A Study on the Effect of Online Travel Distribution's Brand Community Characteristics on Product Purchase Intention

Abstract

Purpose: This study attempted to confirm the mediating effect of brand experience and to travel brand community satisfaction in the relationship between the characteristics of brand community contents and travel product purchase intention. This study also investigated the moderating role of consumer characteristics. Research design, data and methodology: Based on a total of 381 bytes of data, hypothesis verification was conducted using Smart-PLS 3.2.8 statistical package programs. Results: First, the content community travel brand attributes, personal affordability and creativity are a lingering fragrances on the intended consumers ' shopping trip. Second, information provision, interaction, and creativity, which are the characteristics of travel brand community content, influenced consumers' intention to purchase travel products through brand community satisfaction. Third, playfulness, vitality, and creativity, which are the characteristics of travel brand community content, influenced consumers' intention to purchase travel products through double mediation of the experience and community satisfaction of brand. Conclusions: Tourism industry managers should be able to market content by forming their own brand community. It is necessary to create an environment in which tourism industry managers can use social media travel brand community content to give discounts to consumers, provide creative, playful and vivid travel information.

1. Introduction

Social Networking Services (SNS) is an online social network for people’s communication built using social software, where people can share and explore common interests and behaviors.

Social media provides a social platform to consumers to form a brand community where they can communicate regarding travelling. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) stated that social media is an interactive platform created using mobile technology and web technology, allowing individuals and communities to share, discuss, and modify content through the platform.

The travel brand community has become an important sales channel in the tourism industry and an important means of communication with consumers for companies. Compared to traditional advertising marketing, the cost of content marketing through social media is low and convenient. Therefore, it is important to study the impact of content marketing based on the social media travel brand community on the purchase intention of consumer travel products (Floreddu et al., 2016). Many tourism-related companies have established brand communities on social media platforms, and professional online spaces selling travel products have been developed rapidly. Therefore, tourism-related companies tried to secure communication channels with consumers by using content marketing in the social media travel brand community. This is why having an opportunity to communicate with consumers by strengthening brand influence with utilizing content marketing well helps the company achieve its management goals.

In the Internet era, competition were intensified as the tourism industry grew rapidly. Tourism companies have developed content marketing to encourage travel consumers to spend and induce demand for purchases. Because travel products have different characteristics from traditional general products in general, tourism-related companies must identify factors that can influence consumers’ willingness to purchase travel products online to achieve corporate goals and to promote the development of tourism companies.

Thus, the data from social media travel brand community users have been collected in this study. Based on the collected data, the impact of tourism companies on consumers’ purchase intention on travel products using content marketing within the travel brand community is verified, and a sufficient logical basis is provided as marketing strategies for tourism companies' intention to promote consumers’ purchase of travel products through social media content marketing.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Characteristics of Brand Community Content Based on SNS Platform

According to Wikipedia’s definition, social networking services (SNS) are online social networks for people's communication built using social software that allows people to share and explore common interests and behaviors.

Oum and Han (2011) defined SNS as the most important communication tool in the Internet era due to Internet application service that helps people build and maintain social relationships. Yadav and Pavlou (2014) defined SNS as communication formation between experienced buyers and potential consumers based on the Internet.

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) stated that social media is an interactive platform created using mobile technology and web technology that allows individuals and communities to share, co-create, discuss, and modify contents through the platform. De Vries et al. (2012) said that social media is a sales channel that companies should pay attention at first because it has both media and social attributes at the same time.

2.2. Content Marketing

Content originated in the publishing world refers to text, pictures and videos that can attract readers in newspapers, magazines, TV and radio media (Holliman & Rowley, 2014). Content refers to the information provided by the media and can be functional and hedonic (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). Rose and Pulizzi (2011) pointed out that content marketing is a marketing strategy focused on creating valuable experiences. Lieb (2012) pointed out that content marketing is not sales or advertising, but marketing that attracts others through content. Content marketing has become an important channel for brands to communicate using social media (Floreddu et al., 2016). The essence of content marketing is to educate consumers, focus on communication rather than sales, and to differentiate themselves from competitors by creating and distributing high-quality content in response to the needs of potential customers or customers (Rose & Pulizzi, 2011). Content marketing can be understood as a kind of strategic marketing tool that attracts clear prospects and ultimately makes a profit with focusing on the relevant value and disseminating continuous content. Brand community content based on social media not only affects consumers' brand attitudes, such as advertising, but can also increase interaction by providing fans with content shared with members of the social network (Hardey, 2011).

2.3. Content Characteristics

2.3.1. Information Availability

Smith and Swinyard (1982) said that information provision is a characteristic of receiving and sharing useful information from social media so that consumers can make easier decisions on products and services they want. Information shared by members is an understanding between group members (Henderson, 1990). In the tourism industry with the development of social media, the way customers share and deliver travel information is evolving to a new aspect, and many travel companies are using social media marketing channels for communicating with customers.

Chang and Chen (2008) emphasized that information affects consumers’ emotions and cognitive attitudes to have a more positive effect on purchasing intention, and that information is a major factor influencing online consumers’ purchase intention.

2.3.2. Interactivity

Evans and Krauthammer (2011) stated that through social media, users can connect to each other by sharing information on their online homepages, and can create, share, and exchange information and opinions through online communities and interpersonal networks. Mangold and Faulds (2009) stated that social media is an important way for people to create content and share information over the Internet, and that social media can not only help companies communicate with consumers, but also promote communication between consumers. Interactivity is an act of exchange between humans or between humans and objects, and the medium that provides the possibility of such an act is called interactive (Lombard & Snyder-Duch, 2001). Liu and Shrum (2002) expressed interactivity to the extent that multiple interlocutors react to each other, respond to communication media and posts, and give influences. Ballantine and Fortin (2009) stated that high levels of interaction and information quantity are making consumers' shopping enjoyable, and this pleasure is further affecting online consumers' purchase intentions. Therefore, this study established the hypothesis between the characteristics of social media travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention as follows.

2.3.3. Playfulness

Playfylness is an entertainment marketing tool that combines marketing and play. It is said that SNS users can easily access and enjoy personalized blogs, and that the more fun they give, the higher the utilization rate for products and services are. The more fun and enjoyable experiences consumers have on the Internet, the greater their satisfaction or loyalty they have with the shopping site (Childers et al., 2001), and also more pleasurable users achieve higher performance in computer-related work (Lin et al., 2005). In addition, Liu and Arnett (2000) revealed that the success of the e-commerce website is related to playability, and Mathwick et al. (2001) called the component of playfulness that consumers consider is the value of their online shopping experience as pleasure.

2.3.4. Economics

Economics refers to the degree in which travel products can be purchased at price if they are purchased in the social media travel brand community. On the Internet, as prices rise, demand decreases, so to attract customers and to increase sales, companies use the price-hugging method to attract female consumers to purchase. Price discounts can be considered the most effective strategy in promotional activities and can directly stimulate sales to achieve a stable increase in sales (Estelami, 2003; Mela et al., 1997). Economic feasibility affects consumers’ purchasing behavior, and an entity can achieve its operating goals through price discounts. Liang and Huang (1998) verified that online consumers’ purchase intention affects the impact of transaction costs.

2.3.5. Vividness

Individuals who recognize social reality (Presence) sometimes mistake the virtual world on the Internet for the real world and feel as if they are actually talking to the other person in online environment. Thus, there is a so-called vibrancy effect in which consumers interact more actively with other consumers in the community (Guadagno et al., 2011). Steuer (1992) defined a sense of liveliness as “the richness of the media environment and the way in which the mediating environment transmits information to the sensory organs.” It can be predicted that vitality can provide high immersion to customers within the social media travel brand community and will lead to increased sales of travel products. Furthermore, the vitality of information has a positive effect on the online purchase decision-making process of consumers. For example, when reviews of a product are specific, consumers are more likely to like the product with studies showing that more vivid information improves the attitude, immersion, involvement, and trust of the audience (Grewal et al., 2003).

2.3.6. Creativity

Creativity is an original and useful product, or the ability to produce it, and is considered an important driver of civilization and technological progress (Hennessey & Amabile, 2010). Csiksznetmihlyi (2003) argued that creativity is not a special individual’s mental ability, but a systematic phenomenon that occurs in the interaction between individual thinking and the socio-cultural environment.

2.4. Brand Experience

O’Cass and Grace (2004) stated that the brand experience included prices, facilities, experiences, advertisements, brand names, corporate images, service workers, and word of mouth perceived by consumers’ brands. Brakus et al. (2009) stated that the brand experience is the internal and behavioral response of consumers who directly or indirectly contact the corporate brand.

O’Loughlin et al. (2004) defines brand experience as a kind of direct experience at the brand level of consumers, and this experience conveys the brand value and image of the company to consumers.

Garretson and Niedrich (2004) and Ha and Perks (2005) defined the brand experience as brand knowledge and formed brand image accumulated by direct feeling of consumers using a brand’s product and service. Brakus et al. (2009) said that brand experience refers to the effect of brand-specific stimuli on consumers’ senses, thoughts, behaviors, and relevance. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) initially categorize brand experience in the consumer's subjective sense into 3Fs: feeling, fantasy, and fun perceived by consumers while using a product or service.

It was again divided into 4Es: experience, entertainment, exhibitionism, and evangelizing (Addis & Holbrook, 2001). Brukus et al. (2009) classified and confirmed brand experience in four dimensions: sensory experience, emotional experience, knowledge experience, and behavior experience through extensive qualitative and quantitative research.

Mascarenhas et al. (2006) divided the brand experience into two dimensions: subjective and objective. Subjective elements refer to the brand’s emotional, intellectual, and social experiences, and objective elements are clear in the case of actual products, actual experiences, and services, interactions with employees that occur in the production-consumption process. Noort et al. (2012) verified that the interaction of brand websites affects consumers' online experiences with brand websites.

2.5. Brand Community Satisfaction

The concept of a brand community has changed from a consumer community. The brand community can appear in any brand, but it is highly likely to appear as a brand with a strong image and a clear record (Muniz Jr. & O’Guinn, 2001). According to Muniz and O’Guinn (2001), the brand community was defined as a “geographically unspecific community” based on the establishment of systematic social relationships among brand users. McWilliam (2000) identified the management method of the online brand community and proposed a plan to revitalize the brand. Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) defined it as a specialized, geographical-free community based on a structured set of social relationships among people who like a particular brand.

According to a study by Jang et al. (2008), the online brand community was defined as a special community that is not geographically limited based on the social relationship of the brand’s fans in cyberspace.

Wang et al. (2002) said that the travel brand community is forming a new social relations network by achieving the goals of sharing travel experiences, finding travel companions, and communication exchanges as an important source for travelers to obtain information on behalf of the travel brand forum.

2.6. Consumer Shopping Propensity

Hawkins et al. (1989) stated that consumers tend to focus on certain activities depending on the individual when shopping, and this shopping style is a shopping tendency. Boedeker (1995) compared the shopping behavior of both, defining consumers who are hedonistic, economical, and convenient as new-type shoppers and shoppers who value product quality and shopping efficiency as traditional shoppers.

2.6.1. The Need for Self-Expression

Self-expression is an act to create a positive social image of oneself to others and optimize the probability of avoiding undesirable impressions, such as highlighting one’s strengths or omitting negative information related to oneself (Leary, 1995). The need for self-expression involves the intention of people to reveal themselves to others (Trammell & Keshelashvili, 2005) and the process of controlling and managing information to convey a specific image to others continuously (Elison et al., 2006).

2.6.2. Propensity to Pursue Information

Information Seeking Behavior is the part of human information activities that deals with information searching or searching through sources and information systems. Childers et al. (2001) divided online information-seeking motives into practical and recreational motives, which explain how consumers collect information and solve confusion, and recreational motives show that the information search process is full of fun and fantastic experiences. Wilson (2000) sees information pursuit orientation as a ‘personal purposeful information collection activity', and believes that these activities are the result of satisfying certain goal needs. Marchionini (1997) defined information pursuit orientation as the behavior and the process in which an individual intentionally changes perception using information. Fodness and Murray (1997) defined travel information pursuit as a dynamic process in which “individuals use different types of and different numbers of information channels to support information in travel plans.” Moe (2003) pointed out that the motivation of the online visitor information pursuit orientation includes understanding product-related knowledge, setting up an information database, and the pleasure of exploring products.

2.6.3. Entertainment Shopping Propensity

In the study of Internet shopping, the enjoyment of shopping behavior is explained as the most important shopping tendency (Jarvenpa & Todd, 1997). Consumers who seek pleasure, consider shopping as a fun and free leisure activity (Bellenger & Korgaonkar, 1980). Shim and Drake (1990) argued that consumers sometimes seek efficiency while sometimes seeking entertainment and enjoyable values. Solomon (2002) referred to entertainment shopping needs as “hedonic needs” and related to subjective and empirical fantasies.

In this study, the entertainment shopping tendency was defined as a change of mood, perceived pleasure, and an important hobby when purchasing travel products through the social media travel brand Community.

3. Research Model & Hypotheses

3.1. Research Model

Figure 1: Research Model

3.2. Hypotheses

3.2.1. Relationship between travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention

H1: The content characteristics of the social media travel brand community will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

H1-1: The information availability will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

H1-2: The interactivity will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

H1-3: The playfulness will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

H1-4: The economics will have a positive (+) effect on travel product purchase intention.

H1-5: The vividness will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

H1-6: The creativity of the social media travel brand community will have a positive (+) effect on the travel product purchase intention.

3.2.2. The mediating effect of brand experience on the relationship between social media travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention

H2: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the content characteristics of the social media travel brand community and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-1: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the information availability and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-2: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the interactivity and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-3: The brand experience will significantly mediate therelationship between the playfulness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-4: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the economics and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-5: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the vividness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H2-6: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the creativity and the intention to purchase travel products.

3.2.3. The mediating effect of brand community satisfaction on the relationship between social media travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention

H3: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the content characteristics of the social media travel brand community and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-1: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the information availability and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-2: The brand experience will significantly mediate the relationship between the interactivity and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-3: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the playfulness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-4: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the economics and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-5: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the vividness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H3-6: The brand community satisfaction will significantly mediate the relationship between the creativity and the intention to purchase travel products.

3.2.4. The dual mediating effect of brand experience and brand community satisfaction on the relationship between social media travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention

H4: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will significantly serially mediate the relationship between the content characteristics of the social media travel brand community and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-1: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will significantly sequentially mediate the relationship between the information availability and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-2: The brand experience and brand experience will significantly sequentially mediate the relationship between the interactivity and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-3: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will significantly sequentially mediate the relationship between the playfulness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-4: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will significantly sequentially mediate the relationship between the economics and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-5: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will sequentially mediate the relationship between the vividness and the intention to purchase travel products.

H4-6: The brand experience and brand community satisfaction will sequentially mediate the relationship between the creativity and the intention to purchase travel products.

3.2.5. The moderating effect of consumer shopping propensity on the relationship between social media travel brand community content characteristics and travel product purchase intention

H5: Consumer propensity will significantly moderate the relationship between the social media travel brand community content characteristics, brand experience, brand community satisfaction, and purchase intention of the social media travel brand community.

H5-1: Consumers’ self-expression tendency will significantly moderate the relationship between the social media travel brand community content characteristics, brand experience, brand community satisfaction, and purchase intention of the social media travel brand community.

H5-2: Consumers’ propensity to pursue information will significantly moderate the relationship between the social media travel brand community content characteristics, brand experience, brand community satisfaction, and purchase intention of the social media travel brand community.

H5-3: Consumers’ entertainment shopping tendency will significantly regulate the relationship between the social media travel brand community content characteristics, brand experience, brand community satisfaction, and purchase intention of the social media travel brand community.

4. Methodology

4.1. Configure Questionnaire

In this study, social media travel brand community content characteristics, brand experience, brand community satisfaction, and travel product purchase intention were organized by referring to existing literature.

4.2. Data Collection

In this study, a questionnaire was prepared through prior research and literature review to collect data suitable for the purpose of the study. A 7-point Likert scale was used as a measurement scale. A survey of 440 Chinese consumers using the social media travel brand community was surveyed, and 381 copies were used for empirical analysis.

4.3. Analysis Method

In order to verify the theoretical model and established hypothesis of this study, the necessary analysis results were performed using SPSS 24.0 and Smart-PLS 3.2.8 statistical package program. PLS-SEM is widely used in marketing research and is known as a suitable method for research aimed at prediction (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2006).

5. Empirical Analysis Results

5.1. Reliability Analysis Results

Reliability is a concept that determines how consistent the response results are when repeated measurements are made to the respondents under study. Among the methods for measuring reliability, the internal inertia test by the Cronbach’s α coefficient was generally the most used. If the Cronbach’s α coefficient is 0.7 or higher, it is acceptable (Hair et al., 2016). The Cronbach’s α coefficient for each variable were shown in.

5.2. Validity Analysis Results

As a result of the factor analysis for the validity test of measurement tools, the construct validity was tested by combining the different concepts into a single dimension. For the purpose of validity analysis, this study analyzed composite reliability value and the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) value obtained using standardized factor loading and error variance, which are the effects of latent variables on the observation variables. To verify the validity of each component concept or factor, the estimated factor loadings in the factor analysis were reviewed. The factor loadings in <Table 1> were all 0.7 or higher, showing that each measurement variable item loaded with each factor (component concept) significantly reflects the concept of its composition. Convergent Validity (Convergent Validity) for each construct concept met a threshold value of 0.7 or higher for composite reliability recommended by Fornell and Larker (1981), and also the AVE (Average Variance Extraction) also met conditions above the threshold of 0.5 or higher.

Table 1: Validity Analysis

On the other hand, the Discriminant Validity can be measured by entering the square root of the AVE diagonally and by entering the corresponding correlations between the different constructions into the non-diagonal position. In order to achieve the discriminant validity of the concept of composition, the value of all diagonal positions must be greater than that of the non-diagonal position (Ling et al., 2017). The value of the AVE square diagonally is higher than the relative value of each factor. Therefore, the discriminant validity of the measurement model in this study has been verified.

5.3. Verification of Hypothesis Related with Direct Effects

As shown in Table 2 The T values of economic feasibility (T=2.964, P=0.040) and creativity (T=3.349, P=0.001) were larger than the reference value ±1.96, and the P value was also smaller than the reference value of 0.05. Therefore, Hypotheses 1-4 and 1-6 were supported.

Table 2: PLS Analysis Results and Hypothesis Test

***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

5.4. Verification of Hypothesis Related with Mediating Effects

In order to verify the mediating effect, PLS-SEM bootstrapping was used to verify the P value and T value derived from a specific indirect effect. Each result is shown in Table 3. Brand experience did not mediate between the characteristics of social media travel brand community content and the intention to purchase travel products. Therefore, hypothesis 2 was rejected. On the other hand, it was confirmed that brand community satisfaction significantly mediates between brand community characteristics (information availability, interactivity, creativity) and purchase intention. Therefore, H 3-1, 3-2, and 3-6 were adopted. Finally, it was confirmed that brand experience and travel brand community satisfaction double-mediated between brand community characteristics (playfulness, vividness, creativity) and travel product purchase intention. Therefore, hypotheses 4-3, 5, and 6 were adopted.

Table 3: Results of Bootstrapping with the Mediation Effect

5.5. Verification of Hypothesis Related with Moderating Effects

It was confirmed that the self-expression tendency adjusts the relationship between vitality and brand experience in a positive (+) direction (t=2.04, p=0.04). In addition, it was confirmed that self-expression propensity moderates the relationship between information provision and brand experience in a negative (-) direction (t=2.42, p=0.02).

Next, it was confirmed that consumers’ information-seeking propensity moderates the relationship between interactivity and travel brand community satisfaction in a positive (+) direction (t=1.941, p=0.05).

Finally, it was confirmed that the entertainment-seeking shopping tendency moderates the relationship between creativity and travel product purchase intention in a positive (+) direction (t=2.072, p=0.04).

6. Conclusion

This study attempted to examine the characteristics of social media brand community contents that influence consumers’ intention to purchase travel products. Specifically, the relationship between the social media brand community content characteristics variables such as information availability, interactivity, playability, economic feasibility, vitality, and creativity, and the consumer's purchase intention for travel products was identified through empirical analysis. In addition, it was attempted to reveal through empirical analysis whether the consumer's brand experience and the satisfaction of the travel brand community mediate the relationship between the social media travel brand community content characteristics and the travel product purchase intention.

As the economy continues to develop, consumers value mental life over material life. Therefore, in the online era, competition is intensified as the tourism industry is rapidly growing, and as a tourism industry manager, marketing is needed to stimulate the consumption desire of travel consumers and to induce purchase demand.

Baetzgen and Tropp (2013) pointed out that brand communication is a way to communicate between brands and consumers through a company’s own branded social media page, that is, social media, which is not not just advertising, branding, soft text, and sponsorship. Brand cone based on social media.

Contents can affect consumers’ brand attitudes like advertisements do (Hardey, 2011).

Research on the brand community pointed out that consumers can be satisfied by exchanging information on products, product features and product usage with other members of the community (Muniz & O’guinn, 2001).

Since travel products have many characteristics that are very different from existing physical products, tourism companies achieve their business goals by deeply understanding the factors that affect the purchase intention of consumers who want to purchase travel products online. This promotes sustainable development. However, there are not many studies on the influence of content marketing on the consumer’s intention to purchase travel products in the social media travel brand community. This study demonstrated the influence of the content characteristics of the social media travel brand community and the consumer's intention to purchase travel products.

Overall, the essence of content marketing is to educate consumers and focus on communication rather than sales. Marketing practitioners must create high-quality content and differentiate themselves from competitors in response to the demands of potential and real consumers (Rose & Pulizzi, 2011). In this way, it is necessary to create an environment in which tourism industry managers can use social media travel brand community contents to provide discounts and creative, playful and vivid travel information to consumers, and to answer questions in time. In addition, it is necessary to create and distribute content accordingly by subdividing consumer disposition toward travel brand community subscribers.

Finally, the limitations of this study and future studies are as follows. Although the effect of social media travel brand community content characteristics on travel product purchase intention was empirically analyzed and meaningful implications were presented, there are still the following limitations. The data used in this study were mainly conducted in Shandong Province, China, and most of the survey respondents were consumers residing in Shandong Province. Consumer propensity to consume can be influenced by regional specialization. Therefore, it is necessary to collect and analyze other regions or extensive samples in future studies.