The moderating effects of three reference groups on Asian pleasure travelers’ destination value

ABSTRACT

This study explores how the destination brand equity paradigm of Asian pleasure travelers may vary according to their level of susceptibility to the three types of reference group influences (i.e. informational, utilitarian, and value-expressive) by adapting destination awareness, image, quality, and value as a theoretical background. The results indicate that the positive effects of destination awareness, image, and quality on travelers’ destination value are moderated by informational and utilitarian reference group influences, but not by value-expressive reference group influence. This study provides both theoretical and practical implications by testing the moderating effects of three types of reference group influences.

KEYWORDS:

• Reference group influences
• customer-based brand equity
• CBBE
• Asian
• pleasure travelers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.