From viewers to visitors: using Danmu to foster value co-creation in travel vlogs

Purpose This study aims to examine the function of Danmu comments in travel vlogs with the following three objectives: to investigate the influence of the Danmu features to the original vlog content and vlogger characteristics; to assess the capacity of Danmu technology to enhance viewer-to-vlogger and viewer-to-viewer parasocial interaction; and to examine how Danmu enables value co-creation and results in favorable attitude toward vlogs and travel intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study incorporates the stimulus–organism–response framework with parasocial interaction theory and value co-creation theory to investigate the process by which Danmu features influence viewers’ attitudes and travel intentions. The authors collected a sample of 520 respondents who had watched Danmu-enabled travel vlogs and examined the proposed model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The SEM analysis reveals that Danmu features positively influence the information quality of travel vlogs and enhance the source characteristics of vloggers. Danmu technology triggers parasocial interaction experiences not only between viewers and vloggers but also among viewers. This process facilitates value co-creation, which consequently shapes viewers’ attitudes toward vlogs and their intentions to travel to the destinations featured in travel vlogs. Originality/value This research constructs a dual-pathway model of parasocial interaction (vlogger–viewer and viewer–viewer) and integrates value co-creation theory in the context of Danmu-enabled travel vlogs. This study model shows how interactive features like Danmu transform passive travel content consumption into an active co-creation experience.