Complaining practices on social media in tourism: a value co-creation and co-destruction perspective

Abstract

Social media has transformed the way tourism-related information is generated and distributed. While previous studies have focused largely on the benefits of social media for tourism management, there is an emerging recognition of the downside of social media through the enablement of enhanced facilities for consumer complaints. Informed by service-centric research and social practice theory, we theorize that tourist complaining on social media is an interactive process of value formation. We then present an empirical investigation of social media complaints in respect of a large Australian-based airline. The findings reveal three unique practices of tourist complaining and their potential for both value co-creation and co-destruction. Our study offers novel insights into the divergent and interactive nature of the tourist complaining that unfolds on social media, and the importance of adequate organizational responses in order to foster value co-creation – or avoid co-destruction.