THE MEDIATING ROLE OF REAL-TIME INFORMATION BETWEEN LOCATION-BASED USER-GENERATED CONTENT AND TOURIST GIFT PURCHASE INTENTION

The global use of Web 2.0 applications has generated enormous volumes of user content. Drawing on cognitive load theory, this study examines unexplored factors that influence gift purchase intention of tourists. The authors identify localization and realtime information for shaping tourists' gift purchase intention, which is facilitated by reduced cognitive overload. Analyzes of the study relies on a sample of 273 foreign tourists in Malaysia. A cross-sectional quantitative study is conducted using partial least square structural equation modeling. Results showed that location-based user-generated content and real-time information significantly affect gift purchase intention of tourists. Moreover, real-time information partially mediates the relationship between location-based user-generated content and gift purchase intention.