On the relationships between digital brand evidence, relationship quality and behavioural intentions among online tourism agencies’ customers

Abstract

This paper aims to propose and empirically validate a measure of brand evidence of Online Travel Agencies (OTA), representing all relevant brand associations that customers are doing when evaluating an online brand, and then investigate its effect in building strong consumer-brand relationships and creating favourable consumer behavioural intentions. To check the validity of the proposed model, a survey of 971 users of OTA platforms in Greece was conducted and data was analysed with PLS. Results fully support the validity of the proposed brand evidence index, as several OTA’s brand related associations that a customer develops, before and during service encounters, shape the index expressing brand evidence. Furthermore, the findings confirmed the significant effects of brand evidence on both brand relationships quality and consumer behavioural intentions towards the brand. The current research effort significantly contributes to the field of digital booking services, as it appears to be the first to measure digital brand evidence and investigate their role to strengthen consumer-brand relationships.

Exploring the Motivation to Follow Small Brands on Social Media

“…Contributions include: Understanding of consumer preferences in the social media landscape regarding the small travel brands, uncovering the role of interaction patterns in driving buying behavior (notable contribution is the recognition of interaction as a key motivator for consumers to engage with small brands), revealing the role of social media (the influence of inspiring content, authentic experiences and engaging storytelling, along with competitions and gifts have been shown as important factors that motivate consumers, and all these are enabled by social media platforms), identifying niche marketing strategies (the diversification of small brands often comes by operating in niche markets, targeting specific consumer segments with unique needs, preferences, and motivations) and driving innovation and competition. Brand and companies can create online brand communities that can bring people with similar interests together [11][12][13][14][15]. Future research can further deepen our understanding of consumer motivation to follow small brands, uncover new insights, and provide practical implications for small businesses aiming to engage and connect with their target audience effectively.…”