Social comparison orientation and frequency: a study on international travel bloggers

Mariani, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7916-2576, Ek Styven, M. and Nataraajan, R. (2021) Social comparison orientation and frequency: a study on international travel bloggers. Journal of Business Research, 123. pp. 232-240. ISSN 0148-2963 doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.070

Abstract/Summary

This study adopts a social comparison theory perspective to examine the drivers of social comparison frequency (SCF) on Facebook among international travel bloggers who utilize Facebook for their travel blogging activities. An online survey led to 99 usable responses covering travel bloggers from 33 countries. Results suggest that there is a strongly positive and significant relationship between SCF on Facebook and the Ability dimension of social comparison orientation (SCO), as well as between SCF and opinion leadership. While professional travel bloggers are more likely to be opinion leaders, non-professional travel bloggers tend to compare themselves with others on Facebook considerably more often. Overall, it seems that Facebook is deployed in a rather strategic way by travel bloggers who try to enhance the visibility of themselves and their blogs vis-à-vis international competitors. Research contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/93324
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.070
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation
Publisher	Elsevier
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