Title: A model of online trust for travel products

Authors: Dorothy K.Y. Choi, Norman Au

Addresses: School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Abstract: E-travel is expected to grow at an aggressive rate in the coming years, but a lack of trust on the part of potential customers may impede this growth. As transactions through the internet continue to increase, success will largely depend on customers| trust in the company. Trust is important to all marketing transactions, yet few studies have examined the phenomenon in an online environment for travel products. The results of this study suggest that e-brand image and user web experience have strong correlations with the establishment of online brand trust for travel products. The user web experience and online brand trust also have significant positive impacts on the satisfaction level of customers| online purchasing experience. These results provide a platform upon which future research can be built.

Keywords: e-commerce; e-business; electronic commerce; electronic business; internet transactions; world wide web; travel products; virtual trust; e-travel; electronic travel; potential customers; customer trust; online environments; e-brands; electronic brands; branding; image; user experiences; online brand trust; positive impacts; satisfaction levels; online purchases; purchasing experiences; Hong Kong; China; services technology; services management; model applications; tourism management; tourists.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2011.038667

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2011 Vol.15 No.1/2, pp.132 - 146

Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

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