Do Changes in Attribute Weights between Two Platforms Alter Interplay Effects in the O2O Era? Two Time-Lag Intervals in the Tourism Sector

Abstract

Hotels and their online agencies have an interplay effect on the online-to-offline (O2O) platform. Since the new platform cannot do business with one service provider alone, understanding the changes in attributes that determine service satisfaction during subsequent consumption events is crucial. Despite such interrelationships between online agency services and offline hotel services, there remains a dearth of empirical research on this issue. Grounded in the consumption system approach, the present paper attempted to empirically examine the temporal, carryover, and interplay relationships among service attributes, customer satisfaction, and loyalty intentions in the hotel O2O commerce context. We developed a conceptual model for the establishment of consumption systems that consist of two different service providers and tested it using two time-lag interval data. The results showed that the relationship between attribute-level ratings and satisfaction is dynamic for both tourism websites and hotels. In particular, we found that changes in online tourism website attributes are more dynamic than changes in hotel attributes. Furthermore, while the tourism website satisfaction–hotel loyalty intentions linkage strengthens during consumption episodes, the hotel satisfaction–tourism website loyalty intentions linkage weakens, demonstrating the difference in temporal effects on O2O businesses. Meanwhile, although the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty intentions are strengthened in the online tourism sector, the same relationship if weakened in the hotel sector. Finally, we found no carryover effects in the Chinese hospitality sectors.