The dissertation explored the relationships among Website interactivity, brand knowledge, consumer-based brand equity and behavioral intentions in the context of hotel Websites. Based on an in-depth literature review, a theory-driven model was proposed and ten hypotheses were developed. The dissertation employed an empirical study based on a survey design, and collected data via a marketing company. Respondents who booked a hotel room online using hotel branded Websites in the last 12 months were approached to complete the online questionnaire. Four hundred ninety six (496) respondents completed the online questionnaire by answering to questions related to their last hotel booking experience. Analysis was conducted in two phases: (1) Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and (2) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The overall fit of the CFA model and the final SEM model were acceptable, indicating an adequate fit to the data. The results suggested that the two dimensions of Website interactivity, namely system interactivity and social interactivity, positively impacted the components of brand knowledge, and that system interactivity had a stronger impact as compared to social interactivity. Although, social interactivity was not found to have a significant direct effect on brand awareness, the results showed that social interactivity had a significant impact on brand image. Furthermore, the relationship between brand equity and behavioral intentions was positive and significant. The empirical study offered theoretical for utilizing Website interactivity as a branding tool in the hotel context. Additionally, the results provide practical insights into branding strategies, Website development, and behavioral intentions enhancement. Very few studies have empirically examined and incorporated Website interactivity dimensions and brand knowledge with consumer-based brand equity and behavioral intentions. This gap in the literature has been compounded by an absence of empirical studies on Website interactivity as a tool to develop brands and behavioral intentions in the context of hotel Websites. The present dissertation closes this gap in the literature by reporting on a questionnaire of US adult travelers that offered data on those theoretical associations. Conceptually, the results support the influential impact of Website interactivity on brand elements and behavioral intentions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-5801 |
| Date | 01 January 2014 |
| Creators | Davila, Albert Barred |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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