Purpose

Self-presentation has emerged as a pivotal marketing strategy for service providers seeking to craft virtual images in the peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation sector. However, the literature lacks an understanding of conversational self-presentation, which offers more informal and personal communication.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon social interaction theory and uncertainty reduction theory, this study explores the impact of conversational self-presentation and its interplay with space sharing and review ratings on customer purchases.

Findings

Utilizing the fixed effects model on a panel dataset comprising 498,817 observations from Airbnb, we discover a positive association between conversational self-presentation and customer purchases. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that space sharing reinforces this positive effect, while review ratings tend to diminish it. A deeper mechanism analysis indicates that perceived authenticity plays a mediating role in the relationship between conversational self-presentation and customer purchases.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the importance of conversational communication in enhancing host–guest relationships under information asymmetry. However, the proposed model can be extended to other accommodation-sharing platforms in various regions, identifying whether cultural differences exist in explaining the importance of conversational self-presentation.

Practical implications

Marketers are suggested to build a harmonious customer–brand relationship and achieve superior performance through effective online communication.

Originality/value

This study adds valuable insights to the literature about self-presentation, social interaction and customer behavior by revealing the significance of conversational self-presentation in driving the growth of P2P accommodation businesses.

中文翻译：

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向陌生人介绍自己：对话式自我展示在同伴适应中重要吗

 目的

对于寻求在点对点 (P2P) 住宿领域打造虚拟形象的服务提供商来说，自我展示已成为一种关键的营销策略。然而，文献缺乏对对话式自我展示的理解，而对话式自我展示提供了更多非正式和个人的交流。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究借鉴社交互动理论和不确定性减少理论，探讨了会话自我呈现的影响及其与空间共享和评论评级对客户购买的相互作用。

 发现

利用包含来自 Airbnb 的 498,817 个观察结果的面板数据集的固定效应模型，我们发现对话式自我展示与客户购买之间存在正相关关系。此外，我们的分析表明，空间共享强化了这种积极影响，而评论评级往往会削弱这种积极影响。更深入的机制分析表明，感知真实性在会话自我呈现与客户购买之间的关系中发挥中介作用。

研究局限性/影响

这项研究强调了对话沟通在信息不对称下增强主客关系的重要性。然而，所提出的模型可以扩展到不同地区的其他住宿共享平台，以确定在解释对话自我呈现的重要性时是否存在文化差异。

 实际意义

建议营销人员通过有效的在线沟通建立和谐的客户与品牌关系并取得卓越绩效。

 原创性/价值

这项研究通过揭示对话式自我呈现在推动 P2P 住宿业务增长方面的重要性，为有关自我呈现、社交互动和客户行为的文献增添了宝贵的见解。