The study proposes and tests a model of hotel choice behavior based on the economics of information theory which incorporates relational and core service experiences as well as search attributes. The model expands the domain of inquiry beyond the initial level attributes to the higher order latent construct and composite levels. Results suggest that hotel choice behavior of male and female guests can be represented as a global construct with three viable components. Implications of the results are discussed.

Submitted by Cristiano Amaral (cristiano.ab.castro@gmail.com) on 2013-03-29T12:07:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Versão Final Revisada Pós Banca.pdf: 5123662 bytes, checksum: 8f45db0b7df686fbca7c29913288d95c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2013-04-01T13:25:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Versão Final Revisada Pós Banca.pdf: 5123662 bytes, checksum: 8f45db0b7df686fbca7c29913288d95c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-01T13:29:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Versão Final Revisada Pós Banca.pdf: 5123662 bytes, checksum: 8f45db0b7df686fbca7c29913288d95c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-01 / The Cue Utilization Theory establishes that all products are made of multiples cues that may be seen as surrogates for the intangible attributes that make up any given product. However, the results of many years of research have yet yielded little consensus as to the impact generated by the use of such cues. This research aims to contribute to the discussion about the importance of intrinsic cues by investigating the effects that the use of product cues that confirm the product claim may have on Claim Credibility (measured through Ad Credibility), and also on consumers’ Purchase Intention and Perceived Risk toward the product. An experiment was designed to test such effects and the results suggest the effects of the use of Claim Confirming Product Cues depend on consumer’s level of awareness about such cue, and that when consumers are aware of it, Ad Credibility and Purchase Intention increase, as Perceived Risk decreases. Such results may have implications to academicians and practitioners, as well as may provide insights for future research.