The dual-process underlying social presence and behavioral responses: A meta-analysis review in the hospitality and tourism contexts
Linghan Zhang, Pei Liu, Jiahui Wang, Xuan Tang · International Journal of Hospitality Management · 2025
Social presence has emerged as a critical factor in explaining behavioral responses within hospitality and tourism services. Despite substantial research, the mechanisms linking social presence to behavior remain unclear, particularly in technology-mediated communications. This study addresses this gap through a theory-driven meta-analytic review applying the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM). We examine four key mechanisms: (1) affective experience, (2) attitudinal experience, (3) cognitive evaluation, and (4) relationship evaluation. Through meta-analytic structural equation modeling (metaSEM) of 40 studies (N = 15,224), we demonstrate that the HSM provides a robust framework for understanding social presence effects. Our findings reveal that heuristic processing (particularly affective experience) has significantly stronger mediating effects than systematic processing, with relationship evaluation emerging as another critical mediator. These results advance theoretical understanding of social presence while offering practical insights for designing more effective technology-mediated services in hospitality and tourism industries.