Brand co-creation in tourism industry: The role of guide-tourist interaction

Abstract Brand co-creation in the tourism industry involves multiple stakeholders, including tourists, tour guides, and travel agencies. However, extant tourism literature has paid limited attention to the effect of guide-tourist interaction on brand advocacy for tour guides and travel agencies. This research explores the role of tour guide interaction with tourists in brand co-creation. Based on data collected from 358 group tour participants, our study reveals that the functional, social, and ethical interactions between tour guides and tourists play a critical role in co-creating corporate brands and employee brands. These three types of interactions influence brand advocacy for the tour guide and travel agency, via customer perception of experiential quality and value.