Hotel brand equity and online reviews on social commerce intention: A cross-level identification process

Customer reviews and brand equity are both key assets that offer hospitality providers competitive advantages over rivalries. However, how they can complement each other is a question that scholars and practitioners continue to seek. This research draws on social identity and social presence theories to synthesize a multilevel model with social identification as a mediator of the relationship between persuasive message compliance and social commerce intention. We take a resource-based view to conceptualize brand equity as a strategic asset and to model it as a moderator. This inquiry contributes to extant literature by illuminating a multilevel paradigm to better understand the strategic imperative of brand equity in fortifying a strong brand, while casting means for weak brands to capitalize on e-WOM to impel favorable guest behaviors. It adds to the literature by acknowledging a dual-identification process in which both customer reviews and branding exercise different roles in customers’ brand identification.