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Revisiting customer loyalty toward mobile e-commerce in the hospitality industry: does brand viscosity matter?

Jialin Snow Wu (Huddersfield Business School, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK)
Shun Ye (School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)
Chen Jerry Zheng (Edge Hill Business School, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK)
Rob Law (Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management, Faculty of Business Administration, Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China)

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

ISSN: 0959-6119

Article publication date: 5 August 2021

Issue publication date: 20 October 2021

1325

Abstract

Purpose

To better understand how to retain hospitality customers in the fierce competition among mobile applications, this study aims to propose and empirically validates an integrative framework, which elaborates how conscious and subconscious factors, together with affective factors, may induce app loyalty and how brand viscosity moderates such effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an online survey to collect data and received a total of 268 valid responses. This study splits the data into two groups (brand viscosity vs non-viscosity). Then, the authors performed a multi-group structural equation modeling with Chi-square difference tests to compare the model between the two groups.

Findings

The findings support the integrative model and reveal that the influence of app satisfaction on loyalty is stronger for app users who do not stick to one brand across the website and mobile app channels. Moreover, for those with brand viscosity, habit and switching cost are two significant determinants that exert positive effects in inducing app loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Brand viscosity across different channels matters for the effects of habit and switching costs in shaping app loyalty. E-commerce managers should elaborate on brand management among various booking channels and establish effective digital marketing strategies to facilitate the formation of usage habits and switching costs and to enhance brand viscosity across channels.

Originality/value

This research advances the knowledge of app loyalty in hospitality by providing a comprehensive explanatory framework from affective, conscious and subconscious lenses. This research is among the first to unveil the impact of brand viscosity on the links between loyalty and its determinants.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Rob Law participated in the early stages of this research when he was at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The second author acknowledges the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 72004195).

Citation

Wu, J.S., Ye, S., Zheng, C.J. and Law, R. (2021), "Revisiting customer loyalty toward mobile e-commerce in the hospitality industry: does brand viscosity matter?", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 33 No. 10, pp. 3514-3534. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2020-1348

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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