Study of antecedents of e-relationship quality in hotel websites

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: The objectives of this study are (1) Identify significant antecedents of e-relationship quality; (2) Examine the relationship between the antecedents of e-relationship quality and e-loyalty; and (3) Investigate whether switching costs and involvement moderate the effects of e-relationship quality on e-loyalty. The questionnaire was posted and collected on the Internet via a web survey company. The questionnaire was electronically delivered to randomly selected panel members targeting both leisure and business travelers. A total of 695 completed questionnaires were collected. The findings will provide useful insights for the key functional features that hotel webmasters should concentrate on when designing and revamping hotel websites.

Findings and Conclusions: First, considering the determinants of e-relationship quality, CFA results disclose that the antecedents of e-relationship quality have three dimensions, namely, communicational, traditional, and relational functions. Therefore, from the managerial perspective, an online provider can build early online systems based on the three functions meeting the prerequisite requirements of customers, and then continuously evaluate customers' perceptions for future functions. Second, the results show that e-relationship quality, consisting of e-trust and e-satisfaction, is positively related to e-loyalty. Thus, an online hotel provider can enhance customer e-loyalty by satisfying three functions and consequently building e-relationship quality. The third issue was whether switching costs or involvement had a moderator effect on the relationships between e-relationship quality and e-loyalty. The results showed that switching costs had a moderator effect on the link: the effect of e-relationship quality on e-loyalty in customers is high when switching costs are perceived to be low rather than high. Therefore, switching costs is one of the main antecedents of customer loyalty in the online context. However, we do not find evidence for the moderation effect of involvement between e-relationship quality and e-loyalty.