Achieving customers’ repurchase intention through stimuli and site attachment

ABSTRACT

Despite its widespread use as a purchase channel, the Internet still provokes consumer concerns when it comes to the acquisition of high-involvement services, such as travel. This study, therefore, explores customers’ intentions to repeat their online travel purchases, depending on the level of attachment they develop with a website, as is driven by high- and low-task relevant website characteristics. With an innovative, electronic Stimulus–Organism–Response model that introduces a new site attachment variable, this study reveals that, among experienced online travel purchasers, service quality, security and privacy issues, and entertainment all function as stimuli to incite affective, cognitive, and social activity and thereby enhance site attachment. This site attachment, in turn, evokes beneficial customers’ responses, in the form of increased intentions to purchase travel services online again. With this distinctive approach to observing customers’ reactions to and interaction with websites, this study establishes several strategic implications that can help companies enhance their service features and provision, as well as ensure lasting relationships with their customers.

KEYWORDS:

• Online purchase
• repurchase intentions
• attachment
• SOR
• second-order
• service quality
• security and privacy
• entertainment
• travel services

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain for its support of this research through the project ECO2017-82107-R.

Notes

¹ The transportation measure also specified the type of transport: airplane, bus, train, or boat ticket.

² Specifically, the “PLS-SEM minimum sample size should be equal to the larger of the following: (1) ten times the largest number of formative indicators used to measure one construct or (2) ten times the largest number of structural paths directed at a particular latent construct in the structural model” (Hair, Ringle, and Sarstedt 2011, 144; Hair et al. 2014). The data for this research fulfill this requirement.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jana Prodanova

Jana Prodanova is a Ph.D. Assistant Professor at the University of Burgos. Her main research is related to electronic and mobile environment of services provision, making difference between online and mobile channels, and the advantages and disadvantages that each of them holds. She studies the challenges and possibilities of the use of ICT in the sale of services and the behavior and personality of the consumer in tourism and banking contexts. She has published her work in national and international journals of repute and won several awards for her research. She is likewise a reviewer for international journals and conferences and participated in marketing research projects.

Sonia San-Martín

Sonia San-Martín, PhD. is Professor at the University of Burgos (Spain). She is lecturer and researcher in Marketing and has been the Marketing Manager of the University for three years and MBA coordinator for one year. Her current research areas included relationship marketing, internal marketing, international marketing, tourism, consumer behaviour, electronic commerce and mobile commerce. She has presented papers in national and international conferences organized by AEMARK, ACEDE, IADIS and EMAC, among others. She has written a book, some book chapters and has published in national and international journals such as the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Cyberpsychology and Behaviour, Personnel Review, International Business Review, Online Information Review, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Industrial Management & Data Systems and Psychology&Marketing, among others. She has received several awards for her research from AEDIPE, ESIC, CES and FEC.

Nadia Jiménez

Nadia Jiménez, PhD. is Associate Professor at the University of Burgos (Spain). She is lecturer and researcher in marketing area. Her current research areas include international marketing, consumer behaviour, electronic and mobile commerce, digital marketing andbranding or gaming behaviour. She has written several book chapters and has published in national and international journals such as the Journal of Consumer Marketing, International Business Review, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Electronic Markets and Industrial Management & Data Systems, among others. She has received several national and international awards for her research. Participates in National Research Projects of MINNECO and a recognized regional group of research.