Influence of the Technology Acceptance Model on Customer Engagement: The Case of a Travel Booking Mobile Application in China
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) investigated the influence of mobile application attributes on customer engagement with travel booking apps in China. Data were collected from 453 Chinese users of travel booking apps through an online questionnaire; descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The results showed that mobile app attributes such as perceived usefulness (β = .193, p < .001), relative price advantage (β = .253, p < .001) and interface design (β = .225, p < .001) had a positive influence on consumer engagement with the travel app. Furthermore, app attributes including perceived usefulness (β = .246, p < .001), perceived ease of use (β = .245, p < .001), relative price advantage (β = .281, p < .001) and interface design (β = .209, p < .001) were positively and significantly associated with satisfaction. In addition, satisfaction (β = .204, p < .001) was found to positively influence customer engagement with the travel booking app. Finally, satisfaction played a mediating role in the relationship between app attributes and customer engagement. This study contributes to the TAM and travel booking application literature.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: Asia-Pacific International University reserve exclusive rights to publish, reproduce and distribute the manuscript and all contents therein.
References
Albayrak, T., González-Rodríguez, M. R., Caber, M., & Karasakal, S. (2021). The use of mobile applications for travel booking: Impacts of application quality and brand trust. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 29(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667211066544
Amaro, S., & Duarte, P. (2015). An integrative model of consumers’ intentions to purchase travel online. Tourism Management, 46, 64–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.06.006
Ayeh, J. K., Au, N., & Law, R. (2013). “Do we believe in TripAdvisor?” Examining credibility perceptions and online travelers' attitude toward using user-generated content. Journal of Travel Research, 52(4), 437–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287512475217
Blazyte, A. (2024). Penetration rate of online travel booking in China from 2015 to 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117742/china-penetration-rate-of-internet-travel-booking-users/
Bu, Y. (2019). The original idea of local culture design of Kaifeng Tourism App. Journal of Kaifeng University, 1, 83–85.
Chen, Y., & Tsai, C. (2019). Exploring the antecedents of travel app adoption and usage: A perspective on travel motivation and information richness. Internet Research, 29(3), 674–697.
Chin, J. P., Diehl, V. A., & Norman, K. L. (1988). Development of an instrument measuring user satisfaction of the human-computer interface. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 213–218). https://doi.org/10.1145/57167.57203
Chuang, C. (2020). A current travel model: Smart tour on mobile guide application services. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(18), 2333–2352. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1631266
Cochran, W. G. (1977). Sampling techniques. (3rd Ed.), John Wiley & Sons.
Cyr, D., Head, M., & Ivanov, A. (2006). Design aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce. Information & Management, 43(8), 950–963. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2006.08.009
Davis, F. D. (1986). A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: Theory and results [Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA]. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/15192#files-area
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Dickinson, J., Cherrett, T., Hibbert, J., Winstanley, C., Shingleton, D., Davies, N., Norgate, S., & Speed, C. (2015). Fundamental challenges in designing a collaborative travel app. Transport Policy, 44, 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2015.06.013
Dix, A., Finlay, J., Abowd, G., & Beale, R. (2004). Human-computer interaction. Prentice Hall.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Gretzel, U., & Yoo, K. (2008) Use and impact of online travel reviews. In P. O’Connor, W. Hopken, and U. Gretzel (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2008 (pp. 35–46). Springer Vienna. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-77280-5_4
Gui, Y. F. (2016). Research on influencing factors of continuous usage of tourism app users [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Wuhan University, China.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). (2nd Ed.). Sage Publications Inc.
Han, R. D. (2016). Development of the mobile phone app Yuncheng wisdom tourism for Android. Computer Era, 11, 44–47.
Han, X. Y., Hua, L. L., Chen, S. P., & Zhang, X. W. (2019). Research on virtual community quality, relationship quality and customer engagement behavior. Journal of Chang'an University (Social Science Edition), 21(3), 16–31.
Hollebeek, L. D. (2011). Exploring customer brand engagement: definition and themes. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 19(7), 555–573. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2011.599493
Huang, H. C., Wang, T. Y., & Hsieh, F. M. (2012). Constructing an adaptive mobile learning system for the support of personalized learning and device adaptation. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 64, 332–341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.040
Huang, Q. M. (2019). Research on the influence of user perception factors on customer fit in tourism virtual community [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Zhejiang Gongshang University, China.
Johnesue J., Jang, H., Noh, M., & Jeon, S. (2019). The effect of characteristics and attractiveness of mobile Ctrip application on satisfaction and continuous usage intention focused on application involvement. The Journal of Internet Electronic Commerce Research, 19(5), 219–236. https://doi.org/10.37272/JIECR.2019.10.19.5.219
Kang, J. M., Mun, J. M., & Johnson, K. K. (2015). In-store mobile usage: Downloading and usage intention toward mobile location-based retail apps. Computers in Human Behavior, 46, 210–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.chb.2015.01.012
Kang, J., & Kim, J. (2020). The role of personalization in travel app engagement: An empirical investigation of mobile travel apps. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 11(3), 423–440.
Laugwitz, B., Held, T., & Schrepp, M. (2008). Construction and evaluation of a user experience questionnaire. In A. Holzinger (Ed.) HCI and usability for education and work (pp. 63–76). USAB 2008. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89350-9_6
Lee, Y., & Kim, Y. G. (2018). Structural relationships among tourism information, payment service, satisfaction, and intention to reuse: Focused on the Ctrip App in China. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business, 9(2), 123–136.
Lewis, J. R. (2002). Psychometric evaluation of the PSSUQ using data from five years of usability studies. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 14(3–4), 463–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2002.9669130
Li, G. Z. (2013). Research on smartphone app tourism information service in tourism destinations. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Northeast University of Finance and Economics, China.
Li, H. (2017). Construction and implementation of evaluation indicator system of official app for tourism destinations – Based on hierarchical analysis method. Knowledge Economy, 11, 89–91, 93. https://doi.org/ 10.3969/j.issn.1007-3825.2017.11.046
Luo, X., Li, H., Zhang, J., & Shim, J. P. (2010). Examining multi-dimensional trust and multi-faceted risk in initial acceptance of emerging technologies: An empirical study of mobile banking services. Decision Support Systems, 49(2), 222–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2010.02.008
McLean, G. (2018). Examining the determinants and outcomes of mobile app engagement – A longitudinal perspective. Computers in Human Behaviour, 84, 392–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.015
Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. (1974). An approach to environmental psychology. The MIT Press.
Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability engineering. Academic Press Professional.
Razmus, W. (2021). Consumer brand engagement beyond the “Likes”. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 692000. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.692000
Schreiber, J. B., Nora, A., Stage, F. K., Barlow, E. A., & King, J. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. Journal of Educational Research, 99(6), 323–338. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.99.6.323-338
Shao, J. B., Zhang, J. H., & Lin, X. D. (2017). What drives customer engagement behavior? Formation mechanism and empirical analysis. Management Review, 29(1), 155–165.
Simon, F., & Tossan, V. (2018). Does brand-consumer social sharing matter? A relational framework of customer engagement to brand-hosted social media. Journal of Business Research, 85(11), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.12.050
Smith, J. B. (1998). Buyer–Seller relationships: Similarity, relationship management, and quality. Psychology & Marketing, 15, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199801)15:1<3::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-I
So, K. K. F., Wei, W., & Martin, D. (2021). Understanding customer engagement and social media activities in tourism: A latent profile analysis and cross-validation. Journal of Business Research. 129, 474–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.054
Thunderhead. (2014). Engagement 3.0: A new model for customer engagement. Medallia. https://www.medallia.com/products/experience-orchestration/?utm_campaign=thmerger
Tian, Z. M. (2022). A study on engagement with tourism reservation apps: Influencing factors and their relationship with brand equity [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Zhejiang Gongshang University, China.
Tian, Z. M., Shi, Z. Y., & Cheng, Q. (2021). Examining the antecedents and consequences of mobile travel app engagement. PLOS ONE, 16(3), e0248460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248460
Trakulmaykee, N., & Benrit P. (2015). Investigating determinants and interaction quality effects on tourists' intention to use mobile tourism guide. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 12(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219877015500054
Tuch, A. N., Presslaber, E. E., Stöcklin, M., Opwis, K., & Bargas‐Avila, J. A. (2012). The role of visual complexity and prototypicality regarding first impression of websites: Working towards understanding aesthetic judgments. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(11), 794–811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs. 2012.06.003
Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510375599
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926
Verhoef, P. C., Reinartz, W. J., & Krafft, M. (2010). Customer engagement as a new perspective in customer management. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 247–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510375461
Vivek, S. D. (2009). A scale of consumer engagement [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Alabama]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228798775_A_scale_of_Consumer_Engagement
Wang, D., & Xiang, Z. (2012). The new landscape of travel: A comprehensive analysis of smartphone apps. In M. Fuchs, F. Ricci, & L. Cantoni (eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2012 (pp. 308–319). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1142-0_27
Wang, D., Park, S., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2012). The role of smartphones in mediating the touristic experience. Journal of Travel Research, 51(4), 371–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287511426341
Wu, H. C. (2014). Research on the influencing factors of tourism mobile application acceptance behavior based on the perspective of self-guided tourists [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Zhejiang University, China.
Xu, F., & Xu, S. S. (2016). Could tourism mobile apps continuously attract users? A moderated mediation confirmatory model. Tourism Tribune, 31(8), 52–60. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5006.2016.08.010
Young Im, J., & Hancer, M. (2014). Shaping travellers’ attitude toward travel mobile applications. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 5(2), 177–193. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-11-2013-0036
Zhang, H. M., Liu, S.P., Yu, P., & Tang, Y. F. (2015). Impact of consumer innovativeness and user motivation on engagement intention in mobile tourism services. Tourism Tribune, 30(8), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.3969/ j.issn.1002-5006.2015.08.002.
Zheng, Z. P. (2018). An empirical study of influencing the willingness of continuous use of travel booking mobile applications (apps) from the perspective of user experience [Unpublished research paper]. Zhejiang Gongshang University, China.