Destination website quality, users’ attitudes and the willingness to participate in online co-creation experiences

Abstract

Purpose -An official destination website (ODW) is a key component for tourist's decision-making processes. ODW acts as a direct channel where users may share experiences and opinions about previous or future travels. At the same time, it drives user participation in destination branding activities. In this context, it is crucial to identify how the destination website, using Web 2.0 technologies, could motivate user's participation with the brand. The purpose of this paper is to propose and evaluate a model that posits the destination website quality as a determinant factor to predict users' attitudes toward the website and their willingness to participate in co-creation experiences. Design/methodology/approach -Using a combined qualitative and quantitative method, this paper provides an exploratory research that examines the role of destination website quality on attitudes toward the website and the willingness to participate in online co-creation experiences. Findings -Findings confirm that there is a direct and significant relationship between website quality, attitudes toward the website and willingness to participate in online co-creation experiences. Moreover, attitudes toward the website partially mediate relationships between destination website quality and willingness to participate in online co-creation experiences. Originality/value -The literature of value co-creation is trying to identify which factors drive consumer's participation with brands across different consumption contexts. This study provides evidence that confirms, from a tourism destination website point of view, that website quality is one of these key factors that motives user's co-creation with a destination.

The online destination brand experience: Development of a sensorial–cognitive–conative model

“…In this respect, the attitude toward the website is defined as the users' predispositions to react positively or negatively to online content in natural exposure situations (Chen & Well, ). The relationship between the quality of the destination website and the user's attitude toward the website has been confirmed in several directions: indirectly as a result of perceived site credibility (Lee & Gretzel, ) or the user's continued intention to use the website (Chung, Lee, Lee, & Koo, ), and directly, posing the antecedent condition of website quality on attitude toward the website (Jiménez‐Barreto & Campo‐Martínez, ). In reference to these literature discussions, hypotheses H2 and H3 are proposed.H2 The perceived quality of the destination website has a positive influence on the user's attitude toward the website.H3 The perceived quality of the destination website has a positive influence on the sensorial (a) and cognitive (b) online DBE.…”

Technology, Value Co-Creation and Innovation in Service Ecosystems: Toward Sustainable Co-Innovation

“…According to this view, value co-creation occurs thanks to the implementation of platforms that improves the strength and effectiveness of relationships between actors [29]. Moreover, the development of innovation depends on the technical adequacy of technology (website quality, quality of information [30,31], transparency, accessibility, and adaptability to internal changes [32,33]), rather than on the use made of it.…”

“…Therefore, extant research identifies some antecedents for value co-creation and innovation (see the third column in Table 1). First, there are some enablers deriving from the technical dimensions identified in the technology-driven approach [30,52], such as platforms and technology quality and performance (Website quality) as well as technology adoption. The enablers conceptualized in the second approach are related to the relevance of resource integration, sharing, and collaboration among stakeholders as essential enablers for successful value co-creation [36] that is mediated through the human component [53].…”

Evaluating the Egyptian Official online channels for branding Egypt as a tourism destination

“…Tanrisevdi & Duran, (2011) mentioned that WTO in 2001, developed destination websites evaluation criteria with five main features: main page, user interface, information richness, interactive travel planners, virtual brochures, and site characteristics. Barreto & Martínez, (2018) proposed nine dimensions for destination websites' evaluation from previous studies (Park et al, 2007;Tsang et al, 2010): (1) ease of use; (2) responsiveness; (3) fulfillment; (4) security/privacy; (5) personalization; (6) visuals; (7) quality of the information; (8) trust; and (9) interactivity. While, Dickinger and Stangl (2013) analyzed the tourism website performance by using similar dimensions (usability, user-friendliness, enjoyment, design, confidence, content quality, navigation and availability).…”