Designing Effective and Ethical Fear-of-Missing-Out Appeals in Tourism
研究了旅游营销中如何设计有效且道德的错失恐惧（FOMO）诉求，发现明确或社会比较的FOMO信息可能适得其反，而强调错失个人成长机会的信息更能引发积极反应。
This research investigates how businesses can design effective and ethical Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) appeals in tourism marketing. We introduce a four-dimensional framework that identifies content (trip desirability and social presence), source (from social connections vs. businesses), style (explicit/direct or implicit/indirect in expressing FOMO), and orientation (focusing on missing personal growth opportunities or social comparison) as critical design elements. Four experiments show that FOMO messages that are rather explicit/direct or that compare people socially can backfire, making tourists feel uncomfortable and less positive about the business. Conversely, messages highlighting the potentially missed personal growth opportunities are more likely to create positive reactions. Integrating insights from past FOMO and tourism marketing research with ethical design principles and consideration of emotional well-being, our work theoretically adds to the underexamined domain of business-generated FOMO appeals and provides actionable guidance for developing FOMO-based strategies that foster engagement without compromising tourists’ autonomy or well-being.