Towards understanding members' interactivity, trust, and flow in online travel community
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Pages | 937-954 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570510616120 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Author | Jyh‐Jeng Wu,Yong‐Sheng Chang |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Towards understanding
members’ interactivity, trust, and
flow in online travel community
Jyh-Jeng Wu and Yong-Sheng Chang
Department of Business Administration, Providence University,
Taichung Hsien, Taiwan, Republic of China
Abstract
Purpose – This study targeted members of online travel communities to explore the factors that
affect the experience of flow and how flow affects the transaction intentions of these members.
Design/methodology/approach – In order to test this model, data were collected via an online
questionnaire, with a total of 286 survey instruments available. The data were analyzed using
structural equations modeling with AMOS.
Findings – The empirical findings showed that, first, as far as the online travel communities
members are concerned, both interactivity and trust do affect each other. Second, interactivity is the
key factor for the members to have flow experience in online travel communities. Third, the experience
of flow can enhance the transaction intentions of members while they are in the online travel
communities.
Practical implications – Web site administrators should improve the interactivity with the
members, so that they can have flow experience, and further strengthen their transaction intentions.
Originality/value – This paper provides a model to understand online travel communities members
who place their trust in the online travel agencies and, interacting with the web sites in ways that
result in a flow experience, ultimately intensify their transaction intentions.
Keywords Modelling, Trust,Travel, Electronic commerce
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Online tourism is an information intensive industry. Through the internet consumers
can easily access information that is both convenient and efficient, and receive mor e
flexible rates, save time, and reduce cumbersome negotiations involved in processes
such as booking tickets and accommodations. These features have contributed to the
popularity of online travel portals. Thus, online travel community has been regarded
as central to models of internet marketing and electronic commerce in travel industry
(Wang and Fesenmaier, 2004).
According to a report put out by MIC (Market Intelligence Center, Taiwan’s leading IT
industry analysis and consulting service provider) in June 2004, of Taiwan’s 23 million
inhabitants, roughly 8.88 million people (39 percent) surf the internet. The report also states
that in 2003, the overall value of the business to consumer (B2C) market transactions reached
USD 0.66 billion. Online travel agencies account for 48 percent of the B2C e-commerce
market, or USD 0.32 billion, making them the leading industry in B2C e-commerce.
The exponential development of world wide web (WWW) has created clusters of
online communities, enabling interactivity among cohorts to satisfy communication,
information and entertainment needs. These online communities are also communities
of trust and belonging. Early flow theory was initially applied to living, working,
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Interactivity,
trust and flow
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Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 105 No. 7, 2005
pp. 937-954
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/02635570510616120
leisure activities, sports and readings (Ellis et al., 1994; Moneta and Csikszentmihalyi,
1996; Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), and later employed by scholars in the field of computer
software learning and network browsing, leading to the discovery that networking can
entice the users into a flow state (Hoffman and Novak, 1996; Chen et al., 2000; Novak
et al., 2000; Koufaris, 2002; Hsu and Lu, 2004). However, few empirical studies have
been conducted on the flow experience of online travel community members. This
study targets members with significant involvement in online travel communities to
demonstrate the high involvement. These members, who place their trust in the onlin e
travel agencies and interacting with the web sites in ways that result in a flow
experience, ultimately intensify their transaction intentions.
Literature review
Online community
In the last few years, thousands of computer users worldwide have begun to engage in
commercial online activities (Chou et al., 2005; Kuo et al., 2004; Liang et al., 2004). Many
have joined one or more of the online communities that have begun to serve consumer
needs for information, communication,and entertainment (Wang et al., 2002). The notion
of online community(also known as virtual community,computer-mediated community,
or simply e-community) has been discussed among academia (Rheingold, 1994;
Armstrong and Hagel,1996; Hagel and Armstrong,1997; Werry, 1999; Wang et al.,2002;
Wang and Fesenmaier, 2004). Rheingold (1994, pp. 57-8) defined virtual community as
“social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough peoplecarry on those public
discussions long enough, with sufficient human feelings, to form webs of personal
relationships in cyb erspace. A virtual co mmunity is a group of p eople who may or may
not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the
mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks.” Armstrong and Hagel (1996)
regarded it as the congregating of those who share the same interest that forms an
interest community, and proposed that the formation of a virtual community arises from
the four basic needs of human beings: interest, social relationship, fantasy and
transaction. In addition, they also argued that conventional business functions such as
marketing and sales will be significantly transformed in a community environment.
Interactivity
Previous studies have established interactivity as a critical feature of modern media.
Consumers no longer interact with salespeople or have a direct physical experience
with the store and its products. Instead, their experience is mediated through the web,
using a graphical display without any face-to-face interaction with the e-vendor
(Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa, 2004). Nelson (1990) suggested that human-computer
activities exemplify the human impulse to create interactive representation.
From an interpersonal communication perspective, interactivity has been defined as
the extent to which messages in a sequence relate to each other, and especially the
extent to which later messages describe the relatedness of earlier messages (Rafaeli
and Sudweeks, 1997). Interactivity is also defined as the extent to which the
communicator and the audience respond to each other’s communication need (Ha and
James, 1998; Rafaeli, 1988; Fox, 2000; Levine et al., 2000; Newman et al., 2004).
In a business setting, interactivity tends to be seen as the “combination of rich
content, active intelligence, and collaborative communications to create a compelling
consumer experience” (Robb et al., 1997) or a person-to-person or person-to-technology
IMDS
105,7
938
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