The Role of Social Media Influencers in Tourism Research: A Derivation of a Processual-Model of Influencing, Influencer Characteristics, and Research Operationalisations

What is the current status quo of the decision-making impact of Social Media Influencers (SMI) in Tourism Research? A mixed research approach is chosen to partially explain the appetitive or aversive influence of SMI and their messages on recipients in the tourism context. This approach applies a comprehensive literature analysis and a positivistic SO(MOA)R model, which is adapted by context factors regarding the effects of digitalization and eWord-of-mouth. Preliminary results reveal that there are no comprehensive answers regarding context-related influences of SMI in tourism so far. Finally, influencers, their characteristics, and research operationalizations are categorized, and a first Processual-Model of Influencing in tourism research was established. These findings still reveal numerous research gaps and serve as a reference point for future research efforts.