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ABSTRACT. The emergence of Internet-based distribution channels has created both opportunities for and challenges to the travel agencies. Based on the customer-value perspective, this study focused on exploring the relative weights of the nine proposed fundamental travel products from an Internet perspective.The study cohort comprised customers who had purchased room products from travel agencies websites, with data collected using a questionnaire survey. Customers were surveyed during a 3-month period at Taipei International Airport. Excluding useless questionnaires resulted in 131 respondents, corresponding to a response rate of 18.71%.We found that privacy, safety, and product quality were the three most important factors influencing customer purchases of room products on the Internet. The results of this study have some implications for travel agencies-companies will need to make a significant investment in website design of safety mechanism, and the greater the effort managers make to alleviate these concerns, the more likely it is that consumers will visit and buy products on their website.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate how online trust affects group shopping intention in the Ihergo web site. Design/methodology/approach -Samples from the Ihergo web site were collected by mailing a questionnaire survey to those who agreed to participate. Findings -Group-buying operators need to understand their consumers and the scheduling shopping rules between internet shoppers and firms. Moreover, word-of-mouth (WOM) can be created online by offering web visitors the ability to access the opinions of satisfied customers. Practical implications -An online business may adopt different methods to enhance its customer satisfaction level. When people enter a significant amount of personal data at a web site, they are typically reluctant to change vendors and enter the data again. Social implications -Customers view a group-buying operator as a shopping expert, and expect that the group-buying operator can handle shopping problems before a dispute occurs. Originality/value -The findings of this study provide interesting insights for group-buying operators interested in group-buying commerce; consumers having a high level of interest in shopping possess a strong motivation and desire to interact with the group-buying operator.

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Purpose -The research goal of this study was to determine how flow experience and perceived behavioral control (PBC) affect participation behavior in the backpackers' forum. Design/methodology/approach -Subjects were self-selected by placing messages on over five recommendations members in the backpackers' forum. In total, 2,000 invitation messages were mailed to members of the Taiwanese backpackers' forum, of which 435 were returned completed (a return rate of 21.75 percent). Findings -As our analysis, flow experience in a virtual community is positively associated with the behavioral intentions to use the virtual community. Perceived enjoyment in a virtual community is positively associated with the behavioral intentions to use the virtual community, and behavioral intentions to visit a virtual community are positively associated with the member's actual participation in a virtual community. Research limitations/implications -While this study has produced meaningful data for the development of multidimensional measures of factors that influence participation behavior in the Taiwanese backpackers' forum, the validity of an instrument cannot be firmly established on the basis of a single study. All of the data used for tests were collected only from a single backpackers' forum.Practical implications -Our study shows that travel agencies must become technologically astute to keep up with its customers, should be viewing the internet as a vital distribution channel for marketing, and should be linked to other well-known reservation web sites. Social implications -The backpacker community served as a reference group that could significantly influence travelers' beliefs, attitudes, and choices. Originality/value -In the present study we found that a basic understanding of the essence of the backpacker community is a prerequisite for any organization operating a travel-oriented community if they are to be clear about their mission, purpose, and the right direction to take to achieve their goal. That goal will increase the commitment of the members to a virtual community by increasing their helping behavior and active participation.

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This study was aimed at determining how job demand and emotional awareness affect the job satisfaction of students. Internships are vital for hospitality students because they allow them to experience real job situations while they are in school, thus providing them with realistic expectations about their careers. Participants were 632 Taiwanese undergraduates of hospitality internships who were recruited using a mailed questionnaire survey. The model and hypotheses were tested using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Results indicated that emotional job demand and emotional awareness were positively associated with emotional display rules, and emotional display rules were positively associated with job satisfaction, with social support playing a moderating role.