Title: Understanding transactional trust in a tourism destination: evidence from the restaurant industry in Hungary

Authors: Peter Szende; Zhuowei Huang; Li Miao; Katalin Szennai

Addresses: School of Hospitality Administration, Boston University, 928 Commonwealth Av., Boston, MA 02215, USA ' Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 S. 4th street, Champaign, IL 61810, USA ' School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Oklahoma State University, 365 Human Sciences, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA ' Corvinus University of Budapest, H-1093 Budapest, Fővám tér 8, Hungary

Abstract: This study examines single commercial exchanges in a tourism destination. Using the restaurant industry in Budapest, Hungary as the study context, the goal of this study was to identify the key variables affecting transactional trust forming in tourist-service provider interfaces. The qualitative analysis is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 local restaurant operators. This study contributes to tourism service marketing literature in multiple ways. First, this study argues that transactional trust is a more salient notion than relational trust in the context of an unfamiliar tourism destination. Second, trustee- and trustor-induced factors that may trigger tourists' lack of trust are identified. Thirdly, the study shows that various macro- and micro-level environmental factors are linked to the formation of transactional trust and thus reduce the vulnerability and uncertainty tourist experience. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Keywords: restaurant industry; tourists; transactional trust; Hungary.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHEM.2018.092414

International Journal of Hospitality and Event Management, 2018 Vol.2 No.1, pp.70 - 90

Received: 19 Feb 2018
Accepted: 21 Mar 2018
Published online: 17 Jun 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article