Positive or honest? Antecedents and consequences of tourists’ self-presentation in social media

Self-presentation in social media is overwhelming but its subtle effects on tourists require more investigation. Five experiments examined how self-presentation intention is stimulated and how self-presentation behavior changes tourists' satisfaction. The results show that high (vs. low) narcissist tourists have stronger self-presentation intention and prefer positive (vs. honest) self-presentation. Second, positive (vs. honest) self-presentation behavior increases tourists' satisfaction via gaining mianzi. Third, the moderating roles of initial satisfaction condition and positive feedback are confirmed. This study provides a new research perspective on satisfaction as a dynamic state and informs tourism practice on self-presentation as an innovative strategy for service recovery.