Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review the use of partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in the field of hospitality and tourism and thereby to assess whether the PLS-SEM-based papers followed the recommended application guidelines and to investigate whether a comparison of journal types (hospitality vs tourism) and journal qualities (top-tier vs other leading) reveal significant differences in PLS-SEM use.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 206 PLS-SEM based papers published between 2000 and April 2017 in the 19 SSCI-indexed hospitality and tourism journals were critically analyzed using a wide range of guidelines for the following aspects of PLS-SEM: the rationale of using the method, the data characteristics, the model characteristics, the model assessment and reporting the technical issues.
Findings
The results reveal that some aspects of PLS-SEM are correctly applied by researchers, but there are still some misapplications, especially regarding data characteristics, formative measurement model evaluation and structural model assessment. Furthermore, few significant differences were found on the use of PLS-SEM between the two fields (hospitality and tourism) and between the journal tiers (top-tier and other leading).
Practical implications
To enhance the quality of research in hospitality and tourism, the present study provides recommendations for improving the future use of PLS-SEM.
Originality/value
The present study fills a sizeable gap in hospitality and tourism literature and extends the previous assessments on the use of PLS-SEM by providing a wider perspective on the issue (i.e. includes both hospitality and tourism journals rather than the previous reviews that focus on either tourism or hospitality), using a larger sample size of 206 empirical studies, investigating the issue over a longer time period (from 2000 to April, 2017, including the in-press articles), extending the scope of criteria (guidelines) used in the review and comparing the PLS-SEM use between the two allied fields (hospitality and tourism) and between the journal tiers (top-tier and other leading).
This study examines the effect of social media sharing on tourism destination brand awareness and destination natural and service quality and also examines the moderating roles of country of origin (COI; macro and micro) image on destination natural and service quality. Data were collected from 568 domestic and international tourists who have visited Alanya, Turkey. Relationships in the study were examined through structural equation modeling. As one of the components of social media sharing, participant sharing positively affects destination brand awareness, whereas any significant effect of nonparticipant sharing on destination brand awareness was not found. Destination brand awareness positively influences tourist perceptions of both destination service quality and destination natural quality. COI image moderates most of the relationships.
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