Examining moderating role of personal identifying information in travel related decisions

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prerna Garg ◽  
Anoop Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Information Quality ◽  
Behavioural Intention ◽  
Travel Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
Online Travel Agency ◽  
Personal Identifying Information

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically verify the role of determinants of information quality in shaping attitudes and intention of respondents from major metro cities of India towards electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) using personal identifying information (PII) as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach For the purpose of measuring the role of information quality in predicting attitude towards e-WOM (moderated by PII), the study proposes and validates the research framework by collecting responses from 375 respondents with diverse demographics, belonging to select metro cities of India. Findings All the constructs of information quality have a significantly positive effect on attitude of travellers towards e-WOM. Attitude further impacts the behavioural intention to book via an online travel agency/agent (OTA). PII successfully moderated all the hypothesized relationships with attitude except review sidedness. Research implications The study offers a rationale to fill the gap between information quality and attitude as well as exploring new relationships using PII as a moderating variable. It further opens new avenues in researching the behavioural intention of travellers from metro cities of India with the disruptions created by Web 2.0. Practical implications OTAs in this competitive time must try to harmonize their systems to create content that is timely updated, unique, convincing and useful to build long-term relationships and generate continued revenues. Originality/value In the context of OTAs in India, this study has successfully identified the most relevant constructs of information quality and examined their effectiveness in creating a positive attitude towards e-WOM. The use of contemporary construct “PII” as a moderator will help marketers develop effective strategies for reducing anonymity in reviews and capturing the intention of experience-oriented travellers from the metro cities of India.

Jumia travel in Africa: expanding the boundaries of the online travel agency business model

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1167-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Weigert
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Travel Agency ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Side Constraints ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
Online Travel Agency

Purpose This study aims to analyse the business model of Jumia Travel, an innovative online travel agency (OTA) that operates in African markets. Focusing on market conditions and consumer behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa, where barriers to e-commerce are strong and tourism is viewed as a non-essential activity, the study examines the ways in which Jumia Travel carries out its development objectives in Côte d’Ivoire and revamps the OTA business model in relation to market constraints. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a descriptive-qualitative method based on desk research analysis of corporate sources, including websites, annual reports, public interviews of managers and newspaper articles. It also draws on primary sources collected through interviews with the Jumia Travel Côte d’Ivoire country manager. Findings The research shows that the demand- and supply-side constraints of African markets compel Jumia Travel to acquire new skills and competencies to adapt to and capture the Ivorian travel market. In doing so, the company expands the boundaries of the traditional OTA business models found in developed markets, demonstrating the dynamic capabilities that drive OTA business model transformation when deployed in a technologically immature market. Research limitations/implications The Jumia Travel venture provides an insight into the constraints faced by an OTA at the bottom of the pyramid and in emerging markets and shows concretely what skills and competencies are required to overcome them. It is also a new experiment still in the early stages of development, and this limits the proper assessment of sustainability of its business model. Originality/value This study examines a unique experience: an unconventional OTA that concentrates exclusively on domestic and regional markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The business model lens brings into focus the operational limits and innovation opportunities of developing an e-travel business in the fast-growing markets of Africa, characterised by major supply-side constraints, the predominance of low-income consumers and a poorly structured travel industry. In this context, OTAs’ innovation challenge is no longer to disrupt the travel sector in differentiating from competitors, as was the case in the mature markets of the first world but to develop business processes suitable for operating in the constraint-based environment of emerging markets and capturing the rising demand for travel products. This involves co-creating value in linking African hotel providers and clients and increasing economic returns from this value through various business model adaptations designed for and with local consumers and partners.

How E-WOM motivations vary by hotel review website

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 2730-2751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Mapel Belarmino ◽  
Yoon Koh
Keyword(s):  
Service Recovery ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Travel Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
Online Travel Agency ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Based on equity theory, this paper investigates if guests write on different review websites because of different internal motivations. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of service’ exceeds, neutral, negative, and service recovery–on the relationship between motivations and type of website to write reviews. Design/methodology/approach To exam if the star ratings of the same hotels were significantly different across hotel, online travel agency, and third-party review websites, this study collected 12,000 star ratings from 40 hotels across the US and conducted t-tests. A survey of 1,600 US travelers was administered to uncover the motivations for writing on different websites/website combinations. Four different scenarios were used to test the moderating effect of service: exceeds, neutral, negative, and service-recovery. These responses were analyzed using backwards stepwise regression. Findings Star ratings for the same hotel do differ among the three websites; hotel is the highest and third-party is the lowest. There are seven distinct groups of guests. Guests are motivated to write reviews to balance inequitable relationships. They decide which website/website combination best improves the equity relationship. This research indicates that guests’ choice of website is based on different internal motivations. The moderating effect of the service experience was significant. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by examining different motivations to write online reviews by website. Prior research typically examined one website or aggregated results from multiple websites, ignoring website specific differences. This can help hoteliers to understand why initiatives to promote reviews on certain websites may be unsuccessful.

Asymmetric relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings: the moderating effects of review characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofan Lai ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Xinrui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Travel Agency ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Sentiment Score ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
Online Travel Agency ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Online hotel ratings, a form of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), are becoming increasingly important to tourism and hospitality management. Using sentiment analysis based on the big data technique, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings from the perspective of customers’ motives in the context of eWOM, and to further identify the moderating effects of review characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The authors first retrieve 273,457 customer-generated reviews from a well-known online travel agency in China using automated data crawlers. Next, they exploit two different sentiment analysis methods to obtain sentiment scores. Finally, empirical studies based on threshold regressions are conducted to establish the asymmetric relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings. Findings The results suggest that the relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings is asymmetric, and a negative sentiment score will exert a larger decline in online hotel ratings, compared to a positive sentiment score. Meanwhile, the reviewer level and reviews with pictures have moderating effects on the relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings. Moreover, two different types of sentiment scores output by different sentiment analysis methods verify the results of this study. Practical implications The moderating effects of reviewer level and reviews with pictures offer new insights for hotel managers to make different customer service policies and for customers to select a hotel based on reviews from the online travel agency. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by applying big data analysis to the issues in hotel management. Based on the eWOM communication theories, this study extends previous study by providing an analysis framework for the relationship between customer sentiment and online hotel ratings from the perspective of customers’ motives in the context of eWOM.

Does interest alignment between hotels and online travel agencies intensify review manipulations?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Tianwei Tang ◽  
Yongjian Li ◽  
Di Fan
Keyword(s):  
Search Engine ◽  
Travel Agency ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Travel Agencies ◽  
Interest Alignment ◽  
Customer Trust ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
Online Travel Agency ◽  
Online Travel Agencies

PurposeThis study examines whether a higher interest alignment between online travel agencies (OTAs; hosting platform) and hotels (business owners) will intensify review manipulation activities.Design/methodology/approachWith a panel data set collected from a Chinese online travel agency and a travel search engine, the authors develop a matching-based difference-indifference approach to examine the presence of partnership-intensified review manipulation.FindingsThe authors find that the ratings of agency's partner hotels (with a higher interest alignment) are abnormally higher than those of matched non-partner hotels (with a lower interest alignment), after they are benchmarked with their ratings on the search engine (without a partnership business model). Further, the analysis results indicate that this partnership-intensified manipulation deteriorates the hotel's sales performance because of damaged customer trust and satisfaction.Originality/valuePrevious studies implicitly assume that review manipulator is independent from the hosting platform. This is the first study examining the role of the hosting platform in review manipulations.

Long-term management of patients with multiple brain metastases after shaped beam radiosurgery

2004 ◽  
pp. 406-412
Author(s):  
Paul Okunieff ◽  
Michael C. Schell ◽  
Russell Ruo ◽  
E. Ronald Hale ◽  
Walter G. O'Dell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Metastases ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Multiple Metastases ◽  
Extracranial Disease ◽  
Successful Control ◽  
The Brain

✓ The role of radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with advanced-stage metastatic disease is currently under debate. Previous randomized studies have not consistently supported the use of radiosurgery to treat patients with numbers of brain metastases. In negative-results studies, however, intracranial tumor control was high but extracranial disease progressed; thus, patient survival was not greatly affected, although neurocognitive function was generally maintained until death. Because the future promises improved systemic (extracranial) therapy, the successful control of brain disease is that much more crucial. Thus, for selected patients with multiple metastases to the brain who remain in good neurological condition, aggressive lesion-targeting radiosurgery should be very useful. Although a major limitation to success of this therapy is the lack of control of extracranial disease in most patients, it is clear that well-designed, aggressive treatment substantially decreases the progression of brain metastases and also improves neurocognitive survival. The authors present the management and a methodology for rational treatment of a patient with breast cancer who has harbored 24 brain metastases during a 3-year period.

scholarly journals Sinabung volcano: how culture shapes community resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Marta Mori ◽  
Ronan McDermott ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Yasmina Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how culture, including traditions and social structures, can influence resilience and how culturally sensitive relief operations can put affected people and their context at the core of any interventions. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the Mt Sinabung volcano area in Indonesia was undertaken. As part of the case study, an analysis of interventions was conducted, which was complemented by semi-structured interviews with Karo cultural experts and humanitarian organisations. Findings Culture influences the manner in which the Karo people react to volcano eruptions with varying implications for recovery. In addition, relief organisations which understand people’s actions through a cultural lens have better managed to tailor programs with long-term impact, thereby avoiding aid dependency. Practical implications Practical examples of disaster management activities that adequately account for the beneficiaries’ way of living prior to the eruptions are provided. Aid actors are provided with guidance concerning how to better tailor their activities in line with a cultural lens. Originality/value The study provides empirical grounding for claims concerning the role of culture in planning interventions in Indonesia and other similar contexts.

Labor lawsuits and debt maturity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Unsal
Keyword(s):  
Chief Executive ◽  
Debt Maturity ◽  
Employee Relations ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Debt Market ◽  
Legal Fees

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how firms’ relationships with employees define their debt maturity. The authors empirically test the role of employee litigations in influencing firms’ choice of short-term versus long-term debt. The authors study employee relations by analyzing the importance of the workplace environment on capital structure. Design/methodology/approach The author’s test hypotheses using a sample of US publicly traded firms between 2000 and 2017, including 3,056 unique firms with 4,256 unique chief executive officer, adopting the fixed effect panel model. Findings The authors document that employee litigations have a significant negative effect on the use of short-term debt and a significant positive affect on long-term debt. Employee litigations, along with legal fees, outcomes and charging parties, matter the most in explaining debt maturity. In addition, frequently sued firms abandon the short-term debt market and use less shareholders’ equity to finance their operations while relying more on the longer debt market. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of employee mistreatment in debt maturity choice. The study extends the lawsuit and finance literature by examining unique, hand-collected data sets of employee lawsuits, allegations, violations, settlements, charging parties, case outcomes and case durations.

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