Location

Grand Valley State University

Start Date

2011 12:00 AM

Description

There is no doubt that the internet has become a new and valuable communication channel, collapsing all geographical and physical barriers, and making it a competitive marketing devise in the hospitality and tourism industry (Doolin et al., 2002). It is clear that travelers increasingly prefer interacting with the travel business online to conveniently gather information on destinations, prices, and schedules (Greenspan, 2004). For that reason, many hotels are regarding the internet as a new and efficient marketing environment. For example, one of the main advantages for hotels by using electronic strategies as a distribution system is the cost reduction (O’Connor and Frew, 2004).

Due to the rapid expansion of internet users and channels, however, online firms have begun to realize the importance of electronic service quality for survival in the competitive online market (Evanschitzky et al., 2004). In other words, better e-service quality has become critical for the electronic channels that have large growth potential for delivery of products and services (Evanschitzky et al., 2004). Therefore, electronic service quality is a requirement to measure performance of electronic channels according to Barrutia and Gilsanz (2009).

In recent years, numerous studies have extensively attempted to find and explore e-service quality in the general internet market (i.e. clothes, cosmetics, or online banking). Curiously, despite the fact that hotel reservations constitute the second most frequently purchased travel product online according to Card et al. (2003)’s empirical study, relatively few have attempted to address a detailed examination of online hotel reservation web sites. Furthermore, there has been minimal research examining the relationship between customers’ satisfaction and e-service quality regarding e-service performance of online hotel booking web sites.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine factor structure of e-service quality scale in the online hotel business sector. This study adapted transaction process-based framework (eTransQual) conceptualized by Bauer et al. (2006). The present study is expected to provide marketers with a better understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of their web pages, so they can make appropriate strategies for the distribution channel. Thus, marketers are likely to improve their effectiveness in motivating travelers to reserve a room on their web pages (Morosan and Jeong, 2008).

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Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

Exploring E-Service Quality of Online Hotel Booking Web Sites

Grand Valley State University

There is no doubt that the internet has become a new and valuable communication channel, collapsing all geographical and physical barriers, and making it a competitive marketing devise in the hospitality and tourism industry (Doolin et al., 2002). It is clear that travelers increasingly prefer interacting with the travel business online to conveniently gather information on destinations, prices, and schedules (Greenspan, 2004). For that reason, many hotels are regarding the internet as a new and efficient marketing environment. For example, one of the main advantages for hotels by using electronic strategies as a distribution system is the cost reduction (O’Connor and Frew, 2004).

Due to the rapid expansion of internet users and channels, however, online firms have begun to realize the importance of electronic service quality for survival in the competitive online market (Evanschitzky et al., 2004). In other words, better e-service quality has become critical for the electronic channels that have large growth potential for delivery of products and services (Evanschitzky et al., 2004). Therefore, electronic service quality is a requirement to measure performance of electronic channels according to Barrutia and Gilsanz (2009).

In recent years, numerous studies have extensively attempted to find and explore e-service quality in the general internet market (i.e. clothes, cosmetics, or online banking). Curiously, despite the fact that hotel reservations constitute the second most frequently purchased travel product online according to Card et al. (2003)’s empirical study, relatively few have attempted to address a detailed examination of online hotel reservation web sites. Furthermore, there has been minimal research examining the relationship between customers’ satisfaction and e-service quality regarding e-service performance of online hotel booking web sites.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine factor structure of e-service quality scale in the online hotel business sector. This study adapted transaction process-based framework (eTransQual) conceptualized by Bauer et al. (2006). The present study is expected to provide marketers with a better understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of their web pages, so they can make appropriate strategies for the distribution channel. Thus, marketers are likely to improve their effectiveness in motivating travelers to reserve a room on their web pages (Morosan and Jeong, 2008).