Abstract

The Internet transformed a large number of industries, resulting in various e-commerce business models. An industry that has experienced a particularly large impact is tourism. Although numerous travel agencies offer their services online, the question about the design of online vis-à-vis offline distribution channels continues to persist. This research investigates the value creation for customers who conduct booking transactions in online and offline channels. The value created is considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction and reuse intention. In an experiment we divided a transaction into three phase modules and tested how customers react to the presence of the different phases supported online and offline. Our analysis shows that customers perceive a higher utilitarian value when the entire transaction is completed online. This increases consumer satisfaction and the likelihood to return to the website. Product and transaction characteristics further facilitate value creation.

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