Social media in the airline industry: acceptance of social seating

Social media, especially shared over social networks, has become increasingly important in people's lives, and therefore also for the business world. Companies in more and more sectors try to connect via social media channels with their customers, be it for service or product marketing purpose. Also, the airline industry increasingly uses social media, and most airlines are active in networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Leung et al. (2013) as well as Zeng and Gerritsen (2014) privide a literature review on social media for tourism, concluding that research on social media in tourism is still in its infancy, while Tham et al. (2013) discuss the effect of electronic word-of-mouth on destination image and choice, Munar and Jacobsen (2014) motivations for sharing experiences through social media, and Hudson and Thal (2013) describe the overall impact. Kim and Tussyadiah (2013) focus on the social support through the networks and the relationship to tourism experience moderated by tourists' self-presentation strategies.