Online Group-Buying of Tourism Products: Effects of Value and Trust on Site Attachment, Altruism, and Loyalty

Abstract

Although online group-buying is increasing rapidly, little theoretically based research has been conducted on behaviors of online group-buyers of tourism products. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a theoretical model examining the relationships among value, trust, site attachment, altruism, and loyalty in the context of online group-buying of tourism products. The results indicate that the six hypothesized relationships among value, trust, site attachment, altruism, and loyalty are significant and thus validate the theoretical model. The findings of this study provide theoretical and practical implications for academics and managers of online group-buying sites.

Exploring Consumer Behavior in Virtual Reality Tourism Using an Extended Stimulus-Organism-Response Model

“…With regard to attachment to mobile devices, Lalicic and Weismayer (2018) find that affective feelings derived from mobile phone usage are enhanced by effective travel-related applications, which encourage modern tourists while travelling, whereas the socialness of mobile phones significantly affects passionate behavior and affective outcomes. In online tourism shopping environments, attachment to online shopping sites plays a key role in increasing altruism and faithfulness to sites (Kim et al 2015). In the context of the elaboration likelihood model, attachment to mobile tourism shopping companies influences the continued use of these companies (Kim et al 2016a).…”

“…To measure potential tourists' attachment to tourism-related VR experiences, four items were drawn from previous research (Kim et al 2015(Kim et al , 2016b(Kim et al , 2016cOleksy and Wnuk 2017;Tussyadiah 2016) (e.g., "I am closely related to the content when using the tourism-related VR activity"). To assess visit intention to the destinations in VR tourism activities, three items were drawn from previous research by Huang et al (2013), Jang and Namkung (2009) Because 7-point Likert scales offer high reliability and discriminant validity according to Cicchetti, Showalter, and Tyrer (1985) and Preston and Colman (2000), a total of 27 items were appraised on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (7) strongly agree.…”

“…In location-based augmented reality games, players’ satisfaction and social contact with other players lead to their attachment to the gaming place (Oleksy and Wnuk 2017). From the perspectives of VR and digital tourism technology, this study employs the first-order factor with multiple items to measure the attachment construct based on Kim et al (2015), Kim et al (2016b), and Kim, Kim, et al (2016), Oleksy and Wnuk (2017), and Tussyadiah (2016). Specifically, the four items of attachment to tourism-related VR experiences in this study include cognitive and affective characteristics, such as function, connection, emotional engagement, and psychological identity.…”

“…Attachment, which is a fundamental human need (Maslow 1943), has a significant effect on consumers’ behavior (Orth, Limon, and Rose 2010) and tourists’ choice of destination (Ramkissoon 2015). In digital tourism environments, attachment to online/mobile sites, mobile devices, and social media plays a key role in anticipating consumer behavior on online/mobile sites (Kim et al 2015; Kim et al 2016a), mobile device usage (Kim, Kim, et al 2016), and social media (Kim, Lee, and Bonn 2016, 2017; Kim, Lee, and Preis 2016). Authentic experiences from VR tours (e.g., Dueholm and Smed 2014; Guttentag 2010; Mura, Tavakoli, and Sharif 2017; Yung and Khoo-Lattimore 2019) and attachment to VR games (e.g., Oleksy and Wnuk 2017; Wolfendale 2007) play important roles in illuminating consumers’ behavior in digital tourism environments, but these roles have not yet been verified in VR tourism based on the SOR theory.…”

Dual-route of persuasive communications in mobile tourism shopping

“…For online tourism products, site attachment is an important mediator between motivations (value and trust) and outcomes (altruism and loyalty) on online group-buying sites (Kim et al, 2015c). Site attachment in the context of mobile tourism shoppers is considered to be developed through positive experiences and is a mediator between antecedents (trust, enjoyment, and timesaving) and outcome variables (group and interpersonal attachment and reciprocal altruism) (Kim et al, 2015b).…”