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Why are customers coming back to buy their airline tickets online? theoretical explanations and empirical evidence

Published: 15 August 2005 Publication History

Abstract

The objective of this study is to clarify the theoretical and practical problem of continuance intention (CI) of purchasing airline tickets online. Based on an in-depth literature study factors were identified that could explain the level of continuance intention. The first set of factors relate to the expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) in the consumer behavior literature. Based on ECT, continuance intention can be theoretically explained by satisfaction, confirmation, web site quality, and loyalty incentives. The second set of factors relate to the technology acceptance model (TAM) which states that the actual system use - such as using online web sites to purchase airline tickets - is determined by the behavioral intention and the attitude towards usage, which in turn can be explained by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The third factor is the price sensitivity of the consumer. The research model combines the different factors to explain continuance intention. Empirical research was carried out via an online survey among customers of a web-based airline ticket agency in the Netherlands in 2004. The online survey was pretested and refined and sent to 1770 customers at the time they purchased an online ticket. In total 715 customers answered the questionnaire and 492 of these were returning customers. The results of the empirical research support the following conclusions. Customer are coming back to purchase online tickets primarily because of the satisfaction of the online booking process and a positive attitude towards using the online booking system. Loyalty incentives and price sensitivity only play a marginal role. This by and large confirms the ECT model. The satisfaction with the service is explained by the confirmation of pre-purchase expectations as well as the quality of the website. The attitude toward usage was explained by the perceived usefulness and ease of use, in accordance with the TAM model. Somewhat surprisingly, trust and perceived risk played no significant role. Conclusions are formulated and implications for practice and research are presented.

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      cover image ACM Other conferences
      ICEC '05: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Electronic commerce
      August 2005
      957 pages
      ISBN:1595931120
      DOI:10.1145/1089551
      • Conference Chairs:
      • Qi Li,
      • Ting-Peng Liang
      Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      Published: 15 August 2005

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      Author Tags

      1. airline industry
      2. e-Commerce
      3. expectation confirmation theory
      4. online consumer behavior
      5. online travel agent
      6. technology acceptance model

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      View all
      • (2024)Exploring Satisfaction and Trust as Key Drivers of e-Government Continuance Intention: Evidence from China for Sustainable Digital GovernanceSustainability10.3390/su16241106816:24(11068)Online publication date: 17-Dec-2024
      • (2024)Technology acceptance model for understanding consumer’s behavioral intention to use artificial intelligence based online shopping platforms in BangladeshSN Business & Economics10.1007/s43546-024-00754-y4:12Online publication date: 14-Nov-2024
      • (2021)Hedonic and Utilitarian Values Behind Engagement of Online ConsumersResearch Anthology on E-Commerce Adoption, Models, and Applications for Modern Business10.4018/978-1-7998-8957-1.ch064(1242-1263)Online publication date: 2021
      • (2021)UNDERSTANDING ONLINE SHOPPING CONTINUANCE INTENTION OF TURKISH USERS: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENTPamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute10.30794/pausbed.1003073Online publication date: 22-Nov-2021
      • (2020)Hedonic and Utilitarian Values Behind Engagement of Online ConsumersJournal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations10.4018/JECO.202007010118:3(1-20)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2020
      • (2017)Understanding the intention to use mobile shopping applications and its influence on price sensitivityJournal of Retailing and Consumer Services10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.02.01037(8-22)Online publication date: Jul-2017
      • (2016)Strategic E-Business Management through a Balanced Scored Card ApproachEncyclopedia of E-Commerce Development, Implementation, and Management10.4018/978-1-4666-9787-4.ch027(361-386)Online publication date: 2016
      • (2014)Insights into individual's online shopping continuance intentionIndustrial Management & Data Systems10.1108/IMDS-07-2014-0201114:9(1453-1476)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2014
      • (2013)The antecedents of travellers’ e-satisfaction and intention to buy airline tickets onlineJournal of Enterprise Information Management10.1108/JEIM-07-2013-004026:6(624-641)Online publication date: 14-Oct-2013
      • (2012)Trust Theories and Models of E-CommerceTrust and Technology in B2B E-Commerce10.4018/978-1-61350-353-9.ch003(58-77)Online publication date: 2012
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