Decomposing the Effect of Brand Image in Influencing Information Adoption: The Case of Online Travel Agents

2021 ◽  
pp. 227853372110341
Author(s):  
Prerna Garg ◽  
Anoop Pandey

The availability of information in the form of online reviews offered by online travel agents (OTAs) is playing an important role in the travel decisions of today’s consumer. Considering the huge amount of attention given to behavioral dimension in decision making literature and the popularity of the information adoption model, the present study aims at exploring the direct and indirect effect of information quality (IQ) and information credibility (IC) on attitude toward information usefulness (AT). The study specifically bridges the gap in the literature of information adoption by using brand image (BI) of the OTA as a mediator. The research also examines the subsequent effect of attitude toward information usefulness on information adoption (IA). Convenience sampling technique has been used to gather responses and structural equation modeling has been used to analyze the data. The results confirm the presence of partial mediation effect in the proposed relationships between IQ, IC, BI, and AT and posit a significant effect of attitude toward information usefulness on the adoption of information. The study concludes that it is imperative for marketers in the travel industry to understand that perception of their brand plays a very important role in positioning their information as a useful one.

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttam Chakraborty ◽  
Savita Bhat

Purpose Brand image is considered as a signaling phenomenon because high brand image ensures quality product that can reduce consumer’s uncertainty. A strong brand image induces consumers to pay higher prices, which in turn provides competitive advantage and market success to a company. Online reviews, blogs and texts on brand usage experiences are more effective than oral communication to build a strong brand image. Online reviews on products create distinct places for brands in the consumer’s mind, and thus ultimately affect images of the brands. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images in the context of consumer electronic products in India. Design/methodology/approach The present study adopts a novel approach to collect data. The data have been collected from select e-commerce sites’ brand pages on Facebook through Google form application. A number of respondents are 1,038. Structural equation modeling technique has been used to examine the effects of online reviews on functional and hedonic brand images. Findings The data analysis reveals that source and review quality have more significant effect on credibility evaluation of online reviews as compared to the effects of review consistency and receiver. Moreover, credible online reviews have more impact on hedonic brand image rather than functional brand image in the context of consumer electronics product in India. Originality/value The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of online reviews on brand image.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Assaker ◽  
Rob Hallak ◽  
Rania El-Haddad

The present study examines a comprehensive model of travelers’ use of online travel reviews as a form of user-generated content (UGC) through an expanded unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. The UTAUT2, which includes Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price-Saving Orientation, and Habit, within this study incorporates two new variables: Trustworthiness and Homophily. We empirically examine the expanded model on a sample of 200 residents in the United Kingdom. The partial least squares–structural equation modeling analysis revealed that Homophily, PR, and Price-Saving Orientation are the strongest predictors of individual usage intentions’ of UGC. Moreover, the dimension of Habit, operationalized as a subjective measure of impulsive and automatic use of UGC, was found to be the strongest predictor of travelers’ actual UGC usage. This study enhances our understanding of the explanatory variables driving the usage of online reviews (e.g. contrary to prevalent knowledge from previous works, Trustworthiness in the present study was nonsignificant), thus providing far-reaching theoretical and practical recommendations for tourism researchers and practitioners.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Desy Azulmi ◽  
Adinoto Nursiana ◽  
Rahmat Ingkadijaya

Technological developments have shifted the behavior of offline bookings to worldwide online booking, including in Indonesia. This country is currently experiencing a significant increase in the number of Online Travel Agents such as Traveloka. In this website, people can see reviews from previous guests on the strengths and weaknesses of the hotel, and it facilitates people to select a hotel matching to their needs and preferences. Previous research proves that online reviews and facilities affect the guest’s stay decisions. This research aims to determine the effect of online reviews, hotel facilities and prices on the decision to stay at the Grand Rocky Hotel Bukittinggi. The method used in this research is a qualitative method to obtain comprehensive, valid, reliable and objective data. The sample used in this research were 100 guests who stayed at the Grand Rocky Hotel with the reservation through Traveloka. Sample selection was based on purposive sampling technique, and data collection was conducted by Likert questionnaires to investigate the effect of online reviews, facilities and prices on the decision to stay. The results reveals online reviews, hotel facilities and prices have a strong influence on the decision to stay. Therefore, online reviews, facilities, and competitive prices serve as marketing tools to increase hotel revenues from the Online Travel Agent.


Author(s):  
Qamar Hussain ◽  
Sidra Ghazanfar ◽  
Muhammad Abdullah ◽  
Waqar Ahmad

Purpose: The current study investigates the new impact of the language style of online reviews (figurative vs. literal) on customers' perceived credibility and purchase intention the use of figurative language to advertise product quality and social presence has been advocated in previous marketing research. Design/Methodology/Approach: The theory of expectation is adopted that is developed by Victor Vroom, is used in this study. It claims that a person would act or behave in a certain way because they are motivated to choose a specific behavior over others because of the desired output of that activity. A Google Forms quiz was created to collect data from persons who have done online purchasing. They were divided into two groups. The sentiment is echoed by a sample of 334 Pakistani students. The results were assessed using structural equation modeling (SPSS). Findings: The findings show that consumers' purchasing intentions are influenced by both the language style of online reviews and their perceived reliability. Literal reviews, as opposed to figurative reviews, can increase users' desire to purchase search products. Consumers' willingness to buy experience products may be improved through figurative reviews. Implications/Originality/Value: In the context of Pakistan customer's trust in online shopping is not good. They think these platforms are not trustworthy. With the help of Literal reviews’, we can build customers' trust in online shopping.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 564-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Yee Loong Chong ◽  
Kok Wei Khong ◽  
Teng Ma ◽  
Scott McCabe ◽  
Yi Wang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine what influence travelers’ adoption of online reviews, and whether the online reviews will influence their travel planning decisions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 193 respondents from eWOM websites and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results revealed that eWOM has a significant influence on travel decisions. Furthermore, travelers were willing to adopt information from eWOM and this information was useful in their travel planning and decisions. Gender and time spent on online reviews were found to affect travel planning and decisions. Travelers also found that the reviews and issues raised in eWOM had credibility and were of good quality. Research limitations/implications The study was not able to incorporate all factors which may be relevant to this study and so further theoretical development may be necessary to develop the conceptual model. The sample size, while adequate, can be expanded further. Practical implications Operators and administrators of eWOM can use these findings to develop more user-friendly interfaces so that more positive reviews and sales can be generated. Social implications The results showed that travelers who adopt the information in eWOM will, in turn, use eWOM in their travel planning. This confirms the importance of eWOM and travelers in general will translate their pre-travel decisions into actual travel planning. Originality/value This research extended existing eWOM and information system adoption studies and focused on the travel planning context. This research validated the significant roles of eWOM argument quality and credibility in predicting the information usefulness of eWOM.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhavi Kapoor ◽  
Vijita Aggarwal

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship among knowledge transfer enablers, knowledge transfer process, absorptive capacity and innovation performance in the context of Indian international joint ventures (IJVs). These elements are woven with the thread of dynamic capabilities theory (DCT) into an integrated framework. Design/methodology/approach Data analysis is conducted on a quantitative survey of 196 IJVs with partial least squares structural equation modeling as the statistical technique. Findings Co-learning strategy, collaborative trust culture, information technology-based resources and systems and organizational structural design are found to be significant knowledge transfer enablers. Absorptive capacity has a complementary partial mediation effect on the positive relationship between knowledge transfer and innovation performance of Indian IJVs. Research limitations/implications The study has pioneered in explicating the criticality of IJV’s internal dynamics to cope with the global market dynamism in a much needed Indian context. Practitioners must focus on building dynamic capabilities in IJVs to make them sustainably competitive, as proposed and evaluated by this study. Further, IJV managers need to strategize their resources, routines and structure dynamically to foster knowledge transfer and innovativeness. Originality/value The comprehensive model on DCT offered by this study is rare to match in literature with a completely new context, which is the need of the hour.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Petrocchi ◽  
Annalisa Levante ◽  
Federica Bianco ◽  
Ilaria Castelli ◽  
Flavia Lecciso

The present study focused on the psychological impact that the lockdown due to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) had on families in Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian government imposed a strict lockdown for all citizens. People were forced to stay at home, and the length of the lockdown was uncertain. Previous studies analyzed the impact of social distance measures on individuals' mental health, whereas few studies have examined the interplay between the adults' functioning, as parents, during this period and the association with the child's adjustment. The present study tested if maternal distress/coping predicts children's behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown, hypothesizing a mediation effect via children's emotional experience. Participants were 144 mothers (Mage = 39.3, 25–52, SD = 5.6) with children aged 5–10 years (Mage = 7.54, SD = 1.6, 82 boys); mothers answered to an online survey. Results indicated that mothers with higher exposure to COVID-19 showed higher levels of distress and higher display of coping attitudes, even if in the structural equation modeling model, the COVID-19 exposure was not a predictor of mothers' distress. Compared with mothers with good coping skills, mothers with higher stress levels were more likely to attribute negative emotions to their children at the expense of their positive emotions. Moreover, children's emotions acted as mediators between maternal distress/coping and children's adaptive/maladaptive behaviors. In conclusion, it is important to support parents during pandemic emergence, by providing them with adequate information to manage the relationship with their children, to reduce their level of distress and to enhance their coping abilities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 193896552097358
Author(s):  
Saram Han ◽  
Christopher K. Anderson

As consumers increasingly research and purchase hospitality and travel services online, new research opportunities have become available to hospitality academics. There is a growing interest in understanding the online travel marketplace among hospitality researchers. Although many researchers have attempted to better understand the online travel market through the use of analytical models, experiments, or survey collection, these studies often fail to capture the full complexity of the market. Academics often rely upon survey data or experiments owing to their ease of collection or potentially to the difficulty in assembling online data. In this study, we hope to equip hospitality researchers with the tools and methods to augment their traditional data sources with the readily available data that consumers use to make their travel choices. In this article, we provide a guideline (and Python code) for how to best collect/scrape publicly available online hotel data. We focus on the collection of online data across numerous platforms, including online travel agents, review sites, and hotel brand sites. We outline some exciting possibilities regarding how these data sources might be utilized, as well as discuss some of the caveats that have to be considered when analyzing online data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-151
Author(s):  
Ni Luh Indiani

The development of increasingly advanced technology has an important influence in the tourism service industry, namely the utilization of internet technology in the process of booking tour and travels through online travel agents. Conventional travel agents are increasingly being abandoned as travelers turn to online travel agents. Under these conditions conventional travel agents need to make a number of efforts to keep customers in order to survive. This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality on satisfaction, trust and loyalty of travel agent customers in Badung regency.Research respondents are domestic and foreign customers who use travel agent services in Badung regency, as many as 70 respondents. Data collection was done through survey using questionnaire. Testing research hypothesis using Partial Least Square (PLS).The result of the research shows that 1) the quality of service has positive and significant effect to customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty, 2) customer satisfaction has positive and insignificant effect to customer loyalty, 3) customer trust has negative and insignificant effect to customer loyalty, 4) satisfaction and customer trust does not mediate the influence of service quality on customer loyalty.Travel agent in Badung regency should improve and pay attention to the indicators supporting the satisfaction, trust and customer loyalty so that customers are not easy to switch to competitors.


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