more precise manner because they
14
TrustKnowledge
Transfer
Flow
Decision Support
Knowledge Transfer + Trust = Decision Support
Flow is a mediator of Trust and Knowledge Transfer
have an overseas presence over family and friends; they can act as both a push and
pull force for VFR travel by being catalysts for family visits (Taylor et. al. 2004).
2.6. SummaryIt has been identified in former research literature that students are an important travel
market segment (Kim et. al. 2007, Chadee and Cutler 2009) especially international
students because they have the ability to attract VFR inbound travel from overseas
(Taylor et. al. 2004, Backer 2008).
Social networks play an essential role in group coordination (Larsen et. al. 2008;
Subrahmanyam et. al 2008) where SNS has expanded the reach of social networking
to international locations (Ellison et. al. 2007).
FtF communication is an important form of social bonding that CMC cannot replace
(Coyle & Vaughn 2008); with this in mind, can SNS be used as a tool for marketing
outbound VFR travel? This study contributes to the gap in research between SNS and
overseas travel by exploring overseas social networks; therefore, emphasis was placed
on the ‘overseas student’ where one in five degrees awarded by British universities
last year went to overseas students, with a majority of those degrees being at a
postgraduate level (Lipsett 2009). “International student numbers…are growing
strongly and will continue to do so” (Atkins 2009); therefore, overseas students were
used for this study to represent a student market with high network capital.
15
3. METHODOLOGY The research philosophy is concerned with the nature and the development of
knowledge related to field of research in this study. It is important to define the
research philosophy before continuing with any further study because the methods
used in the research strategy are heavily influenced by the research philosophy itself.
Figure 3 shows the research onion (Saunders et. al. 2007) which defines the key
aspects to undertaking a research based study; this chapter uses the research onion to
define the key objectives used in this study.
Figure 3.1. The Research ‘Onion’
(Saunders et. al. 2007)
3.1. Research PhilosophyThis study adopted a social constructionist approach to research, where social
phenomenon are considered to be created by personal perception; hence, the value of
a construct such as SNS and the social bonds attached to social networks are all
subject to the individual interpretation. These individuals perceive the value of SNS
differently in accordance with their own personal view of the world (Saunders et. al.
2007).
16
Taking the ideals of the social constructionist into consideration, a positivist
hypothesis building approach was adopted as a means of collecting research data to be
used for data analysis.
3.2. Research ApproachInductive reasoning or grounded theory was not considered for this study because
their theories get built following data analysis, thus inductive reasoning would rely
too heavily on building emerging concepts from current research. Since these
theories are built there would be a possibility that the researcher may need to conduct
a follow-up analysis if nil findings are produced.
Deductive reasoning or structured theory was used in this study because it allowed the
researcher to form a hypothesis from existing academic literature to be statistically
tested for acceptance. In addition, studies in the academic field are expanded using
deductive reasoning and it provides researchers with a clear defined structure and
shape to research which is established in the earlier months; thus accommodating the
six month time frame for this study (Fisher et. al. 2007; Saunders et. al. 2007).
3.3. Research DesignThe research design is important because it justifies the approach taken to answer the
research question; strategy, choice and time horizons are all taken into consideration
when forming the research design. It was necessary to bind this study’s research
design to the social constructionist and positivist research philosophy established
earlier, because the philosophy shaped the manner in which further research was to be
conducted (Saunders et. al. 2007).
This study’s research design was modelled after Kim et. al.’s (2007) and
Subrahmanyam et. al.’s (2008) study which used human respondents to collect data
for statistical analysis. Their research structure was strongly rooted in exploratory
and descriptive study: exploratory studies which are concerned with the discovery of
ideas, and descriptive studies which investigate the frequency of occurrence between
variables (Churchill & Iacobucci 2002); therefore, the findings in this study
17
effectively build upon the research findings of both Kim et. al. (2007) and
Subrahmanyam et. al. (2008)
3.3.1. Research StrategyThe descriptive nature of this study required overseas student profiles to be captured
in an accurate manner which was suitable for descriptive analysis, where statistical
analysis could then be used to find relationships between variables using statistical
tests (Saunders et. al. 2007).
A survey approach to research was used in this study because it provided an efficient
method of data capture where large amounts of data could also be collected among a
large population. A Questionnaire sampling survey strategy was used for collecting
data from respondents; these questions were presented in a format suitable for
quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics and regression. Structured interviews
were neglected from this study because it would have been realistically possible to
only interview a smaller sample of international students. Also, statistical analysis
using qualitative data would have been much more difficult then handling quantitative
data.
3.3.2. Research ChoiceThe two main approaches to research are either quantitative or qualitative research;
however, some researchers are known to adopt both quantitative and qualitative
analysis in their research (Naoum et. al. 2006, Saunders et. al. 2007). Although a
mixed method approach combining questionnaire sampling and structured interviews
could have been possible in this study, it was abandoned because interviewees would
have been more descriptive in their answers to questions. This would have made the
study more prone to the subjective individual opinions of interviewees instead of the
objective opinion of the research cohort.
Because the findings in this study needed to remain objective to ensure the validity of
the findings, it was necessary to forgo the mixed method approach for the mono
method research approach, which would focus on either quantitative questionnaire
research or qualitative interview research. Therefore, this study decided to focus on
18
quantitative research where the findings from questionnaire sampling were used to
generate numerical data for descriptive statistics and correlation.
3.3.3. Research Time HorizonA cross-sectional research time horizon was used in this study to capture a snapshot of
respondent opinion on aspects of their own social networking and travel experiences.
The survey approach was used to capture cross-sectional data from respondents in an
efficient manner.
A longitudinal research time horizon was not used because this study was not directly
concerned with observing the continual development of SNS growth within students;
a smaller research population and an extended time horizon would have been
necessary to conduct such a longitudinal study. Instead this study adopted a cross-
sectional approach which suitably built upon the theory and methods of research set
by of Kim (et. al. 2007) and Subrahmanyam (et. al. 2008).
3.4. Credibility of Research FindingsA positivist research approach was chosen over an interpretivist approach because
interpretivist researchers choose to collect data at a purely social level therefore
neglecting statistical studies which offer a more structured research design. In this
study interpretivism would have also threatened the reliability of the research by
introducing researcher bias; therefore, reliability was upheld by removing the
researcher from the data collection process. This effectively removed the bias which
would have come from the interview process, where comments may be misconstrued
by the researcher. Thus, the inflexible multiple choice question structure of the
research questionnaire helped uphold researcher neutrality and provide credible
research findings.
Measures were put in place to retain the validity of this research, the questionnaire
survey was conducted over the period of late May – early June where students some
students were finishing exams and other students were starting their next semester of
study. This both increased the response rate of respondents and allowed them to
19
focus on completing the questionnaire more thoughtfully than students who had
exams and coursework.
The questionnaire survey collected data exclusively on students; therefore, the survey
questions were exclusive to a student population and could not be generalised to other
populations. This effectively increased the specificity of the results and findings in
this study surrounding the overseas student population in Coventry University.
3.5. Ethical Considerations to Research DesignEthics are defined as a codified standard which is responsibly enforced by a
professional code, where the issue of trust is low; it is replaced by rules, laws and
regulations. This form of social responsibility shows concern for the participants
involved in the research project, it promotes professionalism and confidence by
protecting the manner in which sensitive data is used and handled by the researcher
(Hair et. al. 2007).
The findings produced from this study used data provided by human respondents;
however it would not be possible to identify specific individuals in the data collected.
This study was therefore deemed a low risk to ethics. An ethics approval form was
signed and approved by the dissertation module leader Jody Holland on 30th April
2009.
Respondents were approached and asked if they would mind participating in a
research questionnaire for a student dissertation project. Respondents were then
quickly briefed on the key aspects of the research which entailed network capital and
its potential use in the SNS environment for travel marketing.
Respondents retained their anonymity because the questionnaires did not ask for
personal information such as names which could have been traced back to an
individual. Confidentiality was ensured because the questionnaire firstly held no
private information, and secondly the access to the questionnaires was restricted to the
researcher and the dissertation supervisor Heitham Al-Hajieh; in addition, each
20
questionnaire was keyed into an SPSS database and given a code tag i.e. ‘respondent
1’.
21
4. DATA COLLECTION This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and practical issues involved
with data collection which forms a fundamental part of this study because the method
of data collection and sampling has a strong influence over the analysis and outcome
of research findings (Hair et. al. 2007; Saunders et. al. 2007).
Data collection is an integral part of research design because there are many ways to
collect data and the best collection method depends on the research population and the
environment setting chosen i.e. on the street, within building or in a lab environment
(Sekaran 2003). The choice of data collection method was determined by the
following research objectives:
4. To analyze the impact of SNS on the development and evolution of traditional
social networks
5. To analyze the effectiveness of SNS in the coordination of social gatherings
over international distances
6. To measure the effect that SNS has between people and their overseas social
network
Questionnaire surveying was used because of the efficiency in collecting data where
answers could easily be adapted into quantitative data for analysis, where questions
related to the above research objectives could be measured against variables of
interest (Sekaran 2003).
4.1. Sampling ProcessA sample is a representative cohort of the population being researched; they are used
when an entire population cannot realistically be captured in a survey. The sampling
approach collects enough data to create a sample population that accurately represents
the whole population (figure 4. 1). Because it was not feasible to conduct a census
based study of the entire population, research samples were used.
22
Figure 4. 1. Population, Sample and Individual Cases
(Saunders et. al. 2007)
4.1.1. Research SampleOverseas students were collected for the research sample and British students were
omitted because the network capital value of overseas students was deemed to be
more prominent than in home students. The decision was made to locate the research
in Coventry University where “international student numbers…are growing strongly
and will continue to do so” (Atkins 2009). The research sample was only collected
from business students because the nationality of Coventry students in other
disciplines was more predominantly British; as a result, the specific respondent target
population was Coventry University Overseas students that were enrolled in a
business related degree.
The findings in this study are more specifically associated to overseas students
studying business degrees, although the findings in this study does not consider the
university course to play a major influence over travel or SNS use. This study
allowed all degree types to participate although it was expected that master degree
postgraduate students would make up a large respondent segment because a majority
of international students study post graduate degrees in the UK.
The location for collecting sampling data was refined to the William Morris Building
in order to maximise the amount of respondents coming from business degree courses
(where Coventry University’s international student intake was particularly higher).
23
The time allowed for collecting samples lasted two weeks commencing mid-May to
early-June 2009.
Ideally, a research population large enough to capture the cultural diversity of
overseas students is required to represent the variety of cultural opinion and diversity
within Coventry University; however, the time frame for this study made it necessary
to approach the data analysis with a smaller population. The time allowed for
collecting questionnaires and coding the data into SPSS was one month and a cohort
of 80 respondents was allocated for a reasonable sample of overseas students, this was
sufficient sample size to grant the researcher a thorough quantitative data analysis
within the time frame of this study.
4.2. Sampling MethodThe validity and understandings gained from any research is directly related to data
collection and the choice of sampling used for the study. The two types of sampling
strategies are known as probability sampling and non-probability sampling.
Probability sampling is concerned with samples where the chance of selecting a case
is known and generally equal. In this manner the researcher can identify specific
cases to achieve an accurate and diverse sample. Non-probability sampling is
concerned with cases where the population size is unknown and where it is difficult to
determine cases. Therefore, the probability of selecting an element of the population
is unknown (Hair et. al. 2007; Saunders et. al. 2007).
Probability sampling was not used in this study because the chance of selecting one
student nationality was likely to be much higher than selecting another, because the
frequency of encountering one nationality was much higher than encountering another
nationality. For example, the university intake of Nigerian students was estimated to
be higher than French students. Furthermore, capturing a representative sample of all
student nationalities at Coventry University would have been impossible to achieve
because student data is kept private by Coventry University under the Data Protection
Act 1998.
24
4.2.1. Non-probability Questionnaire SamplingA non-probability sampling method was selected for this study because the ratio of
nationalities studying at Coventry University was not statistically known. In an ideal
study, a research sample of international students would have been collected using a
quota sampling technique because it subdivides the research population into groups to
fulfil a specified quota of samples. However, it would have been too difficult to
identify certain student nationalities without infringing upon ethical considerations
and boundaries; therefore, the sampling approach selected for this study was
convenience sampling.
Convenience sampling had the added benefit of being able to collect a large number
of respondents in a quick and efficient manner because they were chosen based on
their immediate availability to participate in a questionnaire survey. This was
favourable to the study because the sample population was selected on a first come
basis where the willingness of a student’s participation determined the sample
population. This removed the bias associated with selecting samples because
convenience sampling was random enough not to intentionally marginalise
nationalities against other nationalities (Hair et. al. 2007).
25
5. DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS Following data collection, the respondent questionnaires were subjected to an editing
and coding phase. This chapter provides an explanation of the processes involved
with converting the questionnaire data into raw data suitable for data analysis, the
findings from analysis are presented throughout this chapter.
5.1. EditingEditing is a procedure where collected data is subjected to a form of quality check by
the researcher in preparation for data entry (Churchill & Iacobucci 2002). Three
questionnaires were rejected from the study for various reasons i.e. large sections
where data omissions were evident, a respondent who was British in nationality, and a
respondent whose course of study was not related to a business related field. Three
additional respondents were found in the William Morris business building to attain
the quota of 80 valid questionnaire respondents.
A total of 83 questionnaires were collected from respondents inside the William
Morris business building. Respondent data was inspected for validity, completeness
and consistency; wherein certain cases data was corrected by the researcher in the
interest of maintaining a quality standard. This was done by removing erroneous
responses in preparation for converting respondent questionnaires into raw data.
Section B of the questionnaire asked for the main source of finance for travel from
respondents. Respondents who selected the choice ‘Other’ and specified that they
received funding from their parents were moved from ‘Other’ into the option ‘Borrow
from relatives’.
The most notable faults in respondent data were found in Section B question 4 and
Section C question 9, these two questions allowed a maximum of three choices to be
selected from a list of up to eight choices. Some of the respondents selected fewer
than three choices. This was acceptable within the structure of the questionnaire;
however, some respondents selected none of the choices whilst other respondents
26
selected more than three choices; therefore it was easier to keep the responses for
these questions unaltered.
5.2. CodingCoding is a technical procedure whereby questionnaire responses are transformed into
raw data by converting them into symbols which represent questionnaire answers
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2002). SPSS was used to code questionnaire responses into
numerical symbols (i.e. Male = 1; Female = 2). Questions using multiple choice
selection were divided into sub-questions i.e. choice A: no tick = 0, tick = 1; choice B:
no tick = 0, tick =1). A standardized code of 99 was used for valid missing data
entries.
Questionnaires in the respondent minority were combined with other minority
respondents to create a larger respondent segment; for example, respondents who
were the only ones to represent their nationality amongst the 80 respondents were
considered a minority group. These cases were grouped into an ‘Other’ category in
order to draw more significant findings during analysis.
In Section B the two choices from the question ‘Main source of finance for travel’:
‘Borrow from friends’ and ‘Borrow from relatives’ were combined for coding
because the response for ‘Borrow from friends’ was insignificant as a standalone
variable (2 responses). It was paired with ‘Borrow from relatives’ because of the
borrowing aspect; also, relatives may be considered before friends for borrowing
purposes anyway.
5.3. Sample ProfileThe respondents who completed the questionnaire survey were mainly Master degree
students (51%), and the majority were studying the International Business course
(54%). 93 percent of respondents had access to internet and used computers in their
household; of these respondents, laptop users (96%) outnumbered desktop users (4%).
A majority of respondents possessed experience of travelling overseas other than for
study purposes (73%), approximately 42 percent used past savings to finance travel
27
expenses, where using job wages (25%) and borrowing money from friends and
relatives (24%) were also popular choices. Approximately 43 percent of travellers
mostly travel by themselves, 31 percent travel with friends and 26 percent travel with
family. Excluding missing responses, the most popular reasons for travel (table 5. 2)
were tourism (26%), visiting friends (18%) and relaxation (17%).
Figure 5.1. Travel Purpose
85 percent of respondents were SNS users, a large majority estimated themselves
spending from less than two hours (46%) to between two and four hours (38%) per
day on SNS. Most SNS users checked their accounts either one to two times (50%),
three to four times (19%) and five to six times (16%) per day. A significant
proportion of respondents had over 200 friends on SNS (34%); however, a large
number of respondents also had less than 50 friends (21%). Excluding missing
responses, the primary purposes for using SNS were contact with friends overseas
(37%), messaging (29%), contact with local friends in the UK (18%) and viewing
photographs (16%).
28
5.3.1. Age & Gender CharacteristicsThe age and gender of respondents provided a general insight into the student
demographic where it could be seen that gender ratio for this study was in favour of
males by a count of 48 male respondents to 32 female respondents; a percentage ratio
of 60% male and 40% female.
Figure 5.2. Gender of respondents by Age
The gender variable and the age variable were explored further and it was found that
the key age demographic of students were aged between 20 – 25 years old, table 5.2
highlights the impact that the female gender has in this key age demographic despite
this study’s skew in gender ratio in favour of males.
5.3.2. NationalityThe nationality of participating students had the potential to possess a cultural bias
over the findings in this study, although the relationship between cultural upbringing
to travel and social networks was not the main focus of the research, it was worth
highlighting the level of diversity in participating respondents. Nationalities included
in the ‘Other’ category in table 5. 2 are as follows: American, Angolian, Botswana,
Danish, French-Guianese, Gambian, Romanian, Spanish, Taiwanese, Turkish,
Yemen, Zambian, and Zimbabwean.
29
Table 5.1. Respondent NationalitiesNationality # %
Chinese 21 26.2French 9 11.2
Ghanaian 5 6.2Indian 7 8.8Kenyan 2 2.5Nigerian 12 15Pakistani 2 2.5
Tanzanian 3 3.8Thai 6 7.5
Other 13 16.2Total 80 100
The highest respondent rates from a nationality were from Chinese (26%) and
Nigerian (15%) students; this was an expected outcome because a majority of
overseas students studying at Coventry University were also Chinese and Nigerian.
5.3.3. FinanceWhilst the ability to travel is made easier by a student’s financial status, employment
could also limit their opportunity to travel due to the level of commitment that a job
entails. Table 5.2 highlights the significance of the unemployed student demographic
because unemployment amongst students ranks the highest (48%).
Table 5.2. Receiving money outside UK by employment type in UKUK Paid Employment Receiving money from
outside UKTotal
No Yes# # # %
None 12 26 38 48Part-time (temporary) 3 9 12 15Full-time (permanent) 2 11 13 15Full-time (temporary) 2 8 10 13Part-time (permanent) 2 5 7 9
Total 21 59 80 100
A majority of students were unemployed but receiving money from outside the UK
(26 of 80 respondents). Students in this category possessed the highest potential for
overseas travel because they were not held back by employment and they received
some form of financial aid.
30
5.4. Descriptive AnalysisDescriptive analysis generates a general overview for research data where an
understanding of the data can be obtained and hypotheses identified (Hair et. al.
2007).
The respondents rated the following statements against a 5-point likert-scale, the
responses were analysed using the mode as a measure of central tendency which
identified the most frequently occurring response. The skewness and kurtosis was
used to measure the level of dispersion between respondent opinions. Skewness that
was larger than +1 or smaller than -1 indicated an asymmetrical distribution and
kurtosis exceeding +3 or -3 indicated an abnormal level of peakedness in the
distribution (Hair et. al. 2007).
Table 5.3. Perception of respondents towards Social Networking SitesQ# Statement Results
Mode Skew Kurt1 My mood can be influenced by the happiness/sadness
of someone on SNS3. 00 .106 -.939
2 I find it hard to tell whether someone on an SNS is happy or sad
3. 00 -.376 -.452
3 Talk of travelling abroad is likely to pop-up on a social networking site
3. 00 -.273 -.602
4 When I talk to people who live abroad using a social networking site, I miss them less (1); miss them more (5)
4. 00 -.573 -.194
5 I have arranged meet-ups with people living abroad using a social networking site
4. 00 -.020 -1.375
The statements made in question 1 and 2 were based from the research conducted by
Bond (2008) on the transfer of social behaviour from traditional social networks.
Whilst Bond’s study proved there was a relationship between the two, the findings in
question 1 and 2 exploring the association between traditional social networks and
online social networks were inconclusive. Further analysis was therefore required to
determine whether such a relationship existed in SNS.
The statement made in question 3 tested the strength of overseas social networks and
its ability to instil travel desire and travel persuasion. This was based upon the
research conducted by Larsen et. al. (2008) which explored the influence close social
networks had on the travel tendency of people separated by long distance. Hancock
31
(2004) found that CMC used in conjunction with FtF could indeed compliment social
connectivity if it was not overly depended upon. The subject matter had since been
complicated with the introduction of the SNS environment which incorporated FtF
principles (through photograph exchanges) into CMC (through messaging
capabilities). Question 5 investigated the topic of SNS in detail, respondents were
found to agree with the statement (mode 4.00) more so than in question 3 (mode
3.00). Travel arrangements were therefore found to have been coordinated through
SNS; however, there was no consensus on whether travel desire actually arose from
discussions conducted in SNS.
Question 5 provided evidence to support Dagremont et. al.’s (2008) theory that
relationships were founded upon emotion, respondents were found to miss overseas
friends more when talking on SNS which implied that the transaction of emotion on
SNS was restrictive.
Table 5.4. Perception of respondents towards Overseas travelQ# Statement Results
Mode Skew Kurt6 I really want to travel to other places when I see
photographs of my friends and relatives on vacation5.00 -.842 .116
7 My friends and relatives living abroad are interested in visiting the UK while I am studying here
5.00 -.577 .693
8 My travel destination choice is determined by the opinions or location of my overseas social network
3.00 -.032 .781
9 I travel abroad often 1.00 .094 -1.273
The statement made in question 6 built upon the studies conducted by Ellison et. al.
(2007) and Coyle & Vaughn (2008), their research identified that photographs on
SNS were used to convey a sense of virtual presence and self-expression. Question 6
proposed that photographs may also act as a form of travel motivation by attracting
SNS users towards destinations where their friends had visited. The mode response
trended toward highly agreeing with the statement (mode 5.00).
The statements made in question 7 and 8 explored the use of overseas social networks
in VFR travel. Respondents felt that their overseas friends and relatives would like to
visit the UK where they were studying (mode 5.00); conversely, respondents had a
32
modest opinion on whether their overseas social network would influence their travel
destination choice (mode 3.00).
The statement made in question 9 definitively identified that respondents generally do
not consider themselves frequent travellers (mode 1.00).
5.5. Hypothesis TestingThe descriptive analysis confirmed the areas of interest within the data, table 5.3 and
table 5.4 identified the general response pattern coming from respondents (mode).
The distribution pattern (skewness and kurtosis) identified no bias or outliers in the
sample cohort which confirmed that it was an ideal representation of a normal
population; suitable for conducting in depth analysis. Hypothesis testing was used to
explore the theories generated by this study and empirical evidence was used to assess
the level of significance between relationships.
Categorical data (i.e. nominal, ordinal), measurements which are not fixed to a
quantifiable scale (i.e. interval, ratio) were used in this study; as a result, a cross-
tabulation of frequency distribution was used to test the hypotheses. Cross-tabulation
was tested with Chi square analysis to determine whether a pattern of relationship or
“goodness of fit” between the responses occurred (Hair et al. 2007).
Chi square analysis generates an expected frequency which is compared against the
observed frequency. This helps to identify whether the relationship between variables
is significant or random. The problematic issue of low count cells in the cross-
tabulation table was minimised by combining categories (i.e. strongly agree category
combined with agree category). An exact significance test was run as an alternative
to the asymptotic (assumed significance) test, the exact significance test was used for
its statistical reliability which was effective regardless of the size, distribution, or
sparseness of the data being analysed.
In Chi square, the expected count is an estimated calculation that indicates whether a
relationship exists when compared with the observed count. If a relationship between
the expected count and the observed count is identified, the null hypothesis cannot be
33
rejected (Collis & Hussey 2009). A confidence level of 95% was set for rejecting the
null hypothesis.
5.5.1. Hypothesis 1: Social Behaviour transfer on SNS
H1: A higher usage of SNS leads to an increased degree of emotional
detachment which arises from a lack of FtF social transfer
H0: A higher usage of SNS does not increase emotional detachment which
arises from a lack of FtF social transfer
Table 5.5. SNS influence on Social Behaviour with time spent on SNS per day
The observed and expected counts in table 5.6 revealed no significant difference
between the two counts, additionally the Pearson Chi square test revealed that there
were no statistically significant differences between the two counts (sig. = .737)
therefore the null hypothesis was accepted that there is no increased emotional
detachment arising from a lack of FtF social transfer.
Count Hours Spent on SNS per day Totals
Less than 2 hours
Between 2-4 hours
Between 5-7 hours or
more
Em
otio
nal
sta
te in
flu
ence
d b
y so
meo
ne
on S
NS Disagree
Observed 12 12 428Expected 12.8 10.7 4.5
No Opinion
Observed 11 5 319
Expected 8.7 7.3 3.1
AgreeObserved 8 9 4
21Expected 9.6 8 3.4
Totals 31 26 11 68
Pearson Chi square Value df Asym. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided)
2.086 a 4 .720 .737
a. 3 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 3.07
34
5.5.2. Hypothesis 2: Travel Coordination through SNS
H1: The SNS platform can be used as a worldwide contact book which
increases the accessibility for people to coordinate FtF meet-ups with their
overseas social network
H0: The SNS platform can be used as a worldwide contact book; however it
does not necessarily increase the accessibility for people to coordinate FtF
meet-ups with their overseas social network
Table 5.6. Arranging overseas meet-ups with SNS messaging users
The observed and expected counts in table 5.7 revealed a significant difference in the
analysis, students who primarily use SNS for messaging had agreed with the
statement of arranging overseas meet-ups through SNS more than the expected count.
Count Primary SNS use: Messaging Totals
No Yes
Arr
angi
ng
mee
t-u
ps w
ith
over
seas
fri
ends
th
rou
gh
SNS
DisagreeObserved 14 15 29
Expected 10.7 18.3
No OpinionObserved 6 5 11
Expected 4 7
AgreeObserved 5 23 28
Expected 10.3 17.7
Totals 25 43 68
Pearson Chi square Value df Asym. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided)
7.454a 2 .024 .027
a. 1 cells (16.7%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 4.04
35
Because Chi square could not accurately estimate the observed count, the findings
proved to be significant. The Pearson Chi square test confirmed a statistically
significant difference (sig. = 0.27). Therefore, the alternative hypothesis was
accepted that SNS increased the accessibility for people to coordinate FtF meet-ups
with their overseas social network.
5.5.3. Hypothesis 3: Instilment of Travel Motivation through SNS use
H1: People are instilled with the desire to travel from looking at photographs
on SNS where talk of travel is likely
H0: People are not instilled with the desire to travel from looking at
photographs on SNS; where talk of travel is no more or less likely
Table 5.7. Travel Desire from Photographs with discussion of travel on SNS
Count Desire to travel from friends photographs
Totals
Disagree No Opinion
Agree
Tal
k o
f tr
avel
ling
abro
ad is
lik
ely
on
SNS
DisagreeExpected 2 9 8 19
Observed 1.4 3.9 13.7
No OpinionExpected 2 3 18 23
Observed 1.7 4.7 16.6
AgreeExpected 1 2 23 26
Observed 1.9 5.4 18.7
Totals 5 14 49 68
Pearson Chi square Value df Asym. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided)
13.565 a 4 .009 .006
a. 5 cells (55.6%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.40
36
The observed count of SNS users, who agreed with the following statement that
photographs instil the desire within themselves to travel, was generally higher than
the expected count. They also agreed that discussions of travel which is a driver of
travel motivation, was likely to arise from SNS. The Pearson Chi square test
identified a statistically significant difference from the expected and observed count
(sig. = 00.6). The alternative hypothesis was therefore accepted that there is a desire
to travel from looking at photographs on SNS where talk of travel is likely to occur.
5.5.4. Hypothesis 4: Influence of Overseas Social Networks in Travel Destination
H1: People who use SNS are more attracted to travel destinations closest to their
overseas social networks
H0: People who use SNS are neither more nor less attracted to travel destinations
closest to their overseas social networks
Table 5.8. Overseas Social Networks influence on SNS users travel destination
37
The observed and expected counts in table 5.9 revealed a slight overestimation in the
expected count; however, the Pearson Chi square test revealed that there was no
statistically significant difference (sig. = .156) therefore the null hypothesis was
accepted that SNS users are neither more nor less attracted to travel destinations
closest to their overseas social networks.
5.6. Correlation AnalysisFurther investigation into the hypotheses using correlation analysis helped to identify
the strength and nature of the relationships found to be statistically significant in Chi
square. Spearman’s rank order correlation was used because the technique provided a
more conservative statistic for the categorical data used in this study. For the strength
of association correlation coefficient table, see appendix 1 (Hair et. al. 2007).
Count Use SNS Totals
No YesT
rave
l des
tin
atio
n in
flu
ence
by
opin
ion
/ lo
cati
on o
f ov
erse
as s
ocia
l net
wor
k
DisagreeObserved 2 27 29
Expected 4.4 24.6
No OpinionObserved 4 24 28
Expected 4.2 23.8
AgreeObserved 6 17 23
Expected 3.4 19.6
Totals 12 68 80
Pearson Chi square Value df Asym. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided)
3.722a 2 .156 .156
a. 3 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 3.45
38
Table 5.9. Correlation of Hypotheses using Spearman’s rho
Hypo. # Topic Sig. (2-tailed) Correlation Coefficient
1 Social Behaviour transfer through
SNS
.764 .037
2 Travel Coordination through SNS .018 .287*
3 Instilment of Travel motivation
through SNS use
.001 .382*
4 Influence of Overseas Social
Networks in Travel Destination
.058 -.213
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
The findings in hypothesis 1 found no relationship (coefficient = .037); therefore, the
amount of time a person spent on SNS, had no negative or positive influence over
their emotional state.
The findings in hypothesis 2 identified a small positive correlation between the
arrangement of overseas meet-ups on SNS and users who listed messaging as a
primary purpose for using SNS (coefficient = .287). This showed that the SNS
platform may indeed strengthen FtF bonds if the CMC aspect of SNS is used
frequently enough.
The findings in hypothesis 3 possessed a positive correlation which was markedly
strong (coefficient = .382), this meant that talk of travelling abroad in SNS was more
likely to be found because of people that view their friend’s holiday photographs.
Additional finding supported this correlation because SNS users were more likely to
feel travel desire from viewing photographs than people who didn’t use SNS to view
photographs (coefficient = .320).
The findings in hypothesis 4 identified a small negative correlation between SNS
users and people who said their overseas social network had a strong influence over
their choice of travel destination (coefficient = -.213).
39
5.6.1. Additional FindingsAdditional relationships identified by correlation analysis included a positive
relationship between people who experienced emotional transfer from SNS friends
and their overseas social network being a prime influence over travel destination
(coefficient = .243); they were also found more likely to arrange meet-ups with
overseas friends (coefficient = .364).
People who used SNS to contact friends from abroad were likely to have more SNS
friends (.396). Also people who experienced emotional transfer from SNS friends
were more likely to be from the female gender (male – 1; female – 2: coefficient = .
270); furthermore, females were likely to spend more time on SNS (coefficient = .
315).
40
6. CONCLUSION The purpose of this study was to contribute to the research relationship between
traditional social networks and travel; therefore, an investigative study determining
whether such a research link also occurred between online social networks and travel
was undertaken. Relationship marketing between friends was explored using
hypothesis testing and correlation analysis to determine role that SNS had on the
influencing travel desire between overseas friends.
The key results from the research are summarised below:
• 93 percent of respondents had access to the internet in their UK
household
• 48 percent of respondents were unemployed, and of those respondents
68 percent received money from outside the UK
• 85 percent of respondents used SNS and 73 percent of respondents
possessed some experience travelling abroad (other than for study purposes)
• The primary purpose for using SNS were; to contact friends overseas
(37%), messaging (29%), to contact local friends in the UK (18%), for
viewing photographs (16%)
• The most popular reasons for travels were; tourism (26%), visiting
friends (18%), relaxation (17%)
The objectives of the current study were; to analyse the impact SNS had on the
development and evolution of traditional social networks, to determine the
effectiveness of SNS in coordinating social gatherings with overseas friends, and to
analyse the effect that SNS had on people and their overseas social network.
Analysis using Chi square and correlation analysis confirmed that there was no
statistically significant increase in emotional detachment found when using SNS.
However, there was an increase in the ability for SNS users to coordinate FtF meet-
ups with friends overseas, it was also identified that viewing photographs on SNS was
likely to instil a travel desire which in turn would lead to talk of travel. However,
SNS users were not necessarily more attracted to destinations close to their overseas
social networks; consequently, respondents not using SNS were.
41
The findings suggest that SNS has a large and broad mass appeal that is difficult to
comprehensively study, even when narrowed down to the student market. This study
makes aware the role that travel has in an overseas social network. It can be
extrapolated from the findings that SNS has a worldwide mass appeal to internet users
because social networks become visible by virtual representation in the online space.
As a result, overseas friends which normally would go unnoticed because of a lack of
FtF contact now become an apparent connection and personal contact that like all
friends, need to receive social stimulus or risk becoming estranged connection.
Coyle & Vaughn (2008) identified that whilst SNS closes the gap between CMC and
FtF, it cannot replace the loss of voice communication and FtF presence. This is
proven to be correct in this study because respondents missed overseas friends more
when communicating through SNS.
Larsen et. al. (2008) indicated that there was an obligatory and reciprocal nature in
friendship that would notably influence a person’s travel destination choice. This was
proven not to be the case in student SNS users because their travel destination choice
was not determined by the location of overseas friends. However, SNS users were
found to arrange meet-ups with overseas friends using SNS; as a result, overseas
friends are more likely to arrange meet-ups together at an overseas destination which
is foreign to all. This would fulfil at least two of the most popular reasons for travel
by respondents; tourism (26%) and visiting friends (18%) and also indicates that VFR
travel can involve two (or more people) travelling to an overseas destination to meet
each other and experience travel together. It was therefore determined that the push
forces which instil a desire to travel were strong on SNS because of sharing
photographs and messaging, but the pull forces which attract people to travel
destinations were noticeably absent.
6.1. LimitationsThe findings in this study synthesised the work of many researchers in various fields
of research such as social psychology, communication in society, computer-mediated
communication, vacation marketing, travel research, and tourism analysis. There was
42
a sufficient level of overlap between these fields of research to grant a study
combining all aspects of them into one research topic. It must be noted however, that
whilst this study expanded the narrow research gap between travel marketing and
online social networks, the research is large enough in its findings to warrant further
exploration into specific segments of this study.
By exclusively targeting the overseas business student cohort in Coventry, variables
introducing bias were removed from this study. Examples include British students
because those not possessing an overseas network would have skewed the findings; it
is therefore worth mentioning that British students with overseas networks were
unfortunately neglected from this study.
Within the research cohort, a large majority of respondents were Chinese and
Nigerian; this reflected the demographic skew of overseas students studying business
related degrees at Coventry University. Furthermore, a majority of the respondents
were studying a Masters degree in International Business, in retrospect this should
have been expected because a convenience sampling technique was used and
classmates in the same course cohort as the researcher would have been more willing
to participate in questionnaire than others.
The sample size of respondents also proved to be a limitation of this study because a
deeper analysis using a cross tabulation of more than two variables was not a realistic
possibility as the 80 respondents would have generated insignificant data when
divided into sub-categories; as a result, only bivariate analysis was used for this study.
6.2. RecommendationsFurther research into the nature of the push and pull forces surrounding SNS is
recommended in order to understand the full market potential of using SNS for travel
marketing toward student travel, additionally research into broader travel markets
such as family travel could be explored in future.
It is suggested that further study on a more ambitious scale will capture a well
rounded cohort of respondents from different nationalities (including British) using a
43
quota sampling technique. Further categories to consider include attaining a fair
quota of SNS users and non SNS users; males and females; and people with
prominent overseas social networks and those with socially distant overseas networks
or none at all.
Further studies would benefit from using a 7-point likert scale instead of a 5-point
likert scale, this would produce a more precise distribution of the normal distribution
curve which would then allow respondent data to be classified as scale data suitable
for ANOVA testing and regression.
6.3. ImplicationsSNS and the travel market serve a similar purpose, social networking.
Communication tools on SNS such as photographs help to close distances between
friends a great deal; however, SNS cannot truly sustain a friendship if FtF contact in
the traditional sense is not present. Travel marketers also cannot fully capitalise on
the rising trend of overseas students if friendships are severed when overseas students
return to their respective countries.
The student travel market is a lucrative segment which should be approached
thoughtfully by marketers in order to align best with their target audience. It is
suggested that there is a mutual gain present between SNS and student travel, the key
findings from the hypothesis testing identified that student SNS users are likely to be
interested in travel for VFR purposes, although they are more likely to travel to
foreign destinations together in order to experience the tourism aspect of travel as a
unified group of friends. Therefore, travel marketers of student travel should seek to
attract business from students who are SNS users with overseas social networks.
Trust is central to decision making; therefore, marketing needs to use people as
spokespeople for voicing their personal opinions on travel destinations. Positive
experiences will then flow through to online friends as a trusted form of knowledge
transfer between friends (figure 2. 3). An individual’s personal opinion of certain
travel destinations cannot wilfully be changed by marketers but conversations can be
motivated toward the positive aspects. This can be done by using smart forms of
44
advertising such as promotional campaigns and striking advertisements that stimulate
conversation about particular areas of travel i.e. costs, accommodation, sights of
interest etc. The increasing popularity of overseas study and VFR travel makes this a
highly penetrative marketing approach. Also there is a lack of pull force on SNS so it
would be wise for travel marketers to generate a pull force through advertising that is
palatable for SNS audiences in order to compliment the overwhelming push forces
already found in online social networks.
45
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49
8. APPENDIX
Figure 8.1. Ethics Approval Form
50
Figure 8.2. Respondent Sample Questionnaire
Marketing Travel via Social Networks
Welcome! The information in this questionnaire will be used to identify travel
behaviour in overseas students currently studying in Coventry University and
whether distance social networking promotes travel within us and our friends &
families; thank you for taking part in this questionnaire.
SECTION A (GENERAL)
Age:[ ] 20 – 22[ ] 29 – 31+
[ ] 23 – 25 [ ]26-28
Gender:[ ] Male [ ] FemaleNationality: _________________Course of Study:[ ] Finance
[ ] Marketing
[ ] International Business
[ ] International Tourism
[ ] Sports Management
[ ] Other _________
[ ] Strategic Marketing Management
[ ] International Marketing
Degree Type:[ ] Bsc[ ] Msc
[ ] MA[ ] MBA
[ ] Ph D[ ] Other ___________
UK Paid Employment:[ ] Part-time (temporary)[ ] Full-time (temporary)[ ] None
[ ] Full-time (permanent)[ ] Part-time (permanent)
Do you receive money from outside the UK?[ ] Yes [ ] No (skip to section B)Do you have the internet in your house?[ ] Yes [ ] No (skip to section B)Do you use a computer in your house?[ ] Yes
[ ] No (skip to section B)
Which type of computer do you use?
[ ] Desktop computer [ ] Laptop
51
52
SECTION B (TRAVEL)
1. Do you have experience of travelling abroad (other than study in UK)?[ ] Yes [ ] No (skip to section C)2. Main source of Finance for travel:
[ ] Bank Loan
[ ] Borrow from
Relatives
[ ] Borrow from
Friends
[ ] Use past savings
[ ] Wages
[ ] Other _________
3. I mostly travel abroad:
[ ] By Myself
[ ] With Friends
[ ] With Family
4. The reasons for travel (tick a maximum of three):[ ] Visiting Friends[ ] Tourism[ ] Visiting Relatives[ ] Religious Reasons
[ ] Adventure[ ] Relaxation[ ] Knowledge[ ] Family Togetherness
SECTION C (SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE)
5. Do you use social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Myspace, Qzone
(not including messenger services) etc:
[ ] Yes [ ] No (skip to section D)
6. How many hours do you spend on SNS per day?
[ ] Less than 2 hours
[ ] Between 2 – 4 hours
[ ] Between 5 – 7 hours
[ ] More than 8 hours
7. How many times do you check your account per day?
[ ] 1 – 2
[ ] 3 – 4
[ ] 5 – 6
[ ] 7 – 8
[ ] 9+
8. How many SNS Friends do you have?
[ ] 1 – 50
[ ] 51 – 100
[ ] 101 – 150
[ ] 151- 200
[ ] 201+
9. Primary purpose for using SNS (tick a maximum of three):
[ ] Messaging
[ ] Contact with local friends
[ ] Contact with friends from abroad
[ ] Viewing Photos
53
-For the following Questions place a circle within the number scale-
1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = No opinion; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree
10. My mood can be influenced by the happiness/sadness of someone on SNS:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
11. I find it hard to tell whether someone on an SNS is happy or sad:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
12. Talk of travelling abroad is likely to pop-up on a social networking site:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
13. When I talk to people who live abroad using a social networking site, I…:
<miss them less 1 2 3 4 5 miss them more
14. I have arranged meet-ups with people living abroad using a social
networking site:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree
SECTION D (SOCIAL NETWORK CAPITAL)
15. I really want to travel to other places when I see photographs of my friends
and relatives on vacation:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
16. My friends and relatives living abroad are interested in visiting to the UK
while I am studying here:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
17. My travel destination choice is determined by the opinions or location of my
overseas social network:
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
18. I travel abroad often?
<disagree 1 2 3 4 5 agree>
Thank You! Your time and participation is greatly appreciated!
54
Table 8.1. Rules of Correlation Coefficient SizeCoefficient Range Strength of Association±0. 910 - ±1. 000 Very Strong±0. 710 - ±0. 900 High±0. 410 - ±0. 700 Moderate±0. 210 - ± 0. 400 Small but definite relationship±0. 000 - ±0. 200 Slight, almost negligible
Assumes correlation coefficient is statistically significant(Hair et. al. 2007)
55