Consumer behaviour in tourism: Concepts, influences and opportunities

Abstract

Although consumer behaviour (CB) is one of the most researched areas in the field of tourism, few extensive reviews of the body of knowledge in this area exist. This review article examines what we argue are the key concepts, external influences and opportune research contexts in contemporary tourism CB research. Using a narrative review, we examine the CB literature published in three major tourism journals from 2000 to 2012. Of 519 articles identified and reviewed, 191 are included in this article. We examine the development of and scope for future research on nine key concepts, including decision-making, values, motivations, self-concept and personality, expectations, attitudes, perceptions, satisfaction, trust and loyalty. We then examine three important external influences on tourism behaviour, technology, Generation Y and the rise in concern over ethical consumption. Finally, we identify and discuss five research contexts that represent major areas for future scholarship: group and joint decision-making, under-researched segments, cross-cultural issues in emerging markets, emotions and consumer misbehaviour. Our examination of key research gaps is concluded by arguing that the hedonic and affective aspects of CB research in tourism must be brought to bear on the wider CB and marketing literature.Keywords: consumption; travel; behaviour; marketing; research agenda Introduction Consumer behaviour (CB) involves certain decisions, activities, ideas or experiences that satisfy consumer needs and wants (Solomon, 1996). It is 'concerned with all activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services, including the decision processes that precede and follow these actions' (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1995, p. 4). CB remains one of the most researched areas in the marketing and tourism fields, with the terms 'travel behaviour' or 'tourist behaviour' typically used to describe this area of inquiry. Few comprehensive reviews of the literature on CB concepts and models exist in the field of tourism. Exceptions include Moutinho (1993) who reviews the social and psychological influences on individual travel behaviour with the aim of developing a model of tourist behaviour and Dimanche and Havitz (1995) Tourism, 2014 Vol. 17, No. 10, 872 -909, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013 four concepts (ego-involvement, loyalty and commitment, family decision-making and novelty-seeking) in an attempt to methodologically advance CB in tourism studies.A lack of comprehensive reviews is not only due to the extensive breadth of the topic area itself, but also because travel behaviour is generally considered as a continuous process that includes varied yet inter-correlated stages and concepts that cannot always be analysed separately (Mill & Morrison, 2002). Tourism researchers have reviewed individual concepts (e.g. Riley, Niininen, Szivas, & Willis, 2001, on loyalty), specific influences (e.g. Moutinho, 1993, on social influences on CB), and particular research contexts (e.g. Hong, Lee, L...

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