Temporal Validity of User-Generated Content: Reassessing the Role of Review Recency in Hotel Booking Decisions
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21510280
Bhargavi Singh, Dr. Naveen Kumar
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Keywords:
User-Generated Content (UGC), eWOM, Content Age, Temporal Validity, Elaboration Likelihood Model, Hotel Booking Intentions.
Abstract:
Purpose: This study investigates the mechanisms through which the recency of User-Generated Content (UGC) influences information credibility, persuasiveness, and hotel booking intentions. Specifically, it tests competing theoretical perspectives—the peripheral reliance on chronological heuristics (Temporal Construal Theory) versus the central-route processing of review substance (Elaboration Likelihood Model) under conditions of digital information saturation.
Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing an experimental, within-subjects survey design, primary data was collected from 220 consumers evaluating hotel UGC. The data was analyzed using paired-samples t-tests and Hayes’ PROCESS macro to evaluate proposed parallel mediation pathways, assessing both the direct and indirect effects of review recency on booking decisions.
Findings: The empirical results reveal no significant direct effect of review recency on perceived credibility or persuasiveness, and no significant indirect effects through the proposed mediating pathways. While a modest difference was observed in booking intentions between recent and older reviews, the overall pattern of findings suggests that travellers place greater emphasis on the substantive quality of review content than on chronological recency when evaluating hotel-related UGC.
Practical implications: Hotel managers and tourism marketers should pivot their strategies away from the continuous solicitation of "fresh" reviews. Instead, resources should be reallocated to encourage detailed, context-rich UGC, as the substantive depth of a review holds permanent persuasive value regardless of its posting date. Furthermore, booking platforms should prioritize algorithmic sorting by review "helpfulness" rather than strict chronological order.
Originality/value: This research updates existing eWOM literature by empirically demonstrating the boundary conditions of recency effects. It provides critical evidence that the contemporary, saturated architecture of digital travel platforms has catalyzed a consumer shift from peripheral temporal cues to active central-route processing.