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!

ii

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

1

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

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

6

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.

7

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.

8

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).

9

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.

10

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).

11

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.

12

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