Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Exploring the Relationship among Online Review, Perceived Barriers, Customer Experience, and Purchase Intention of Online Booking Consumers Customer Value as a Mediator

Ching-Cheng Shen and Yen-Rung Chang^{* *}Correspondence: Yen-Rung Chang, Graduate Institute of Tourism Management, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Kaohsiung 812, Taiwan, Tel: +886-939-118369, Email:

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Introduction

The advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the development of the tourism industry beginning the 1980 [1]. It has played an important role in the growth and continuous improvement of the tourism industry, while changing the condition and behavior of consumers [2]. ICT has allowed consumers to purchase needed products at a lower price through different electronic transaction mechanisms resulting in the birth of online travel agencies (Online Travel Agency, OTA) such as Agoda and Booking.com. Internet is a vital sales channel for the tourism industry [3].

Innovation is an important factor that affects an enterprise’s competitiveness and sustainable management, and the keys for enterprise innovation are information technology and network technology. The study by Xue et al. [4] found that customer demand, organizational learning, entrepreneurship, and Internet effectiveness significantly affect the innovative business model of the travel industry. Displaying information is an important resource for companies to maintain their sustainable competitiveness and organizational performance [5]. When an enterprise is able to sense the market faster than its competitors, it allows it to increase sales, market share, profitability, productivity, and effectiveness [6,7]. Further, the rapid development of information and network technology exerts a great impact on consumer behavior because consumers are now actively collecting relevant travel information and sharing consumer experience; thus, “word of mouth” has become an important factor that influence consumer decision-making. Understanding the impact of online reviews made by tourists and the impact of customer barriers to innovation on purchase behaviors in the context of information and network technology are important issues that need to be discussed to enhance the company's competitive advantage and sustainable development. Previous researches on the influence of information technology on tourism consumption behavior and decision-making are very limited; therefore, the current study aims to investigate how information technology affects consumers’ tourism consumption behavior and decision-making this is the first research motive of this study.

The importance of Word Of Mouth (WOM) has been widely discussed and verified [8-11]. In the past, WOM was mostly obtained through oral communication; nowadays, due to the development of the Internet, the effect of WOM is further enhanced as opinions and views of other consumers have become more accessible online [12]. With the advancement of Web 2.0 network interactive technology, the nature of this interaction has changed the relationship between consumers and corporate brands, transforming the consumer into an active participant rather than a passive receiver [13]. Consumer opinions in the form of “comments” and “online reviews” can be made in different forms and may appear in various platforms such as personal websites, blogs, social media sites including Facebook, and company’s official website. The research results of Goldenberg et al. [9] showed that WOM has a very strong influence in consumer decision-making process. Moreover, relevant studies on online bookstores and online reservations found that online consumer reviews have a significant impact on sales [14,15]. Consequently, Ye et al. [16] pointed out that the click rate of online reviews of travel products increased by 10%, and the number of online room reservations increased by more than 5%. Most previous researches focused on the impact of quality on customer value, but very few have discussed the impact of customer value on WOM. Therefore, another purpose of the current research is to understand how positive reviews posted on the Internet could affect customer's perceived value and intention to book online. This is the second motive of this study.

Consumers can access online information posted on a website through different modes depending on the type of device being used. When using a desktop computer, a desktop version of the website can be viewed; meanwhile, websites accessed via mobile devices can be viewed through the mobile version of the website or through mobile applications or apps. Most websites are designed to allow users to view them using different devices by automatically adjusting their interface depending on the screen size. Therefore, the online booking experience of a mobile device user is different from that of a non-mobile device user due to the difference in the website’s interface. This research also aims to investigate how online booking experience affects customer value and booking intention. This is the third motive of this study.

Consumers’ reaction to innovation can either be adoption and resistance. Ram [17] described innovation resistance with reverse thinking. Only when customers overcome the obstacles faced by innovation can the innovation be adopted. Sánchez et al. [18] found that customer resistance is the biggest risk of tourism entrepreneurial innovation. New innovation presented by entrepreneurs are often resisted by suspected customers because the latter are already satisfied with the status quo and have little or no demand for innovation. Studies have shown that innovation-related risks and customers’ insufficient understanding of innovation value are the two main sources of resistance; thus, communication strategies are essential to reduce related risks and to build consumer trust. The application and innovation of Internet technology have led to the development of online reservations. Whether the barriers to innovation resistance will also affect customer value and reservation plans is the fourth motivation for this research.

Relevant research on the factors that influence online booking purchase intention in the past ten years have focused on perceived price, perceived trust, online security, customer satisfaction, functionality, usability, perceived value, and perceived risk. Also, the research topics mainly emphasized transaction security, as well as internet access issues such as perceived gaps and consumer trust. With the rapid development of mobile communications and mobile booking becoming a trend in online travel booking, understanding the factors that relate online booking intention and how website interface (desktop and mobile versions of the website) changed consumers’ experience and affected their online booking intention, which is the sixth research motive of this study.

As mentioned, this study focuses on the online reservation intention of mobile device and non-mobile device users, and explores whether online review, perceived barriers, customer experience, and customer value influence online reservation intention. Also, the mediating effect of customer value is examined.

Literature Review

Purchase intention

Purchasing intention refers to the behavior of consumers who want to buy a certain product [19]. When consumers have a positive purchase intention for a product, the probability of purchasing the product is high [20]. Purchasing intention is a measure of the likelihood that consumers will purchase a particular product; therefore, the higher the purchase intention, the higher the probability of purchase [21]. Consumers' purchase intention is often used as an alternative measure of their actual purchase behavior.

In the empirical research conducted by Kim et al. [22] on online consumers, it was found that perceived trust, perceived price, and perceived value are antecedent variables of purchasing intention. Additionally, it was noted that perceived value is a mediator between perceived trust and perceived price affecting purchase intention [22]. Research results on travel websites show that perceived value and trust are the primary factors affecting purchase intention [23]. Also, online review [24] and brand image [25] are considered influential factors for online purchase intention.

Online reviews

Pan et al. [26] pointed out that online customer reviews are important sources of travel information, and online customer reviews are often more immediate, interesting, and credible than the information provided by travel service providers [27]. Park et al. [28] observed that having many positive online reviews from previous consumers may affect future consumers’ cognitive perception, making them think that the product they are interested in is useful which improves their review of the product and increases their purchase intention. Customer online review or evaluation is often very diverse, and it can either be positive or negative; positive review depicts pleasant, vivid, and novel characteristics, while negative review usually contains complaints, unhappiness, and defamation of products or services [9]. Ye et al. [16] conducted a research on China's most visited travel website, Ctrip (www.ctrip.com), and found that positive user reviews significantly increase hotel reservations. As pointed out by previous research, positive online reviews positively affect the reservation and purchase intention of consumers [27]; therefore, this study referred to the online review scale developed by Sparks [29-31], and measured the construct of consumers’ online review with positive online reviews.

Perceived barriers

Due to the advancement of technology, the application and popularization of Internet technology have led to the innovation of e-commerce channels and the development of online booking. Rogers [32] pointed out in Diffusion of Innovations Theory that under general conditions, when innovative products are listed on the market, only a few people are willing to try, and most potential users will not immediately accept innovative products. In the process of innovation diffusion, when consumers are exposed to new products, innovation adoption and innovation resistance will occur at the same time. The process of innovation adoption will begin only when innovation resistance is overcome [33]. Therefore, Ram [34] described innovation resistance with reverse thinking; that is, innovation adoption will occur once the obstacles are overcome. If innovative products cannot meet the needs of users in the long-term, or when innovation resistance is too much, it will take a long time before innovation adoption to occur and may even be eliminated by the market. Ram [33] proposed two types of perceived barriers faced by innovation namely, function barriers and psychological barriers. Functional barriers include usage barrier, value barrier, and risk barrier; while psychological barriers include traditional barrier and image barrier. This research is based on the Theory of Innovation Resistance. Obstacles on perceived innovation generated by users include function barriers and psychological barriers. The current study referred to [35-37] for function barriers, and developed function barrier questionnaires through user interviews. Meanwhile, psychological barriers was adopted from [33]. Fain et al. [38,39] The latter’s scale is supplemented by a questionnaire measuring on the psychological disorder.

Consumer value

Customer value is defined as the amount of money consumers are willing to pay for the cost of a product or service; it is the combination of money and perceived benefits [40]. Customer value is considered high when a customer believes that the benefits obtained from a product or service is higher than the accompanying costs. Value is also considered a part of consumer experience, not just in the products purchased nor in the brand chosen [41]. Taylor [42] suggested that customer value is the consumer's evaluation of a product. The value that a customer attaches to a product or service is influenced by one’s long-term experience with it, transforming consumer's ideas and viewpoints and affecting future purchase and repurchase. Kotler [43] further pointed out that customer value includes product value, service value, personal value, and image value. For customers, obtaining value comes with a cost, such as money, time, energy, and psychological costs. The real value of a product or service is the benefit obtained after the sum of the costs spent.

Sheth et al. [44] developed a customer choice model (Consumer Value and Marketing Choice) based on the five customer value classification and structure namely, functional value, social value, emotional value, epistemic value, and conditional value.

Holbook [45] introduced the concept of experience value, which is the value formed by customers in the experience process. Zheng et al. [46] mentioned that experience value, the so-called customer experience creation after consumption, creates an experience environment based on the customer’s life situations, allowing one to feel a unique and valuable experience. Changing the customer's perception of the brand will change the customer's consumption behavior. Experience value continues with the concept of customer value and creates a new milestone in customer consumption value. Sheth et al. [44] proposed the Consumer Value and Marketing Choice model for research, and Wang et al. [46] integrated and modified the consumer value concepts and experiences of Sheth et al. [44] to develop the experience value theory. In the current experience economy era, products, brands, and services are all based on experience; consumers use these experiences to determine the final consumer behavior. Smith et al. [47] observed that the experience process can induce customers' emotions and experiences, but can also affect customer satisfaction. Consumers are the main source of profit for the hotel industry; therefore, it is important for hotels to understand the needs of consumers, provide the best services to meet their demands, and create good interaction and value for them [48]. Based on the above, the current study proposes that customer value for online booking includes the actual online booking behavior, the generation of experience to evaluate the online booking system, and the accumulation of consumer cognitive value, transforming consumer impression and their concept of hotel reservation system.

Online reservations are not limited to time and space. Some of its main advantages include availability of real-time room conditions for viewing anytime and the convenience of confirming reservations online. Continuous advancement of network and mobile communications has allowed online travel agencies and hotels, through their official website, to actively develop online booking. However, for non-chain, local or smallscale hoteliers, the development and maintenance costs for establishing and maintaining an exclusive Central Reservation System (CRS) are often expensive. This research cooperated with OTA for their online reservation system, and is based on the characteristics of online booking, related literature, Sheth et al. [44] concept of consumer value, and Wang [49] experience value model. Mathwick et al. [50] experience value was adopted as a measurement scale and was used as a reference to develop the online booking consumer value model. As shown in Figure 1, the five values namely, functional value, emotional value, epistemic value, social value, and experience value are used as measurement variables for consumer value; each are explained below:

• Functional value emphasizes the functionality and practicability resulting from product selection, with the purpose of satisfying the consumer's functional requirements for using the product. The functional value of online booking includes independent operation, 24-hour accessibility, simple payment process, suitable product and service information, real-time local room conditions, preferential prices, etc.

• Emotional value is the feeling and emotional state produced after customer selection, and has the ability to trigger specific emotion or change in behavior. Online booking service of an online travel agency provides convenience, security, and simplicity.

• Social value is the connection of an individual to one or more of his/her social groups. Social value includes the development, environmental protection, and symbolism of online travel agencies.

• Epistemic value refers to the perceived utility gained by the customer through curiosity and satisfaction caused by the one’s choice of products or services.

• Experience value is the value from experience gained by customers after engaging in activities. Online reservation provides users with a reservation experience that is different from face-to-face hotel reservation (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Online booking customer value development model.

Customer experience

Experience refers to the process of perceiving and undergoing things after a period of time or activity. It is not a simple concept and not just merely a feeling, but an explanatory consciousness of a behavior and is a kind of spiritual process of time and space [51,52] defined experience as an individual event that occurs in response to certain stimuli, including the entire quality of life, usually caused by direct observation or participation of the event; it is a result of one’s encounter with or living through a certain situation, stimulating the senses, mind, and thinking. Holbrook [53] pointed out that consumers are only rational and perceptual in terms of experience and customer behavior. In the context of consumption, they are eager to get emotional responses. Currently, consumers have become adventurous in shopping and tends to buy products or services to make them feel happy, indicating that customer experience-oriented consumption is gradually becoming mainstream.

Morrison [54] pointed out that customers tend to have an "emotional attachment" towards certain tourism-related products, services, or brands. When tourists experience pleasant emotions caused by short-term service processes, the chances of their future purchase behavior will be high, which means tourists with valuable experience is important for companies as they are one of the main selling points. When tourists experience pleasant emotions caused by short-term service processes, the chances of their future purchase behavior will be high. Providing tourists with valuable experience is important for companies as it is one of their main selling points. Experience is usually not spontaneous but induced, and is a personal subjective psychological state obtained after undergoing certain perceptual and memory activities; therefore, no two experiences are completely the same.

Higie et al. [55] proposed the concept of customer experience management (CEM), which deals with handling customers' feelings, interests, and enthusiasm for specific products during their consumption process and decision-making, and aims to facilitate formation of customer value through experience [56-58] described CEM as the process of strategically managing customers' overall experience of a company’s product or service.

The current study refers to customer experience as the overall perception of the customer on the entire process of online booking, beginning from one’s online searching for a suitable hotel, checking of the hotel’s amenities and room information, comparing the chosen hotel with other hotels, and completing the reservation process through the hotel’s webpage or mobile application. Thomas [59] stated that service providers should deconstruct the service delivery process from the customer's point of view. Berry et al. [60] suggested that service organizations should first deeply understand various situational clues that affect customer experience, including signals and symbols in the consumption process, and understand how these service delivery tools are interpreted by customers. This study intends to use the concept of service delivery blueprint (service blueprint). A framework was first set-up for the service delivery process of online booking through user interviews Figure 2; then, questions were developed for each stage. Afterwards, items were developed into a survey questionnaire which measures relevant customer experiences (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Framework for online booking process.

Method

Research method of this study consists of p arts : research framework, survey questionnaire design, which are described as follows:

Research framework

This study developed the research framework shown in Figure 3 through relevant literature review, and explored the relationship among online review, customer experience, perceived barriers, customer value, and mobile reservation intent. The main factors directly affecting customer value and online reservation intent are online review, perceived barriers, and customer experience, customer value directly, and online reservation intention. The research framework is described in (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Research framework.

Research hypothesis

When consumers make purchase decisions, they often refer to other consumers' comments to judge the quality or value of the product. Zeithaml [61] emphasized that consumers will rely on information clues to evaluate products. When consumers are stimulated by clues, they will have an idea of the product’s quality and value. Park et al. [28] noted that the quality of the message content affects consumers' perception of the product. Ye et al. [15] conducted a research on Ctrip, China's largest travel website, and pointed out that positive user reviews significantly increase hotel reservations. Moreover, Clemons et al. [62] indicated that positive online review increases product sales. Ye et al. [16] further indicated that 10% increase in the click rate of online reviews of travel products results in a 5% increase in the number of online guest room reservations. Fan [63] explored the impact of corporate image, Internet WOM, and perceived value on consumers’ intention to buy iPhones, and found that all have significant positive impact on consumers’ purchase intention. eWOM as well has a positive impact on purchase intention [64-66]. Based on the above, the first hypothesis of this study is established as of below (H1)

H1: Online review is positively related to online reservation intention.

Ram et al. [17] proposed innovation resistance with reverse thinking perspective, which means that innovation adoption will occur once consumers overcome the obstacles called perceived barriers. Previous studies have verified the negative relationship between perceived risk and online purchase intent of travel products [67]. Ram et al. [34] proposed that the perceived barriers faced by innovation include dysfunction and psychological barriers; the former consists of use barriers, value obstacles, and risk barriers, while the latter involves traditional disorders and impression disorders. When innovative products cannot meet the long-term needs of users, or when the barriers to innovation are too great, innovation adoption might take a long time to occur or may even be eliminated without being adopted. From the above deductions, the second research hypothesis is established as of below (H2).

H2: Perceived barriers is negatively related to online reservation intention.

Morrison et al. [54] pointed out that pleasant experiences with a product or service will affect the customer’s future purchase behavior. The results of empirical research by Kim et al. [22] indicated that transaction experience influences purchase intention. Smith et al. [47] observed that customers' emotions can be induced through the experience process, which could also affect customer satisfaction. Consumers are the main source of profit for the hotel industry; therefore, by understanding the needs of consumers and providing the best services to meet their demands, a good interaction between consumers and enterprises can be developed [48]. Keng classified online experiences, and one of them is direct product experience. It occurs when the user gets information through direct interaction with the product. Specifically, direct product experience increases the user expectation for future purchases. From the above deductions, the following research hypothesis is established as of below (H3)

H3: Customer experience is positively related to online reservation intention.

Previous researches regarded quality as the antecedent of value, and value was considered to be an important factor that directly drives purchase or repurchase intention [68]. Diep et al. [69] found that consumers' purchase intention depends on their value perception of the product; the higher the value of the product, the stronger their intention to purchase the product. Additionally, past studies have confirmed that cognitive value is a pre-cause for purchasing intention [70,71]. Zheng et al. [46] mentioned that customer experience is formed after consumption. Based on their current situation in life, customers create an experience environment allowing them to feel and perceive the value of the product or service. The review of their experience can change their perception of the brand, which in turn can change their consumption behavior. Moreover, consumers' expectations of products and their perceived value affect customer satisfaction [72]; perceived value is one of the most important indicators that predict tourists’ intention to revisit or repurchase a product [73]. Lee et al. [74] explored the relationship between customer value and intention to use jointpurchase websites. The research results indicated that customer value positively affects intention to use. From the above deductions, the following research hypothesis is established as of below (H4).

H4: Customer value is positively related to online reservation intent.

Torres et al. [75] observed that comments posted by customers affect transaction value; transaction value has the same concept as functional value in customer value. After purchase, consumers consider their shopping experience to evaluate and rate their level of satisfaction with the product’s quality. Many studies have confirmed that the perceived quality of a product directly impacts customers’ satisfaction [76,77] and satisfaction also directly influences purchase intention. Further [78] noted that perceived value is an important concept that is richer than service quality and is more representative of the overall customer service evaluation. It is also an important link between consumer perceived quality and satisfaction. Park et al. [28] observed that when products have many positive online reviews from previous consumers, this could affect new consumers’ cognitive perception of the product, inducing demand and increasing purchase intention. Chen et al. [79] found that Internet WOM has a positive and significant impact on the usefulness, ease of use of travel community websites, and consumer attitudes towards travel goods, they also found that the usefulness and ease of use of tourism community websites have a positive and significant effect on the consumption attitude and purchase intention of tourism goods. Wang [49] explored the relationship between customers’ perceived value of local cuisine and intention to revisit from the perspective of raid tourism. The research results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between Internet WOM, perceived value, and intention to revisit. From the above deductions, the following research hypotheses are established as of below (H5)

H5: Online reviews is positively related to customer value.

Innovation is always paired with perceived barriers, which in turn affects the use of innovation [35]. Kuisma et al. [35] found that customers have functional and psychological barriers in online banking, affecting customer value such as safety, convenience, efficiency, economy, etc. This in turn influences the use of online banking. Lian et al. [80] applied innovation theory to analyze users' acceptance of online shopping, and found that functional barriers, psychological barriers such as value, use, risk, impressions, and traditions can affect purchase intentions. All three has been shown to exert greater impact on intangible and information-related products than tangible products. Noh et al. [81] conducted an empirical research on hotel industry and pointed out that perceived risk negatively affect customer value. Based on above review, the following research hypotheses are established:

H6: Perceived barriers is negatively related to customer value.

Anderson et al. [82] indicated that customers’ perceived value can be evaluated from the perspective of experience. Chen et al. [83] argued that variables such as experience value, perceived quality, perceived risk and product price have a significant impact on customers’ perceived value and future purchase intention in e-commerce; therefore, these factors that affect online shopping experience should be considered. The results of the study by Martín-Ruiz et al. [84] indicated that customer value can be created through experience. Consequently, Wang [49] research results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between perceived value and intention to revisit. Experience quality has a significant impact on customer perceived value [85]. From the above deductions, the following research hypotheses are suggested.

H7: Customer experience is positively related to customer value.

In the process of reviewing the mediating effect, few related researches were found illustrating the effect between the customer value and purchase intention mentioned in this study. However, the definition of perceived value mentioned in some studies is similar to that of customer value, so the literatures about perceived value acting as the mediate variable is illustrated as follows. It was found in the empirical research that the perceived trust, perceived price, and perceived value are antecedent variables of purchase intention. Additionally, it was noted that perceived value is a mediator between perceived trust and perceived price affecting purchase intention [22]. Wang [49] explored the relationship between customers’ perceived value of local cuisine and revisit intention from the perspective of raid tourism. The research results showed that there is a significant positive correlation among Internet WOM, perceived value, and revisit intention. The perceived value was observed having a significant mediating effect on the relationship between Internet WOM and revisit intention. The results of the researches noted that perceived value plays the role of the mediator between the e- WOM and behavior intention [66,67]. And in some researches, perceived value has been shown as a mediator between experience quality and behavioral intentions [86-87]. Therefore, the role of perceived value as the mediator between other independent variables and behavioral intentions needs to be further confirmed. Thus, we propose:

H8: Customer value mediates the relationship between online reviews and online reservation intention.

H9: Customer value mediates the relationship between perceived barriers and online reservation intent.

H10: Customer value mediates the relationship between customer experience and online reservation intention.

Measurement

This study developed a survey questionnaire consisting of five constructs: (1) online review, (2) customer value, (3) online reservation intent, (4) perceived barriers, (5) customer experience. In addition to literature review, experienced users were recruited for a semi-structured interview in order to discuss whether the items in the questionnaire based from the literature is in line with the actual situation of online booking. The questionnaire contents were then developed accordingly. The first construct is online review, six items measuring it were adopted from Filieri et al. [31], which measure adequacy of information and usefulness of content. Secondly, four items measuring customer value were adopted from Bonson. Thirdly, two items measuring online reservation intention were adopted from Bai et al. [88], which measure it from two dimensions of now and future intention. The fourth one, five items measuring perceived barriers were adopted from Chiu et al. [37], which measure them from two dimensions of function barriers and psychological barriers. The last construct is the customer experience, of which development scales were based on the framework of the service delivery process. The questionnaire is divided into six parts, including online review, perceived barriers, customer experience, customer value and online reservation intention, and user basic information. The scales of five constructs are measured using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree). The sixth part reports respondent information in 6 items includes age, gender, marital status, occupation and monthly income etc. using nominal scale.

Regarding to the data collection through questionnaires, topic of this study aims to explore the influential factors affecting customers’ uses of mobile devices, and non-mobile devices in terms of online reservation intention. In order to prevent respondents from taking too long to answer the questionnaire and limit memory errors, this research recruited consumers who have used the online reservation system for online hotel reservations in the last 6 months in Taiwan. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. The estimate number was obtained through the calculation of nonparametric statistics sampling numbers, which was set within the range of 95% confidence level. Survey administration was done from March 2019 to August 2019; and the total number of participants was 354. Through travel-related webpages and community websites, this study collected data online by recruiting samples to answer the questionnaires online.

Results

Sample structure analysis

Table 1 shows the participants’ demographics. Most are females (60.2%), aged between 31 and 40 years old (37.3%), and have graduated or currently undergoing college education (58.2%). In addition, majority of the participants are married (55.4%), currently working in the service industry (36.2%), and have a personal monthly income between 30,000 and 40,000 NTD (20.3%). Consequently, 36.2% of the participants have booked online twice within the year, 24.3% have booked once within the year, and 23.7% have booked thrice within the year. Lastly, 98.9% of the respondents own a smart phone and 57.6% own a tablet. The utilization rate of mobile internet service was 91.8%. The rate for online reservation without being restricted in certain locations is around 51.4% (Table 1).

Table 1: Rparticipant's demographics

Reliability and validity test

The reliability and validity were tested based on suggestions indicated by Hair et al. [89]. The results of the initial measurement model show that one item (BR3) is problematic due to its low factor load. It was removed for the following analysis. The results in Table 2 show that the factor loadings of each item are higher than 0.6, the Cronbach’s alpha values of each dimension are within 0.7-0.9, and the Composite Reliability (CR) values of each dimension are within 0.7-0.9. The Cronbach’s alpha values are higher than 0.7 which is consistent with the suggestion of Hair et al. [89] and the CR values are higher than 0.7 which is consistent with the requirement of [90]. According to suggestions of Fornell et al. [91], average variance extracted should be higher than 0.5; the convergence validity test of this study was done using Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and the values of each dimension are within the range of 0.52-0.63; this indicates that the convergence validity of the questionnaire is good (Table 2).

Table 2: Results of reliability and validity tests.

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

This study utilized Structural Equation Model (SEM) and AMOS 21.0 software to verify the relationships among the variables. There are five latent variables in inner model including online review, perceived barriers, customer experience, customer value and online reservation intention; The fit indices of the structural model are as follow: CMIN=149.6, DF=179, CNIN/DF=3.07, Root Mean Square Residual (RMR)=0.031, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=0.077, Incremental Fit Index (IFI)=0.918, and Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=0.917, Goodness of fit index (GFI)=0.9. As indicated, all indexes are within the acceptable range, which means that the hypothesized model fits the empirical data well (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Path analysis for the correlational model of online reservation intention.

This study processed the hypotheses tests (N=354); the hypotheses test results are shown in Figure 6. There are 6 hypotheses being supported. Specifically, customer experience has a positive effect on online reservation intention (β=0.36, p<0.001). Customer value as well has a positive effect on online reservation intention (β=0.21, p<0.05). And online review also has a positive effect on customer value (β=0.31, p<0.001). In addition, customer experience has a positive effect on customer value (β=0.47, p<0.001). Online review did not directly affect consumers' online reservation intention, but it positively influenced customer value, and customer value mediated the relationship between online review and online reservation intention (indirect effect=0.062), which is the full mediation (H8 was supported). Perceived barriers did not have a significant effect on online reservation intention and customer value (H2, H6, and H9 were not supported). Lastly, customer value partially mediated the relationship between customer experience and online reservation intention (H10 was supported). It is estimated that the predictors of customer value account for 53.3% of its variance, and the predictors of online reservation intention account for 37.0% of its variance (Table 3).

Table 3: Path coefficients and research hypotheses testing.

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) of mobile and non- mobile online reservation

Users’ online reservation: In order to understand the differencesin the online reservation intention of non-mobile device users (used desktop computers for online booking, n=205) andmobile device users (accessed web pages or mobile apps through smartphones for online booking, n=147), this study comparedand analyzed the two groups of samples. The research results are shown in Table 4 and Figures 5 and 6.

Table 4: Path coefficients and research hypotheses testing (Mobile device user and Non-mobile user.

Figure 5: Path analysis for factors that influence online reservation intention: Non-mobile users.

Figure 6: Path analysis for factors that influence online reservation intention: Mobile device users.

The path analysis results for online reservation intention of nonmobile users (n=205) show that customer experience was the most important factor affecting online reservation intention. Consumers using desktop computers for online reservation pay more attention to the search, function integration, payment, and order management functions of the reservation website. Customer experience was also found to influence customer value. However, for users who use non-mobile devices to make reservations, the effect sourcing from customer value’s mediating relationship between customer experience and online reservation intention did not exist.

The path analysis for online reservation intention of mobile users (n=147) shows that online review, customer experience, and customer value were important factors that affect online reservation intention. Customer value was found to mediate the relationship between online review and reservation intention, and the relationship between customer experience and online reservation intention. The impact of online review of mobile users on customer value was significantly higher (coefficient 0.43, p<0.0001) than that of all the populations (0.31, p<0.0001), and the impact of customer value on online purchase intention was significantly higher (0.41, p<0.01) than that of all the populations (0.21, p<0.05). These indicate that online review and customer experience can promote users’ perceived customer value, and further influence customers’ purchase intention.

The purpose of this study is to explore whether online review, perceived barriers, customer experience, and customer value are the influencing factors of online reservation intention, and to discuss the mediating effect of customer value. According to the research results, the following conclusions and suggestions can be obtained:

Taiwan has a high penetration rate of smart mobile phones. 57.6% of the people in Taiwan hold tablet devices. The utilization rate of mobile internet service charges is 91.8%. The results show that the age of the main group for online reservation is 31-50 (63.3%). The people who use online reservation have the education level above university (88.7%). The monthly income of users is above 30000 NT (71.1%). 75.8% of the users have more than two times of booking experiences in one year.

The results show that online review can positively relate to the customer value and influence the online reservation intention through the intermediary of customer value. It shows that online review will help to enhance the customer value of online reservation, that is, to strengthen and identify the value provided by online reservation, so as to enhance the online reservation intention. With the popularity of information technology, consumers are more and more willing to search for the useful information and the information they are interested in. Meanwhile, they are also willing to share their consumption experiences. When consumers find that there are many positive online comments on a product, it will make consumers think that the product is useful, which will improve consumers' cognition and demand for the value of the product, and then relate their purchase intentions. The results are consistent with the study results of Park et al. [28], Chen et al. [79], Wang et al. [49]. At the same time, Bickart thought that the online word of mouth is more reliable than the traditional marketing communication. The online word of mouth plays an important communication role in the virtual community. The online review will be an important source of online word of mouth.

Customer experience has a positive impact on customer value. Through the experience process, customers' emotions and experiences can be induced. At the same time, customer satisfaction will also be affected [47]. Through the experience process, customer value can also be created [56,57]; Martín-Ruiz et al. [84] From the perspective of customers, reservation service providers should deconstruct the service delivery process [53] and deeply understand various situational clues that affect customer experiences [60], so as to create consumers' profound booking experience and value.

Customer experience is an important factor of online reservation intention. At the same time, customer value also plays an important intermediary role in the influence of customer experience on online reservation intention. It shows that the customers’ pleasant experience in the process of reservation service will affect the future purchase behavior of customer [54]. The empirical research results of Kim et al. [22] showed that the trading experience is the influence variable of purchasing intention. The experience of customers in the process of booking can directly affect the purchase intention of the customers. In addition, the purchase intention can also be affected through enhancing the customer value. Therefore, in the process of online reservation, through the system quality, service quality, design quality, and other aspects, we can create an experience environment that customers like and change the customers' experiences and feelings of reservation, so as to improve the customer's reservation intention.

Customer value has a positive impact on the online reservation intention. When consumers recognize that the value of a product is high, the customers’ intention to purchase this product will be strong [70]. Online reservation can increase the customer value from the five dimensions of functional value, emotional value, knowledge value, social value, and experience value, so as to enhance the online reservation intention of customers.

The results of correlation analysis of the study show that the perceived barriers will not relate the results of the purchase intention and customer value, which is obviously inconsistent with the results of the literature review. To explore the reasons, for online reservation users, the online reservation perceived barriers of value identification, risk uncertainty, and image do not exist at present. That is to say, the online reservation users who have become the research object do not think that they have perceived barriers in the use of online reservation. Therefore, the relevant hypotheses of perceived barriers in this study are not established. Customer demand, organizational learning, entrepreneurship, and network efficiency have a positive impact on the innovative business model of travel industry [4]. The study of Sánchez et al. [18] believed that communication strategy is essential to reduce the associated risks and build the trust. Therefore, the reservation industry should use information and network technology to understand the needs of customers, innovate the function of online reservation, establish the mechanism of communicating with customers, deepen the customer experience, and increase the customer value, so as to reduce the disorder of customers to online reservation and increase the online reservation intention of customers.

Users of non-mobile online reservation have higher link between customer experience and purchase intention than users of mobile online reservation. This paper explores that the nonmobile online reservation users use computers to browse web pages. Compared with the mobile online reservation users, due to the size differences between computer screens and mobile screens, computer-based web pages can provide more functions and richer information. Therefore, the customer experience of non-mobile online reservation users has a strong impact on customer value and online reservation intention. When designing the non-mobile device web pages and mobile device web pages and providing information content, operators should carefully consider the different needs of users with different interfaces for user experience, so as to provide the design that meets the needs for helping to improve online reservation intention and improve the transaction completion rate.The effect of online review on customer value of mobile online reservation users is significantly higher than that of non-mobile online reservation users. To explore the reasons, online review obviously occupies a large area in the mobile online reservation page. Therefore, for the online reservation users, customers’ online review will help to strengthen customer value and enhance online reservation intention. The online review referred to in this study is set at the positive evaluation, while the effect of negative evaluation is not included in this study.

Conclusion

The effect of customer value on online reservation is significantly higher than that of non-mobile online reservation users. To explore the reasons, users of mobile online reservation may agree with the convenience and economic value of online reservation due to their high preference for the familiarity and frequency of online reservation. Therefore, compared with the non-mobile online reservation users, the positive effect of customer value on online reservation intention is higher, which can improve the online purchase intention. It is the reason why the enterprise is willing to invest high cost in the development and maintenance of exclusive mobile apps.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the reviewer

Conflict of Interests

None

Sources of Funding

None

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