Invite Unfamiliar Friends to Create Like‐Minded Itineraries: The Effect of Knowledge Aggregation

ABSTRACT This study explores how to invite unfamiliar friends (UFs) through online travel communities to create like‐minded itineraries. It collected 206 valid questionnaires from travel initiators of UFs with travel experiences and used partial least squares structural equation modeling for analysis and hypothesis testing. It found that social identity significantly affected trust and teamwork, which significantly affected the intention of UFs, and knowledge aggregation moderated trust, teamwork, and the intention to make UFs. UFs generated trust and teamwork opportunities through social identity and contributed to subsequent intentions; knowledge aggregation was vital in this study. This study expands the practical application of social identity and planned behavior theories on the intentions of UFs. We introduce a new aspect to OTC tourism research by aggregating knowledge and offering a theoretical framework for progressing from social identification to behavioral intention. The findings can guide travel companies in formulating effective marketing strategies for OTCs.