Title: Personal characteristics and situational characteristics as the mediating factors in the relationship between information source and information choice strategies of the Arab tourists in Malaysia

Authors: Bilal Ahmad Ali Al-khateeb

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, College of Economics and Administration Sciences, Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), P.B. Box 5701, 11432 Riyadh, KSA

Abstract: In an attempt to further explain how information source influences the information choice strategies, this study investigates the mediating effects of both personal characteristics and situational characteristics on the relationship between information source and information choice strategies of Arab tourists. Questionnaire data was generated from 358 respondents of Arab tourists in Malaysia through a self-administered questionnaire procedure, and the data was analysed using the SmartPLS analysis technique. Overall, the study found significant mediating effects of both personal characteristics and situational characteristics on the relationship between personal characteristics and information choice strategies. The findings further show a partial mediating effect for the personal characteristics while a full mediating effect was found on the situational characteristics variable. Based on this, the study concludes that personal characteristics and situational characteristics can jointly mediate the relationship between personal characteristics and information choice strategies. The study provides some insights on the importance of personal characteristics and situational characteristics and the need to consider the two factors when planning for tourism adventures by Arab tourists.

Keywords: personal characteristics; situational characteristics; information source; information choice strategies; Arab tourism to Malaysia; SmartPLS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2019.101581

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2019 Vol.31 No.4, pp.479 - 498

Received: 29 Apr 2017
Accepted: 15 Oct 2017
Published online: 13 Aug 2019 *

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