Description
Leisure travelers increasingly prefer to book hotel online when considering the convenience and cost/
time saving. This research examines the direct and mediating effects of brand image, perceived price,
trust, perceived value on consumers' booking intentions and compares the gender differences in online
hotel booking. The outcomes confirm most of the direct and indirect path effects and are consistent with
findings from previous studies. Consumers in Taiwan tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the
hotel brand is attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, the hotel will offer good value for the price and the
likelihood of their booking intentions is high. Brand image, perceived price, and perceived value are the
three critical determinants directly influencing purchase intentions. However, the impact of trust on
purchase intentions is not significant. The differences between males and females on purchase intentions
are not significant as well. Managerial implications of these results are discussed.
Online hotel booking: The effects of brand image, price, trust and value on
purchase intentions
Che-Hui Lien
a
, Miin-Jye Wen
b, *
, Li-Ching Huang
b
, Kuo-Lung Wu
c
a
Department of Marketing, International Business, and Entrepreneurship, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada
b
Department of Statistics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
c
Department of Information Management, Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 21 May 2014
Accepted 3 March 2015
Available online 22 June 2015
Keywords:
Brand image
Price
Trust
Value
Purchase intentions
a b s t r a c t
Leisure travelers increasingly prefer to book hotel online when considering the convenience and cost/
time saving. This research examines the direct and mediating effects of brand image, perceived price,
trust, perceived value on consumers' booking intentions and compares the gender differences in online
hotel booking. The outcomes con?rm most of the direct and indirect path effects and are consistent with
?ndings from previous studies. Consumers in Taiwan tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the
hotel brand is attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, the hotel will offer good value for the price and the
likelihood of their booking intentions is high. Brand image, perceived price, and perceived value are the
three critical determinants directly in?uencing purchase intentions. However, the impact of trust on
purchase intentions is not signi?cant. The differences between males and females on purchase intentions
are not signi?cant as well. Managerial implications of these results are discussed.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Based on 2010 Philips Index for Health and Well-being (http://
www.philips-thecenter.org), among 23 countries surveyed,
Taiwan was ranked as the second highest for people facing life/
working pressure, while India was ranked as the highest. To help
release stress, the Taiwan government encourages people to travel
either domestically or internationally. A two-day weekend policy
has inspired people living in Taiwan to travel to suburban areas
close to the mountain or the ocean (e.g., Kenting).
According to the 2011 Survey of Travel by R.O.C. (Taiwan) Citi-
zens (http://admin.taiwan.net.tw), the proportion of people un-
dertaking domestic tourist travel in 2011 was 95.4%, an increase of
1.5% from 2010 (93.9%). The proportion of people taking domestic
tourist travel is de?ned as the proportion of people who took at
least one domestic trip during the year. The total expenditure on
domestic travel in 2011 in Taiwan was NT$ 310.3 billion (US$ 10.527
billion), an increase of 30.3% from 2010 (US$ 8.079 billion). Based
on this survey, 36.6% of tourists use the Internet to obtain travel
information, an increase of 3.7% from 2010 (32.9%). Forty-four
percent of overnight tourists stayed in hotels.
The Internet has become an important distribution channel in
the hotel industry (Lehto, Kim, & Morrison, 2006). Unlike tradi-
tional hotel booking through travel agents, online hotel booking
offers bene?ts to consumers such as accessing more photos and
videos, a full description of the hotel property and location, better
pricing, and no additional booking fees (O'Connor & Frew, 2004;
Sparks & Browning, 2011). Considering the convenience and cost/
time saving, leisure travelers in Taiwan increasingly prefer to use
the Internet to book hotels and search for information regarding
brand, price, and service (2011 Survey of Travel by R.O.C. (Taiwan)
Citizens). Many hotels have noted this trend and have provided
access to secure online reservation systems.
Several studies have investigated the impact of brand image on
consumer behavior in the service sector (Aghekyan-Simonian,
Forsythe, Kwon, & Chattaraman, 2012; Ryu, Han, & Kim, 2008).
Due to the intangible elements of the hotel industry, some tangible
cues, e.g., hotel brand name and onsite amenities, are important in
shaping and in?uencing customers' behavior. To build a strong
brand, a hotel should develop its own distinctive image that
* Corresponding author. Department of Statistics, National Cheng Kung Univer-
sity, No.1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, ROC. Tel.: þ886 6 2757575x53629.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M.-J. Wen).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218
differentiates itself from competitors and communicate the major
bene?ts to its target customers. Consumers are more likely to
purchase products/services with well-established brand names
(Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012). Product price has long been
considered a key predictor of consumers' purchase decision-
making. Price may convey information to the consumer regarding
product/service quality and value (Erickson & Johansson, 1985).
Electronic markets allowcustomers to easily compare prices among
vendors and ?nd the affordable one. If a product/service price is
perceived as reasonable, consumers may have greater intentions to
purchase (Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, &Borin, 1998). Trust facilitates a
person's con?dence and his/her willingness to have faith in the
other party (Moorman, Zaltman, & Deshpande, 1992). Building
consumers' trust is one of the factors determining the success of a
service provider (Kim, Xu, & Gupta, 2012). Value is an important
concept in understanding customers. Past research found that
value is positively associated with behavioral intentions in the
hospitality industry (Ha & Jang, 2010).
Much of the purchase effort occurs prior to the actual buying
decision. Therefore, it is important for hoteliers to analyze the key
antecedents and mediators of purchase intentions to know how to
favorably in?uence customers in the pre-purchase stage. Although
many studies have examined various factors affecting online pur-
chasing decision (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012; Chen, 2009;
Everard & Galletta, 2006; Javadi, Dolatabadi, Nourbakhsh,
Poursaeedi, & Asadollahi, 2012; Yu & Wu, 2007; Zhou, Dai, &
Zhang, 2007), there has been very little research regarding online
hotel booking in Taiwan. Chiang and Jang (2007) collected data
from students at a major mid-western university in the US and
proposed an integrative model to investigate the direct impacts of
price and brand image on service quality, trust, value and leisure
travelers' purchase intentions for online hotel booking. Their study
was conducted solely in the US and their model needs to be further
veri?ed in other countries.
Service quality is de?ned as the consumer's comparison of ex-
pected service level with actual service performance (Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985). Hotel service quality is better measured
after consumers actually experience the hotel accommodation, and
hence, is not appropriate to use in the case of online booking. On-
line hotel booking involves interaction with the website. Website
quality is an antecedent of trust (Kim, Jin, & Swinney, 2009) and
purchase intention (Chen, Hsu, & Lin, 2010), and is analyzed as a
multi-dimensional concept (Chen et al., 2010). Adding website
quality into this integrative model will make this model compli-
cated as more facets would have to be tested and evaluated. Due to
this complexity in measuring the effects of other constructs on
purchase intentions, website quality will not be included in the
scope of the study. Moreover, in Chiang and Jang's model, the direct
effects of brand image on perceived price and purchase intentions
and the in?uence of trust on purchase intentions were not tested.
The mediating effects of brand image on purchase intentions
through value and trust were also not examined, and gender dif-
ferences in online hotel booking were not investigated in their
integrative model. Brand image was identi?ed as an important
antecedent directly in?uencing price and online purchase in-
tentions (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012; Oh, 2000). Trust is an
important determinant directly in?uencing the user's behavioral
intentions to purchase online (Everard & Galletta, 2006; Ling, bin
Daud, Piew, Keoy, & Hassan, 2011). Research has shown that
although men and women are equally likely to use the Internet for
personal or business purposes, more men than women are using
the Internet for online business transactions and purchases (Hasan,
2010; Rodgers & Harris, 2003; Van Slyke, Comunale, & Belanger,
2002). To improve Chiang and Jang's integrative model and
generate insightful information, our article aims to test the direct
and mediating effects of brand image, price, trust, and value on
online hotel booking intentions in Taiwan as well as examine
gender differences in online hotel booking.
The article is organized as follows. In the subsequent sessions,
we review the literature and develop the hypotheses. We then
summarize the research methodology, and report the results.
Finally, we conclude with discussions.
2. Literature review and research hypotheses
2.1. Explanation of constructs
2.1.1. Brand image
Brand image is a determinant affecting customers' subjective
perceptions and consequent behaviors (Ryu et al., 2008) and is an
extrinsic cue when consumers are evaluating a product/service
before purchasing (Zeithaml, 1988). According to the theory of
reasoned action (TRA, Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), consumers consider
the consequences of alternative behaviors before engaging in them
(Bang, Ellinger, Hadjimarcou, & Traichal, 2000). Consumers'
behavioral intent is derived from attitude toward the behavior and
subjective norms (Bang et al., 2000). Keller (1993, p.3) de?ned
brand image as perceptions about a brand as re?ected by the brand
associations held in consumer memory. A brand association has a
level of strength, and the link to a brand will be stronger when the
link is based on consumers' experience or the exposures to com-
munications (Aaker, 1991). Brand associations are classi?ed into
three categories including attributes, bene?ts, and attitudes and
these associations can vary based on their favorability, strength,
and uniqueness (Keller, 1993). The more favorable the brand image,
the more positive the attitude toward the branded product and its
attributes (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012). Brand image aids a
consumer in recognizing his/her needs and wants regarding the
brand and distinguishes the brand fromother rivals (Anwar, Gulzar,
Sohail, & Akram, 2011).
2.1.2. Price
From the consumer's perspective, price represents the amount
of money consumers must give up to get the product/service
(Zeithaml, 1988). Many consumers use price as a quality-signaling
cue re?ecting the conventional wisdom that “you get what you
pay for” (Erickson & Johansson, 1985). Consumers do not always
remember actual prices of products. Instead, they encode prices in
way that are meaningful to them (Zeithaml, 1988). In the online
shopping, customers tend to compare the objective prices (price
offered by the current vendor) with reference prices (price offered
by other vendors) and then form their perceptions of price (Kim
et al., 2012). Price, as a heuristic cue, is more readily observable
than quality (Yoon, Oh, Song, Kim, & Kim, 2014). Under the
competitive environment, low prices (or reasonable price) help
hotels achieve a sustainable advantage within their product mar-
kets (Bojanic, 1996). Instead of a single price, consumers usually
have a range of prices that are acceptable for an intended purchase.
2.1.3. Trust
Trust is one of the central features of buyer-seller relationships.
The role of trust in social exchange relations has been the subject of
researchers' interests (Wu, Chen, & Chung, 2010). Trust refers to a
positive belief about the reliability and dependability of a person or
an object (Everard & Galletta, 2006). Trust builds when the
customer has con?dence in a service provider's reliability and
integrity (Kim, Kim, & Kim, 2009). Consumers' trust in the service
providers can help reduce their cognitive risk and insecurity and
thus enable the maintenance of the long-term relationship (Gefen,
2000). The more a customer trusts a website, the lower the
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 211
perceived online transaction risk, and the greater the intention to
purchase on that website (Mansour, Kooli, & Utama, 2014). In on-
line hotel booking, customers might be vulnerable to accommo-
dations and services provided by the hoteliers. Customers expect
that hotel will deliver services as promised on the website and the
expectation is dependent on the trust the customer has on the
hotel. Therefore, a hotel can employ trust as a powerful marketing
tool to build customer loyalty (Kim et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2009).
2.1.4. Value
A generally accepted de?nition of value was proposed by
Zeithaml (1988). Zeithaml (1988, p.14) found that, although there
are different consumer expressions of value, perceived value can be
captured in one overall de?nition as the consumer's overall
assessment of the utility of a product/service based on perceptions
of what is received and what is given (i.e., a trade-off between
perceived bene?ts and perceived cost). Lee and Overby (2004)
identi?ed two types of online shopping values: utilitarian value
and experiential value. Utilitarian value is an overall assessment of
functional bene?ts including the price savings, service excellence,
time savings, and merchandise selection dimensions. Experiential
value is an overall representation of experiential bene?ts from the
entertainment, the visual appeal, and the interactivity involved
with online shopping (Lee &Overby, 2004). In an empirical study of
customer value in the hotel industry, Nasution and Mavondo
(2008) found that different classes of hotels deliver signi?cantly
different levels of customer value in terms of reputation for quality
and prestige.
2.1.5. Purchase intentions
Purchase intention is the likelihood that a customer will buy a
particular product/service (Dodds, Monroe, & Grewal, 1991). Pur-
chase intention is a vital predictor of actual buying behavior and
this relationship has been empirically examined in hospitality and
tourism industry (Bai, Law, & Wen, 2008; Sparks & Browning,
2011). In the online hotel booking, purchase intention re?ects the
desire of a consumer to book a room through the hotel's website.
Previous research has shown that brand image, price, trust, and
value are driving forces of online purchase intentions (Chiang &
Jang, 2007; Chen & Dubinsky, 2003; Everard & Galletta, 2006).
2.2. Hypotheses development
2.2.1. In?uence of brand image on trust, value, price, and purchase
intentions
In Aghekyan-Simonian et al.'s (2012) research of online pur-
chase intentions for apparel products, the outcomes showed that
brand image positively in?uences purchase intentions through the
reduction of perceived risk. Brand image is an extrinsic cue for
evaluation of product/service price and a better brand image results
in a higher perceived price (Grewal et al., 1998). Ryu et al. (2008)
reported that a favorable restaurant image positively in?uences
consumers' perceived value and their willingness to purchase.
Chen, Yeh, and Huan's (2014) study of consumption in nostalgic
restaurants indicated that restaurant image has a positive impact
on consumption intention. A good brand image improves a con-
sumer's trust because it can diminish the risk of purchase (Chen,
2010; Chiang & Jang, 2007). A reasonable product/service price, a
satisfactory value, and a trust in the brand will make consumers
have greater intention to purchase the product/service (Dodds
et al., 1991; Kim et al., 2012). Based on the foregoing discussions,
although the direct effects of brand image on trust, perceived value,
and price have been widely discussed in the hospitality/marketing
literature, little empirical research investigated both the direct and
mediating effects of brand image on online hotel booking
intentions. Thus, we infer that price, trust, and value have medi-
ating effects on the relationship between brand image and will-
ingness to purchase. This leads to the following hypotheses:
H1. Brand image will have a positive effect on perceived price
H2. Brand image will have a positive effect on trust
H3. Brand image will have a positive effect on perceived value
H4. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
H5. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived price
H6. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through trust
H7. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived value
2.2.2. Relationships among price, value, and purchase intentions
In the hotel industry, a reasonable price results in greater
customer perceived value (Lee, 2012) and enhances consumers'
purchase intentions (Chiang & Jang, 2007). Duman and Mattila
(2005) identi?ed price as an important antecedent of perceived
value of tourismservices. Therefore, in the acceptable price range, a
lower price for a given quality (i.e., perceived price is reasonable)
leads to a higher perceived value and consequently to a greater
intention to purchase (Dodds et al., 1991). Faryabi, Sadeghzadeh,
and Saed's research (2012) of online shopping indicated that
price discount (reasonable price) has a positive effect on con-
sumers' purchase intentions. In the study of retailing, lower-price
promotion was proved to strongly increase consumers' perceived
shopping value (Yoon et al., 2014). These ?ndings provide the
theoretical basis for the hypotheses of the direct and mediating
effects of perceived price on perceived value and purchase
intentions.
H8. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
perceived value
H9. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
purchase intentions
H10. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
purchase intentions mediating through perceived value
2.2.3. Relationships among trust, value, and purchase intentions
In an empirical study using a lab experiment, Everard and
Galletta (2006) showed that trust in the online store positively
in?uences the user's intentions to purchase from the online store.
Mansour et al. (2014) adopted an integrative approach to address
the antecedents and consequences of online trust on purchase
intention and the ?ndings showed that purchase intention is
positively in?uenced by online trust. Ling et al.'s (2011) study also
supported the positive relationship between trust and online pur-
chase intentions. In Johnson's (2007) study in both of?ine and
online banking, trust in the ?rm has a signi?cant, positive impact
on perceived value from the ?rm. Chong, Yang, and Wong (2003)
presented the mediating role of value between trust and pur-
chase intentions. Hence, the proposed hypotheses are:
H11. Trust will have a positive effect on perceived value
H12. Trust will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
H13. Trust will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived value
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 212
2.2.4. Relationship between value and purchase intentions
Chen and Chen (2010) examined the visitor experience of her-
itage tourism and found that perceived value is a pivotal determi-
nant of behavioral intentions. Kim, Sun, and Kim's (2013) research
showed that restaurant guests' perceived values (i.e., hedonic and
social value) positively affect their behavior intentions to use social
commerce. Ha and Jang (2010) investigated American customers'
perceived value regarding dining experience in Korean restaurants
and the outcomes also support the positive in?uence of perceived
value on behavioral intentions. In an online retail research, value
had a positive in?uence on online purchase intentions (Chen &
Dubinsky, 2003). Thus, we propose.
H14. Perceived value will have a positive effect on purchase
intentions
3. Methodology
3.1. Research model
The research model consists of the antecedents of purchase
intentions including brand image, perceived price, value, and trust,
investigating the effects of brand image, perceived price, and trust
on value, and examining the in?uence of brand image on perceived
price and trust. The proposed model is shown in Fig. 1.
3.2. Data collection
The following two criteria guide our sample selection. First, only
those respondents who had reserved a room from a hotel website
in the last 12 months were quali?ed to participate in the survey.
Second, this study required the respondents to be 18 years and
above to ensure they are responsible for using their own credit card
when making an online hotel booking. Based on the 2011 statistical
report of Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan (Statistical Yearbook of
Interior,http://sowf.moi.gov.tw/stat/year/elist.htm), the popula-
tion of those aged 18 years and over in the north, middle, and south
of Taiwan are 15,797,000 (47.94%), 9,059,659 (27.49%), and
8,093,910 (24.57%), respectively.
A scenario approach was used in this study. The scenario as-
sumes that the respondents are planning to visit Kenting for 2e3
days on vacation and are using the Internet to search and book a
hotel. Kenting is located in southern Taiwan and is a popular scenic
area boasting fabulous ocean and mountain views. Three hotel
brands (Howard Beach Resort Kenting, Red Garden Resort, and
Kenting Youth Activity Center), representing three different levels
of price, were used in this scenario. The use of three hotel brands in
different price segments is expected to provide a robust test of
model relationships (Chiang & Jang, 2007; Nasution & Mavondo,
2008) and will enable a comparison of the differences in percep-
tions among the ?ve marketing constructs. Howard Beach Resort
Kenting is a well-known luxury hotel with a superior location
situated at the end of Kenting's main street. Red Garden Resort
features a touch of Bali style and is in the mid-scale hotel segment.
Kenting Youth Activity Center is in a tranquil setting surrounded by
natural views of the beaches and mountains and is famous for its
southern Min style architecture. It is the largest low-priced econ-
omy hotel in Kenting. The respondents were required to review the
three hotel brands, price, indoor and outdoor facilities, restaurants,
location, the room features and onsite amenities and to identify
which hotel they would choose to book online. The samples were
collected from the database of Lifewin (www.lifewin.com.tw).
Lifewin is an online survey network consisting of 50,000 members
in Taiwan. This research employed online, strati?ed sampling and
sent the questionnaire to 1200 Lifewin members including 600 in
the north, 300 in the middle, and 300 in the south of Taiwan. A total
of 390 members (who had reserved a room from a hotel website in
the last 12 months) replied and the response rate was 32.5%. After
deleting samples with questionable responses (e.g., participants
answered “Strongly Disagree” or “Strongly Agree” to all questions
appeared in the second section of the questionnaire), the numbers
of valid observations in the north, middle, and south of Taiwan
were 173 (47.3%), 91 (24.9%), and 102 (27.9%), respectively, for a
total sample size of 366. To measure the representativeness of the
observations in each region, a goodness-of-?t test was used and the
result (p-value ¼ 0.747) is not signi?cant, showing that there is no
signi?cant difference between the population percentage and the
sample percentage in the three regions. Strati?ed sampling is a
probability sampling approach that is distinguished by the
following two steps. First, the population is divided into two or
more mutually exclusive and exhaustive subsets. Second, simple
random sampling is employed to choose samples fromeach subset.
In our research, the total samples were ?rst divided into sub-
samples based on different regions (north, middle, and south) in
Taiwan. Then the strati?ed samples were randomly selected from
the north, middle, and south of Taiwan.
3.3. Survey instrument
A survey questionnaire was developed with three sections. In
the ?rst section, after reviewing the three hotel information, the
respondents were asked to select the hotel they would reserve a
room at. The result showed that the numbers of bookings for
Howard Beach Resort Kenting, Red Garden Resort, and Kenting
Youth Activity Center were 66 (18%), 222 (61%), and 78 (21%),
respectively. Over 60% of leisure travelers chose to book the mid-
scale hotel and the result is consistent with the 2010 Taiwan do-
mestic tourist travel report - most domestic tourists chose ac-
commodations in mid-scale hotels. In the second section,
respondents' level of perceived price, brand image, trust, perceived
value and purchase intentions were measured. Price items were
modi?ed from Chiang and Jang (2007) and Dodds et al. (1991).
Brand image items were adapted from the study of Keller (1993)
and del Río, V azquez, and Iglesias (2001). Trust and purchase in-
tentions items developed by Chiang and Jang (2007) were used.
Value items were modi?ed from Zeithaml (1988) and Chiang and
Jang (2007). The 21 items were measured by a ?ve-point Likert
scale ranging from “strongly disagree ¼ 1” to “strongly agree ¼ 5”.
The third section includes demographic questions. The developed
questionnaire was pre-tested on 31 online shoppers and the result
showed the instructions and questions were well understood.
Table 1 demonstrates the breakdown of the respondents in terms of
gender, age, marriage, education, and monthly income. Among the
respondents, 54.1% were females and 10.9% were married. The re-
spondents tend to be young (86.1% of them were aged 18e30),
single (89.1% of them were not married), and well educated (94.8% Fig. 1. The research model and the proposed relationships.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 213
of them had a bachelor or graduate degree). 89.3% of the re-
spondents' monthly income were under NT$40,000 (US$1333).
4. Results
4.1. Descriptive statistics of measurement items
The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the measurement
items are shown in Table 2. The overall mean of respondents'
perceived price in each hotel is greater than 3 indicating the
perceived price is reasonable. However, the mean score of P1 (“the
price listed by this hotel is inexpensive”) of the Howard Beach
Resort Kenting is 2.86, demonstrating that the respondents did not
think the price in this luxury hotel was inexpensive. Compared
with the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (overall mean: 3.32) and the
Red Garden Resort (overall mean: 3.72), the perceived price of the
Kenting Youth Activity Center (overall mean: 4.44) was more
favorable. The overall mean of brand image and trust was rated
higher in the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (brand image: 4.01;
trust: 4.08) in comparison with that of the Red Garden Resort
(brand image: 3.62; trust: 3.80) and the Kenting Youth Activity
Center (brand image: 3.67; trust: 4.04). The overall mean value in
the three hotels was almost the same (Howard Beach Resort
Kenting: 3.90; Red Garden Resort: 3.92; Kenting Youth Activity
Center: 3.90) showing that the three hotels provide customers with
good value based on the price. In terms of purchase intentions, the
respondents' willingness to book the Kenting Youth Activity Center
online (overall mean: 4.00) was higher than their willingness to
book the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (overall mean: 3.73) and
the Red Garden Resort (overall mean: 3.92).
4.2. Test of gender differences
Table 3 shows the mean score and the signi?cance results be-
tween males and females in terms of the ?ve constructs. The out-
comes indicated males and females have signi?cant differences in
perceived price and trust. There are no signi?cant differences be-
tween males and females on purchase intentions. Regarding brand
image and value, males and females have signi?cant differences
only in items BI4 (“this hotel brand is a social status symbol”), BI5
(“this hotel brand has a good reputation”), V1 (“the hotel offers
good value for the price”), and V4 (“The overall expected value of
staying at this hotel is high”).
4.3. Structure equation modeling (SEM)
The hypothesized model is tested employing structural equation
modeling (SEM) using AMOS 19. The process of applying the SEM
technique involves two steps. First, con?rmatory factor analysis
(CFA) tests a measurement theory based on overall model ?t and
other evidences of construct reliability and validity. Second, the
structural model takes the information about measures into ac-
count and examines the structural relationships among the ?ve
constructs (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010).
CFA using maximum likelihood estimation was ?rst applied to
test how well these 21 measures represent the ?ve constructs. The
overall model c
2
is 611.552 with 51 degrees of freedom (c
2
/
d.f. ¼ 3.398) and is signi?cant at p < 0.001, implying the model was
not adequate. However, the c
2
value is very sensitive to sample size
and is generally recommended for use with moderate samples only
(e.g., 100e200) (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Given the problem associated
with using the c
2
test alone and the large valid sample size of 366,
other ?t indices were employed to test the overall model ?t.
CFI (an incremental ?t index) and RMSEA (an absolute ?t
measure) are widely used indices of model ?t (Kline, 2011). The CFI
value of 0.924 exceeded the recommended cut-off level of 0.9 and
the RMSEA value of 0.071 was lower than the value of 0.08 indi-
cating an adequate model ?t (Kline, 2011). Moreover, the RMR value
of 0.038 (0.8) also support a
good model ?t (MacCallum & Hong, 1997). In sum, the hypothe-
sized model exhibits a good ?t with the data collected.
Table 1
Demographic characteristics of the respondents (N ¼ 366).
Frequency %
Gender
Males 168 45.9
Females 198 54.1
Age
18e20 26 7.1
21e30 289 79.0
31e40 45 12.3
41e50 3 0.8
51þ 3 0.8
Married
Yes 40 10.9
No 326 89.1
Education
High School Graduate 19 5.2
Bachelor's Degree 193 52.7
Graduate Degree 154 42.1
Monthly Income
< NT$20,000 (¼US$667) 239 65.3
NT$20,000eNT$40,000 (US$667eUS$1333) 88 24.0
NT$40,001eNT$60,000 (US$1334eUS$2000) 31 8.5
NT$60,001eNT$80,000 (US$2001eUS$2667) 4 1.1
>NT$80,001(US$2668) 4 1.1
Table 2
Descriptive statistics of measurement items.
Measurement Howard
Kenting
Red Garden
Resort
Kenting Youth
Activity Center
Items Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
Brand Image (BI)
BI1 4.12 0.65 3.65 0.70 3.99 0.75
BI2 4.09 0.63 3.86 0.70 3.72 0.80
BI3 4.05 0.62 3.92 0.69 3.68 0.78
BI4 3.71 0.84 3.12 0.90 3.21 0.90
BI5 4.06 0.68 3.57 0.73 3.76 0.73
Overall Mean 4.01 3.62 3.67
Price (P)
P1 2.86 0.86 3.29 0.79 4.47 0.70
P2 3.42 0.75 3.85 0.69 4.42 0.66
P3 3.67 0.79 3.97 0.72 4.51 0.60
P4 3.33 0.85 3.75 0.71 4.35 0.74
Overall Mean 3.32 3.72 4.44
Trust (T)
T1 4.02 0.57 3.82 0.61 4.15 0.69
T2 4.11 0.53 3.80 0.62 4.01 0.75
T3 4.08 0.51 3.82 0.64 3.97 0.68
T4 4.11 0.59 3.77 0.63 4.04 0.65
Overall Mean 4.08 3.80 4.04
Value (V)
V1 3.86 0.52 3.92 0.66 4.04 0.73
V2 3.94 0.58 3.92 0.62 3.82 0.77
V3 3.83 0.62 3.95 0.59 3.95 0.74
V4 3.98 0.60 3.90 0.64 3.78 0.82
Overall Mean 3.90 3.92 3.90
Purchase Intentions (PI)
PI1 3.89 0.59 4.10 0.63 3.92 0.70
PI2 3.62 0.67 3.95 0.69 4.19 0.69
PI3 3.74 0.64 3.75 0.76 3.83 0.84
PI4 3.68 0.66 3.88 0.70 4.06 0.73
Overall Mean 3.73 3.92 4.00
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 214
Internal consistency was assessed by construct reliability (CR).
All the CRs, shown in Table 5, exceed the threshold value of 0.7
(Hair et al., 2010) indicating good reliability. Convergent validity
was veri?ed by average variance extracted (AVE) (Fornell & Larcker,
1981; Hair et al., 2010). The AVE for each construct exceeds 0.5
(Table 5), which suggests adequate convergence (Fornell & Larcker,
1981; Hair et al., 2010). The CFA results (Table 4) also support the
convergent validity because factor loadings for all measurement
items are greater than 0.5 (Hair et al., 2010). Discriminant validity is
acceptable because the AVE for each construct exceeds the squared
correlation coef?cient between any two constructs (Fornell &
Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2010).
The evaluation of the structural model is used to examine the
hypothesizedrelationships. Inline withthe value andsigni?cance of
the path coef?cients (shown in Table 6), brand image appears to
have a signi?cant and positive impact on perceived price, trust,
value, and purchase intentions. The positive effects of brand image
on purchase intentions mediating from price and value are signi?-
cant but the mediating effect on purchase intentions via trust is not
signi?cant. The total effect of brand image on purchase intentions is
0.42 (direct effect (¼0.166) plus indirect effect (¼0.078 þ
0.176 ¼ 0.254)). Therefore, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H7 are corrobo-
rated but H6 is rejected. Perceived price has a signi?cant, positive
effect (¼0.261) on purchase intentions and it positively in?uences
purchase intentions mediating through perceived value (¼0.162),
providing a total effect of 0.423. Perceived price is also found to have
a positively impact on value. In this way, H8, H9, and H10 are sta-
tistically supported. Trust positively in?uences perceived value and
has a signi?cant, positive effect on purchase intentions mediating
through perceived value. However, the impact of trust on purchase
intentions is not signi?cant. Accordingly, H11andH13are supported
but H12 is rejected. Finally, perceived value positively in?uences
purchase intentions supporting H14.
Based on the direct path estimates, it is noted that value is the
most important predictor of purchase intentions (standardized
coef?cient ¼ 0.610). In addition, the path coef?cients of brand
image on trust (standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.679), trust on value
(standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.424), and brand image on perceived
price (standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.300) are larger in comparison
with other direct path coef?cients. In the indirect path estimates,
the outcomes indicated brand image, perceived price and trust
have a signi?cant, positive in?uence on purchase intentions
mediating through value. Therefore, value plays a pivotal, medi-
ating role on purchase intentions. In addition, brand image has a
signi?cant, positive effect on purchase intentions mediating by
perceived price.
5. Discussions and conclusion
5.1. Discussion of ?ndings
This study contributes to the literature in examining the effects
of brand image, perceived price, trust, and value on Taiwanese
online hotel booking decisions, and comparing gender differences
in these constructs. The results con?rm most of the path effects
showing that brand image positively in?uences perceived price,
trust, value, and purchase intentions. Price is found to have a pos-
itive impact on value and purchase intentions. Value has a signi?-
cant, positive effect on purchase intentions. However, although
trust positively affects value, the impact of trust on purchase in-
tentions is not signi?cant.
Brand image is a key driver positively in?uencing purchase in-
tentions. The outcome is consistent with Aghekyan-Simonian et al.
(2012) and Chen, Yeh, and Huan (2014). The improvement of brand
reputation strengthens consumers' intentions of booking. Brand
image is an important antecedent (a total effect of 0.679) in
determining trust, re?ecting that the attractive and valuable brand
increases consumers' trust of the product/service associated with
the brand. The result is concordant with Chen (2010) and Chiang
and Jang (2007). Brand image positively in?uences price and
value exhibiting a pleased and reputed brand escalates the level of
price and improves product/service value. These ?ndings are
consistent with Grewal et al. (1998) and Ryu et al. (2008). However,
the impact of brand image on purchase intentions mediating from
trust is not signi?cant. Perceived price is a key factor positively
in?uencing purchase intentions indicating that an acceptable and
appropriate price enhances consumers' booking intentions. The
result is consistent with Chiang and Jang (2007) and Faryabi,
Sadeghzadeh, and Saed (2012). The signi?cant, positive effect of
price on value shows that a reasonable price improves consumers'
perceived value, which is compatible with Lee (2012) and Yoon
et al. (2014). Value is the most important determinant of pur-
chase intentions with a total effect of 0.610 showing that if the hotel
offers customers satisfactory value, they are more likely to book the
hotel. This result is consistent with the studies of Oh (2000), Chiang
and Jang (2007), and Kim et al. (2013). The impact of trust on
purchase intentions is surprisingly not signi?cant, demonstrating
that trust is not a predictor directly in?uencing Taiwanese online
hotel booking decisions. The outcome is different with previous
studies (Everard & Galletta, 2006; Ling et al., 2011; Mansour et al.,
2014). One possible reason to explain this is that the three levels of
hotels used in this study are well-known and have operated in
Kenting for many years. Consumers know what to expect from
these three hotels and feel they are reliable. Therefore, trust might
already exist among consumers before they book the hotel and it is
not a factor directly affecting Taiwanese booking decisions. How-
ever, trust has a positive, indirect effect on purchase intentions
through the mediator of value. Improving the trust relationship
with consumers enhances consumers' perceived value which will
eventually strengthen their purchase intentions.
Table 3
Test of gender differences.
Measurement Males Females P-Value
Items Mean Mean
Brand Image (BI)
BI1 3.88 3.75 0.116
BI2 3.87 3.87 0.996
BI3 3.91 3.88 0.672
BI4 3.43 3.08 0.000
*
BI5 3.82 3.59 0.004
*
Price (P)
P1 3.68 3.28 0.000
*
P2 4.02 3.79 0.004
*
P3 4.16 3.92 0.003
*
P4 3.93 3.69 0.006
*
Trust (T)
T1 4.00 3.86 0.033
*
T2 3.96 3.82 0.025
*
T3 3.98 3.83 0.027
*
T4 4.01 3.79 0.001
*
Value (V)
V1 4.01 3.87 0.045
*
V2 3.96 3.93 0.607
V3 3.98 3.91 0.350
V4 4.03 3.78 0.000
*
Purchase Intentions (PI)
PI1 4.04 4.02 0.699
PI2 4.01 3.89 0.129
PI3 3.85 3.70 0.062
PI4 3.91 3.86 0.527
Note: *p < 0.05.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 215
In terms of the overall mean of the ?ve constructs, Taiwanese
tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the hotel brand is
attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, and the hotel will offer good
value for the price. After reviewing the hotel websites, the likeli-
hood of booking by Taiwanese is high. In comparison with the
Howard Beach Resort Kenting and the Red Garden Resort, the
perceived price is most favorable and the booking intention is
highest for the Kenting Youth Activity Center. This is not surprising
because the majority of the respondents have income levels from
low to medium and they are generally price sensitive. For those
facing budget constraints, the Kenting Youth Activity Center pro-
vides a low rate with satisfactory value and reliable brand image,
resulting in relatively high booking intentions. The Howard Beach
Resort Kenting is rated highest in brand image and trust showing
that this upscale luxury hotel is considered to be more reliable, is a
social status symbol, and trusted by consumers to provide consis-
tent, dependable performance. The perceived value is almost equal
among the three hotels re?ecting that consumers feel the quality
received is commensurate with the price they pay.
In comparison with females, males had higher ratings for price
and trust, re?ecting the reality that female consumers inTaiwan are
relatively price sensitive and concerned about reliability. Males also
show a relatively high rating in recognizing the hotel brand
Table 4
Con?rmatory factor analysis results.
Constructs and items Factor loading
Brand Image (BI)
BI1: the hotel brand is reliable 0.755
BI2: the hotel brand is attractive 0.877
BI3: the hotel brand is pleasing 0.846
BI4: the hotel brand is a social status symbol 0.652
BI5: the hotel brand has a good reputation 0.820
Price (P)
P1: the price listed by this hotel is inexpensive 0.770
P2: the hotel price is reasonable 0.885
P3: the hotel price is affordable 0.802
P4: the hotel price is appropriate 0.807
Trust (T)
T1: what the hotel says about its product/service is true 0.802
T2: if the hotel makes a claim about its product/service, it is true 0.908
T3: I feel I know what to expect from the hotel 0.884
T4: I believe this hotel would be reliable 0.866
Value (V)
V1: the hotel offers good value for the price 0.815
V2: the hotel provides me satis?ed value 0.861
V3: it is worth to book the hotel 0.869
V4: the overall expected value of staying at this hotel is high 0.717
Purchase intentions (PI)
PI1: after reviewing the hotel website, the likelihood of booking this hotel is high 0.746
PI2: if I am going to book the hotel, I would consider booking this hotel at the price shown 0.795
PI3: the probability that I would consider booking this hotel is high 0.793
PI4: my willingness to book this hotel is high 0.815
Table 5
Correlations (squared correlations), construct reliability, and AVE.
BI P T V PI
BI 1
P 0.271
*
(0.073) 1
T 0.672
*
(0.452) 0.406
*
(0.165) 1
V 0.635
*
(0.403) 0.499
*
(0.249) 0.706
*
(0.498) 1
PI 0.585
*
(0.342) 0.600
*
(0.360) 0.584
*
(0.341) 0.802
*
(0.643) 1
CR 0.894 0.889 0.923 0.886 0.864
AVE 0.630 0.667 0.749 0.662 0.615
Note: *p < 0.001; BI, brand image; P, price; T, trust; V, value; PI, purchase intention;
CR, construct reliability; AVE, average variance extracted.
Table 6
Path results of structural model.
Hypotheses Paths Standardized coef?cient P-Value
Direct Paths
H1 Brand Image Perceived Price 0.300 0.000
*
H2 Brand Image Trust 0.679 0.000
*
H3 Brand Image Value 0.289 0.000
*
H4 Brand Image Purchase Intentions 0.166 0.000
*
H8 Perceived Price Value 0.260 0.000
*
H9 Perceived Price Purchase Intentions 0.261 0.000
*
H11 Trust Value 0.424 0.000
*
H12 Trust Purchase Intentions 0.061 0.342
H14 Value Purchase Intentions 0.610 0.000
*
Indirect Paths
H5 Brand Image Perceived Price Purchase Intentions 0.078 0.000
*
H6 Brand Image Trust Purchase Intentions 0.041 0.172
H7 Brand Image Value Purchase Intentions 0.176 0.000
*
H10 Perceived Price Value Purchase Intentions 0.162 0.008
*
H13 Trust Value Purchase Intentions 0.259 0.000
Note: *p < 0.01.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 216
reputation, the social status symbol of the brand, the value for the
price, and the expected high value. Males are more easily convinced
by good brand reputation and satisfactory value than females.
However, the differences are not signi?cant between males and
females on purchase intentions, indicating an inconsistency with
?ndings of previous studies. One possible reason is that most males
and females in the sample are young and well-educated. 86.31% of
males (145 out of 168) and 85.86% (170 out of 198) of females were
aged between 18 and 30 and are part of the Internet generation.
94.04% (158 out of 168) of males and 95.45% (189 out of 198) of
females have a bachelor or graduate degree. Therefore, males and
femalesmight have similar attitudes toward online purchasing.
Another reason is that most males and females are single. 91.07%
(153 out of 168) of males and 87.37% (173 out of 198) of females
were not married and could make online booking decision indi-
vidually, which is different from traditional Taiwanese families
where males (e.g., fathers) dominate hotel booking decisions.
5.2. Managerial implications
This study provides hoteliers a theoretical basis for the premise
that offering a reasonable/acceptable price, an attractive/reputed
brand, and supplying superior customer value will enhance con-
sumers' booking intentions. Given the current study ?ndings, four
implications are presented. First, value is a critical determinant of
purchase intentions. The hotel manager needs to understand con-
sumers' expectations and perceptions of value. To increase con-
sumers' perceived value, the hotel can consider providing
competitive rates or discounts for the booking directly through its
website (utilitarian value). To increase value, hotels should be of-
fering complete product information and the trip package online.
Additionally, improving the entertainment and visual appeal
(experiential value) by adding a friendly interface to the hotel web-
site, as well as ensuring personalization, ease of navigation, and
extrinsic cues (e.g., clear pictures of room features, the surrounding
environment, and onsite amenities) will also increase value, which
will lead to an improvement in booking intentions. Second, brand
image positively in?uences purchase intentions and has a positive
mediatingeffect onpurchase intentions throughprice andvalue. The
hotel should devote efforts to maintaining and improving its brand
image. Well-managed brand associations including the improve-
ment of functional, symbolic, and experiential bene?ts will generate
a favorable brand image. Third, price positively affects purchase in-
tentions and has a mediating effect on purchase intentions through
value. We suggest the hotel maintain a price consistent with its
classi?cation and be careful to prevent the price from exceeding
consumers' acceptable price range. It is imperative for the hotel to
research consumers' acceptable price range, especially during an
economic downtown. Fourth, although the direct effect of trust on
purchase intentions is not signi?cant, it does not mean trust is an
unimportant determinant of purchase intentions. The three hotel
brands are well-known brands and consumers have con?dence in
the hotels' website information. The continuous enhancement of
consumers' trust inthehotel makes themfeel thehotel's information
is accurate and reliable which will greatly improve their perceived
value and contribute to positive booking decisions.
5.3. Limitations and future research
There are three limitations in this research. First, our study fo-
cuses on investigating the online hotel booking in Taiwan. There-
fore, generalization of the model results might not apply to other
markets/countries. Second, although young consumers are impor-
tant online shoppers, they were over-represented in this study.
Third, except for the four antecedents of purchase intentions we
have examined, other possible determinants, such as website
quality, satisfaction, and online reviews, might be important factors
in?uencing consumers' booking intentions.
Acknowledging these limitations, for future research, we sug-
gest a cross-cultural comparison of online hotel booking to con?rm
the model effectiveness. In addition, examining the effects of online
reviews, website quality, and satisfaction on booking intentions
and balancing the representativeness of online booking customers
will generate valuable information in understanding consumers'
online hotel booking decisions.
Con?icts of interest
All contributing authors declare no con?icts of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the assistance of Dr. Ben-Chang Shia and
Ms. Wan-Ju Chien in data collection.
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C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 218
doc_572455671.pdf
Leisure travelers increasingly prefer to book hotel online when considering the convenience and cost/
time saving. This research examines the direct and mediating effects of brand image, perceived price,
trust, perceived value on consumers' booking intentions and compares the gender differences in online
hotel booking. The outcomes confirm most of the direct and indirect path effects and are consistent with
findings from previous studies. Consumers in Taiwan tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the
hotel brand is attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, the hotel will offer good value for the price and the
likelihood of their booking intentions is high. Brand image, perceived price, and perceived value are the
three critical determinants directly influencing purchase intentions. However, the impact of trust on
purchase intentions is not significant. The differences between males and females on purchase intentions
are not significant as well. Managerial implications of these results are discussed.
Online hotel booking: The effects of brand image, price, trust and value on
purchase intentions
Che-Hui Lien
a
, Miin-Jye Wen
b, *
, Li-Ching Huang
b
, Kuo-Lung Wu
c
a
Department of Marketing, International Business, and Entrepreneurship, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada
b
Department of Statistics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
c
Department of Information Management, Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 21 May 2014
Accepted 3 March 2015
Available online 22 June 2015
Keywords:
Brand image
Price
Trust
Value
Purchase intentions
a b s t r a c t
Leisure travelers increasingly prefer to book hotel online when considering the convenience and cost/
time saving. This research examines the direct and mediating effects of brand image, perceived price,
trust, perceived value on consumers' booking intentions and compares the gender differences in online
hotel booking. The outcomes con?rm most of the direct and indirect path effects and are consistent with
?ndings from previous studies. Consumers in Taiwan tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the
hotel brand is attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, the hotel will offer good value for the price and the
likelihood of their booking intentions is high. Brand image, perceived price, and perceived value are the
three critical determinants directly in?uencing purchase intentions. However, the impact of trust on
purchase intentions is not signi?cant. The differences between males and females on purchase intentions
are not signi?cant as well. Managerial implications of these results are discussed.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Based on 2010 Philips Index for Health and Well-being (http://
www.philips-thecenter.org), among 23 countries surveyed,
Taiwan was ranked as the second highest for people facing life/
working pressure, while India was ranked as the highest. To help
release stress, the Taiwan government encourages people to travel
either domestically or internationally. A two-day weekend policy
has inspired people living in Taiwan to travel to suburban areas
close to the mountain or the ocean (e.g., Kenting).
According to the 2011 Survey of Travel by R.O.C. (Taiwan) Citi-
zens (http://admin.taiwan.net.tw), the proportion of people un-
dertaking domestic tourist travel in 2011 was 95.4%, an increase of
1.5% from 2010 (93.9%). The proportion of people taking domestic
tourist travel is de?ned as the proportion of people who took at
least one domestic trip during the year. The total expenditure on
domestic travel in 2011 in Taiwan was NT$ 310.3 billion (US$ 10.527
billion), an increase of 30.3% from 2010 (US$ 8.079 billion). Based
on this survey, 36.6% of tourists use the Internet to obtain travel
information, an increase of 3.7% from 2010 (32.9%). Forty-four
percent of overnight tourists stayed in hotels.
The Internet has become an important distribution channel in
the hotel industry (Lehto, Kim, & Morrison, 2006). Unlike tradi-
tional hotel booking through travel agents, online hotel booking
offers bene?ts to consumers such as accessing more photos and
videos, a full description of the hotel property and location, better
pricing, and no additional booking fees (O'Connor & Frew, 2004;
Sparks & Browning, 2011). Considering the convenience and cost/
time saving, leisure travelers in Taiwan increasingly prefer to use
the Internet to book hotels and search for information regarding
brand, price, and service (2011 Survey of Travel by R.O.C. (Taiwan)
Citizens). Many hotels have noted this trend and have provided
access to secure online reservation systems.
Several studies have investigated the impact of brand image on
consumer behavior in the service sector (Aghekyan-Simonian,
Forsythe, Kwon, & Chattaraman, 2012; Ryu, Han, & Kim, 2008).
Due to the intangible elements of the hotel industry, some tangible
cues, e.g., hotel brand name and onsite amenities, are important in
shaping and in?uencing customers' behavior. To build a strong
brand, a hotel should develop its own distinctive image that
* Corresponding author. Department of Statistics, National Cheng Kung Univer-
sity, No.1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, ROC. Tel.: þ886 6 2757575x53629.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M.-J. Wen).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ apmrvhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.03.005
1029-3132/© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218
differentiates itself from competitors and communicate the major
bene?ts to its target customers. Consumers are more likely to
purchase products/services with well-established brand names
(Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012). Product price has long been
considered a key predictor of consumers' purchase decision-
making. Price may convey information to the consumer regarding
product/service quality and value (Erickson & Johansson, 1985).
Electronic markets allowcustomers to easily compare prices among
vendors and ?nd the affordable one. If a product/service price is
perceived as reasonable, consumers may have greater intentions to
purchase (Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, &Borin, 1998). Trust facilitates a
person's con?dence and his/her willingness to have faith in the
other party (Moorman, Zaltman, & Deshpande, 1992). Building
consumers' trust is one of the factors determining the success of a
service provider (Kim, Xu, & Gupta, 2012). Value is an important
concept in understanding customers. Past research found that
value is positively associated with behavioral intentions in the
hospitality industry (Ha & Jang, 2010).
Much of the purchase effort occurs prior to the actual buying
decision. Therefore, it is important for hoteliers to analyze the key
antecedents and mediators of purchase intentions to know how to
favorably in?uence customers in the pre-purchase stage. Although
many studies have examined various factors affecting online pur-
chasing decision (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012; Chen, 2009;
Everard & Galletta, 2006; Javadi, Dolatabadi, Nourbakhsh,
Poursaeedi, & Asadollahi, 2012; Yu & Wu, 2007; Zhou, Dai, &
Zhang, 2007), there has been very little research regarding online
hotel booking in Taiwan. Chiang and Jang (2007) collected data
from students at a major mid-western university in the US and
proposed an integrative model to investigate the direct impacts of
price and brand image on service quality, trust, value and leisure
travelers' purchase intentions for online hotel booking. Their study
was conducted solely in the US and their model needs to be further
veri?ed in other countries.
Service quality is de?ned as the consumer's comparison of ex-
pected service level with actual service performance (Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985). Hotel service quality is better measured
after consumers actually experience the hotel accommodation, and
hence, is not appropriate to use in the case of online booking. On-
line hotel booking involves interaction with the website. Website
quality is an antecedent of trust (Kim, Jin, & Swinney, 2009) and
purchase intention (Chen, Hsu, & Lin, 2010), and is analyzed as a
multi-dimensional concept (Chen et al., 2010). Adding website
quality into this integrative model will make this model compli-
cated as more facets would have to be tested and evaluated. Due to
this complexity in measuring the effects of other constructs on
purchase intentions, website quality will not be included in the
scope of the study. Moreover, in Chiang and Jang's model, the direct
effects of brand image on perceived price and purchase intentions
and the in?uence of trust on purchase intentions were not tested.
The mediating effects of brand image on purchase intentions
through value and trust were also not examined, and gender dif-
ferences in online hotel booking were not investigated in their
integrative model. Brand image was identi?ed as an important
antecedent directly in?uencing price and online purchase in-
tentions (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012; Oh, 2000). Trust is an
important determinant directly in?uencing the user's behavioral
intentions to purchase online (Everard & Galletta, 2006; Ling, bin
Daud, Piew, Keoy, & Hassan, 2011). Research has shown that
although men and women are equally likely to use the Internet for
personal or business purposes, more men than women are using
the Internet for online business transactions and purchases (Hasan,
2010; Rodgers & Harris, 2003; Van Slyke, Comunale, & Belanger,
2002). To improve Chiang and Jang's integrative model and
generate insightful information, our article aims to test the direct
and mediating effects of brand image, price, trust, and value on
online hotel booking intentions in Taiwan as well as examine
gender differences in online hotel booking.
The article is organized as follows. In the subsequent sessions,
we review the literature and develop the hypotheses. We then
summarize the research methodology, and report the results.
Finally, we conclude with discussions.
2. Literature review and research hypotheses
2.1. Explanation of constructs
2.1.1. Brand image
Brand image is a determinant affecting customers' subjective
perceptions and consequent behaviors (Ryu et al., 2008) and is an
extrinsic cue when consumers are evaluating a product/service
before purchasing (Zeithaml, 1988). According to the theory of
reasoned action (TRA, Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), consumers consider
the consequences of alternative behaviors before engaging in them
(Bang, Ellinger, Hadjimarcou, & Traichal, 2000). Consumers'
behavioral intent is derived from attitude toward the behavior and
subjective norms (Bang et al., 2000). Keller (1993, p.3) de?ned
brand image as perceptions about a brand as re?ected by the brand
associations held in consumer memory. A brand association has a
level of strength, and the link to a brand will be stronger when the
link is based on consumers' experience or the exposures to com-
munications (Aaker, 1991). Brand associations are classi?ed into
three categories including attributes, bene?ts, and attitudes and
these associations can vary based on their favorability, strength,
and uniqueness (Keller, 1993). The more favorable the brand image,
the more positive the attitude toward the branded product and its
attributes (Aghekyan-Simonian et al., 2012). Brand image aids a
consumer in recognizing his/her needs and wants regarding the
brand and distinguishes the brand fromother rivals (Anwar, Gulzar,
Sohail, & Akram, 2011).
2.1.2. Price
From the consumer's perspective, price represents the amount
of money consumers must give up to get the product/service
(Zeithaml, 1988). Many consumers use price as a quality-signaling
cue re?ecting the conventional wisdom that “you get what you
pay for” (Erickson & Johansson, 1985). Consumers do not always
remember actual prices of products. Instead, they encode prices in
way that are meaningful to them (Zeithaml, 1988). In the online
shopping, customers tend to compare the objective prices (price
offered by the current vendor) with reference prices (price offered
by other vendors) and then form their perceptions of price (Kim
et al., 2012). Price, as a heuristic cue, is more readily observable
than quality (Yoon, Oh, Song, Kim, & Kim, 2014). Under the
competitive environment, low prices (or reasonable price) help
hotels achieve a sustainable advantage within their product mar-
kets (Bojanic, 1996). Instead of a single price, consumers usually
have a range of prices that are acceptable for an intended purchase.
2.1.3. Trust
Trust is one of the central features of buyer-seller relationships.
The role of trust in social exchange relations has been the subject of
researchers' interests (Wu, Chen, & Chung, 2010). Trust refers to a
positive belief about the reliability and dependability of a person or
an object (Everard & Galletta, 2006). Trust builds when the
customer has con?dence in a service provider's reliability and
integrity (Kim, Kim, & Kim, 2009). Consumers' trust in the service
providers can help reduce their cognitive risk and insecurity and
thus enable the maintenance of the long-term relationship (Gefen,
2000). The more a customer trusts a website, the lower the
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 211
perceived online transaction risk, and the greater the intention to
purchase on that website (Mansour, Kooli, & Utama, 2014). In on-
line hotel booking, customers might be vulnerable to accommo-
dations and services provided by the hoteliers. Customers expect
that hotel will deliver services as promised on the website and the
expectation is dependent on the trust the customer has on the
hotel. Therefore, a hotel can employ trust as a powerful marketing
tool to build customer loyalty (Kim et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2009).
2.1.4. Value
A generally accepted de?nition of value was proposed by
Zeithaml (1988). Zeithaml (1988, p.14) found that, although there
are different consumer expressions of value, perceived value can be
captured in one overall de?nition as the consumer's overall
assessment of the utility of a product/service based on perceptions
of what is received and what is given (i.e., a trade-off between
perceived bene?ts and perceived cost). Lee and Overby (2004)
identi?ed two types of online shopping values: utilitarian value
and experiential value. Utilitarian value is an overall assessment of
functional bene?ts including the price savings, service excellence,
time savings, and merchandise selection dimensions. Experiential
value is an overall representation of experiential bene?ts from the
entertainment, the visual appeal, and the interactivity involved
with online shopping (Lee &Overby, 2004). In an empirical study of
customer value in the hotel industry, Nasution and Mavondo
(2008) found that different classes of hotels deliver signi?cantly
different levels of customer value in terms of reputation for quality
and prestige.
2.1.5. Purchase intentions
Purchase intention is the likelihood that a customer will buy a
particular product/service (Dodds, Monroe, & Grewal, 1991). Pur-
chase intention is a vital predictor of actual buying behavior and
this relationship has been empirically examined in hospitality and
tourism industry (Bai, Law, & Wen, 2008; Sparks & Browning,
2011). In the online hotel booking, purchase intention re?ects the
desire of a consumer to book a room through the hotel's website.
Previous research has shown that brand image, price, trust, and
value are driving forces of online purchase intentions (Chiang &
Jang, 2007; Chen & Dubinsky, 2003; Everard & Galletta, 2006).
2.2. Hypotheses development
2.2.1. In?uence of brand image on trust, value, price, and purchase
intentions
In Aghekyan-Simonian et al.'s (2012) research of online pur-
chase intentions for apparel products, the outcomes showed that
brand image positively in?uences purchase intentions through the
reduction of perceived risk. Brand image is an extrinsic cue for
evaluation of product/service price and a better brand image results
in a higher perceived price (Grewal et al., 1998). Ryu et al. (2008)
reported that a favorable restaurant image positively in?uences
consumers' perceived value and their willingness to purchase.
Chen, Yeh, and Huan's (2014) study of consumption in nostalgic
restaurants indicated that restaurant image has a positive impact
on consumption intention. A good brand image improves a con-
sumer's trust because it can diminish the risk of purchase (Chen,
2010; Chiang & Jang, 2007). A reasonable product/service price, a
satisfactory value, and a trust in the brand will make consumers
have greater intention to purchase the product/service (Dodds
et al., 1991; Kim et al., 2012). Based on the foregoing discussions,
although the direct effects of brand image on trust, perceived value,
and price have been widely discussed in the hospitality/marketing
literature, little empirical research investigated both the direct and
mediating effects of brand image on online hotel booking
intentions. Thus, we infer that price, trust, and value have medi-
ating effects on the relationship between brand image and will-
ingness to purchase. This leads to the following hypotheses:
H1. Brand image will have a positive effect on perceived price
H2. Brand image will have a positive effect on trust
H3. Brand image will have a positive effect on perceived value
H4. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
H5. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived price
H6. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through trust
H7. Brand image will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived value
2.2.2. Relationships among price, value, and purchase intentions
In the hotel industry, a reasonable price results in greater
customer perceived value (Lee, 2012) and enhances consumers'
purchase intentions (Chiang & Jang, 2007). Duman and Mattila
(2005) identi?ed price as an important antecedent of perceived
value of tourismservices. Therefore, in the acceptable price range, a
lower price for a given quality (i.e., perceived price is reasonable)
leads to a higher perceived value and consequently to a greater
intention to purchase (Dodds et al., 1991). Faryabi, Sadeghzadeh,
and Saed's research (2012) of online shopping indicated that
price discount (reasonable price) has a positive effect on con-
sumers' purchase intentions. In the study of retailing, lower-price
promotion was proved to strongly increase consumers' perceived
shopping value (Yoon et al., 2014). These ?ndings provide the
theoretical basis for the hypotheses of the direct and mediating
effects of perceived price on perceived value and purchase
intentions.
H8. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
perceived value
H9. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
purchase intentions
H10. Perceived reasonable price will have a positive effect on
purchase intentions mediating through perceived value
2.2.3. Relationships among trust, value, and purchase intentions
In an empirical study using a lab experiment, Everard and
Galletta (2006) showed that trust in the online store positively
in?uences the user's intentions to purchase from the online store.
Mansour et al. (2014) adopted an integrative approach to address
the antecedents and consequences of online trust on purchase
intention and the ?ndings showed that purchase intention is
positively in?uenced by online trust. Ling et al.'s (2011) study also
supported the positive relationship between trust and online pur-
chase intentions. In Johnson's (2007) study in both of?ine and
online banking, trust in the ?rm has a signi?cant, positive impact
on perceived value from the ?rm. Chong, Yang, and Wong (2003)
presented the mediating role of value between trust and pur-
chase intentions. Hence, the proposed hypotheses are:
H11. Trust will have a positive effect on perceived value
H12. Trust will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
H13. Trust will have a positive effect on purchase intentions
mediating through perceived value
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 212
2.2.4. Relationship between value and purchase intentions
Chen and Chen (2010) examined the visitor experience of her-
itage tourism and found that perceived value is a pivotal determi-
nant of behavioral intentions. Kim, Sun, and Kim's (2013) research
showed that restaurant guests' perceived values (i.e., hedonic and
social value) positively affect their behavior intentions to use social
commerce. Ha and Jang (2010) investigated American customers'
perceived value regarding dining experience in Korean restaurants
and the outcomes also support the positive in?uence of perceived
value on behavioral intentions. In an online retail research, value
had a positive in?uence on online purchase intentions (Chen &
Dubinsky, 2003). Thus, we propose.
H14. Perceived value will have a positive effect on purchase
intentions
3. Methodology
3.1. Research model
The research model consists of the antecedents of purchase
intentions including brand image, perceived price, value, and trust,
investigating the effects of brand image, perceived price, and trust
on value, and examining the in?uence of brand image on perceived
price and trust. The proposed model is shown in Fig. 1.
3.2. Data collection
The following two criteria guide our sample selection. First, only
those respondents who had reserved a room from a hotel website
in the last 12 months were quali?ed to participate in the survey.
Second, this study required the respondents to be 18 years and
above to ensure they are responsible for using their own credit card
when making an online hotel booking. Based on the 2011 statistical
report of Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan (Statistical Yearbook of
Interior,http://sowf.moi.gov.tw/stat/year/elist.htm), the popula-
tion of those aged 18 years and over in the north, middle, and south
of Taiwan are 15,797,000 (47.94%), 9,059,659 (27.49%), and
8,093,910 (24.57%), respectively.
A scenario approach was used in this study. The scenario as-
sumes that the respondents are planning to visit Kenting for 2e3
days on vacation and are using the Internet to search and book a
hotel. Kenting is located in southern Taiwan and is a popular scenic
area boasting fabulous ocean and mountain views. Three hotel
brands (Howard Beach Resort Kenting, Red Garden Resort, and
Kenting Youth Activity Center), representing three different levels
of price, were used in this scenario. The use of three hotel brands in
different price segments is expected to provide a robust test of
model relationships (Chiang & Jang, 2007; Nasution & Mavondo,
2008) and will enable a comparison of the differences in percep-
tions among the ?ve marketing constructs. Howard Beach Resort
Kenting is a well-known luxury hotel with a superior location
situated at the end of Kenting's main street. Red Garden Resort
features a touch of Bali style and is in the mid-scale hotel segment.
Kenting Youth Activity Center is in a tranquil setting surrounded by
natural views of the beaches and mountains and is famous for its
southern Min style architecture. It is the largest low-priced econ-
omy hotel in Kenting. The respondents were required to review the
three hotel brands, price, indoor and outdoor facilities, restaurants,
location, the room features and onsite amenities and to identify
which hotel they would choose to book online. The samples were
collected from the database of Lifewin (www.lifewin.com.tw).
Lifewin is an online survey network consisting of 50,000 members
in Taiwan. This research employed online, strati?ed sampling and
sent the questionnaire to 1200 Lifewin members including 600 in
the north, 300 in the middle, and 300 in the south of Taiwan. A total
of 390 members (who had reserved a room from a hotel website in
the last 12 months) replied and the response rate was 32.5%. After
deleting samples with questionable responses (e.g., participants
answered “Strongly Disagree” or “Strongly Agree” to all questions
appeared in the second section of the questionnaire), the numbers
of valid observations in the north, middle, and south of Taiwan
were 173 (47.3%), 91 (24.9%), and 102 (27.9%), respectively, for a
total sample size of 366. To measure the representativeness of the
observations in each region, a goodness-of-?t test was used and the
result (p-value ¼ 0.747) is not signi?cant, showing that there is no
signi?cant difference between the population percentage and the
sample percentage in the three regions. Strati?ed sampling is a
probability sampling approach that is distinguished by the
following two steps. First, the population is divided into two or
more mutually exclusive and exhaustive subsets. Second, simple
random sampling is employed to choose samples fromeach subset.
In our research, the total samples were ?rst divided into sub-
samples based on different regions (north, middle, and south) in
Taiwan. Then the strati?ed samples were randomly selected from
the north, middle, and south of Taiwan.
3.3. Survey instrument
A survey questionnaire was developed with three sections. In
the ?rst section, after reviewing the three hotel information, the
respondents were asked to select the hotel they would reserve a
room at. The result showed that the numbers of bookings for
Howard Beach Resort Kenting, Red Garden Resort, and Kenting
Youth Activity Center were 66 (18%), 222 (61%), and 78 (21%),
respectively. Over 60% of leisure travelers chose to book the mid-
scale hotel and the result is consistent with the 2010 Taiwan do-
mestic tourist travel report - most domestic tourists chose ac-
commodations in mid-scale hotels. In the second section,
respondents' level of perceived price, brand image, trust, perceived
value and purchase intentions were measured. Price items were
modi?ed from Chiang and Jang (2007) and Dodds et al. (1991).
Brand image items were adapted from the study of Keller (1993)
and del Río, V azquez, and Iglesias (2001). Trust and purchase in-
tentions items developed by Chiang and Jang (2007) were used.
Value items were modi?ed from Zeithaml (1988) and Chiang and
Jang (2007). The 21 items were measured by a ?ve-point Likert
scale ranging from “strongly disagree ¼ 1” to “strongly agree ¼ 5”.
The third section includes demographic questions. The developed
questionnaire was pre-tested on 31 online shoppers and the result
showed the instructions and questions were well understood.
Table 1 demonstrates the breakdown of the respondents in terms of
gender, age, marriage, education, and monthly income. Among the
respondents, 54.1% were females and 10.9% were married. The re-
spondents tend to be young (86.1% of them were aged 18e30),
single (89.1% of them were not married), and well educated (94.8% Fig. 1. The research model and the proposed relationships.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 213
of them had a bachelor or graduate degree). 89.3% of the re-
spondents' monthly income were under NT$40,000 (US$1333).
4. Results
4.1. Descriptive statistics of measurement items
The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the measurement
items are shown in Table 2. The overall mean of respondents'
perceived price in each hotel is greater than 3 indicating the
perceived price is reasonable. However, the mean score of P1 (“the
price listed by this hotel is inexpensive”) of the Howard Beach
Resort Kenting is 2.86, demonstrating that the respondents did not
think the price in this luxury hotel was inexpensive. Compared
with the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (overall mean: 3.32) and the
Red Garden Resort (overall mean: 3.72), the perceived price of the
Kenting Youth Activity Center (overall mean: 4.44) was more
favorable. The overall mean of brand image and trust was rated
higher in the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (brand image: 4.01;
trust: 4.08) in comparison with that of the Red Garden Resort
(brand image: 3.62; trust: 3.80) and the Kenting Youth Activity
Center (brand image: 3.67; trust: 4.04). The overall mean value in
the three hotels was almost the same (Howard Beach Resort
Kenting: 3.90; Red Garden Resort: 3.92; Kenting Youth Activity
Center: 3.90) showing that the three hotels provide customers with
good value based on the price. In terms of purchase intentions, the
respondents' willingness to book the Kenting Youth Activity Center
online (overall mean: 4.00) was higher than their willingness to
book the Howard Beach Resort Kenting (overall mean: 3.73) and
the Red Garden Resort (overall mean: 3.92).
4.2. Test of gender differences
Table 3 shows the mean score and the signi?cance results be-
tween males and females in terms of the ?ve constructs. The out-
comes indicated males and females have signi?cant differences in
perceived price and trust. There are no signi?cant differences be-
tween males and females on purchase intentions. Regarding brand
image and value, males and females have signi?cant differences
only in items BI4 (“this hotel brand is a social status symbol”), BI5
(“this hotel brand has a good reputation”), V1 (“the hotel offers
good value for the price”), and V4 (“The overall expected value of
staying at this hotel is high”).
4.3. Structure equation modeling (SEM)
The hypothesized model is tested employing structural equation
modeling (SEM) using AMOS 19. The process of applying the SEM
technique involves two steps. First, con?rmatory factor analysis
(CFA) tests a measurement theory based on overall model ?t and
other evidences of construct reliability and validity. Second, the
structural model takes the information about measures into ac-
count and examines the structural relationships among the ?ve
constructs (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010).
CFA using maximum likelihood estimation was ?rst applied to
test how well these 21 measures represent the ?ve constructs. The
overall model c
2
is 611.552 with 51 degrees of freedom (c
2
/
d.f. ¼ 3.398) and is signi?cant at p < 0.001, implying the model was
not adequate. However, the c
2
value is very sensitive to sample size
and is generally recommended for use with moderate samples only
(e.g., 100e200) (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Given the problem associated
with using the c
2
test alone and the large valid sample size of 366,
other ?t indices were employed to test the overall model ?t.
CFI (an incremental ?t index) and RMSEA (an absolute ?t
measure) are widely used indices of model ?t (Kline, 2011). The CFI
value of 0.924 exceeded the recommended cut-off level of 0.9 and
the RMSEA value of 0.071 was lower than the value of 0.08 indi-
cating an adequate model ?t (Kline, 2011). Moreover, the RMR value
of 0.038 (0.8) also support a
good model ?t (MacCallum & Hong, 1997). In sum, the hypothe-
sized model exhibits a good ?t with the data collected.
Table 1
Demographic characteristics of the respondents (N ¼ 366).
Frequency %
Gender
Males 168 45.9
Females 198 54.1
Age
18e20 26 7.1
21e30 289 79.0
31e40 45 12.3
41e50 3 0.8
51þ 3 0.8
Married
Yes 40 10.9
No 326 89.1
Education
High School Graduate 19 5.2
Bachelor's Degree 193 52.7
Graduate Degree 154 42.1
Monthly Income
< NT$20,000 (¼US$667) 239 65.3
NT$20,000eNT$40,000 (US$667eUS$1333) 88 24.0
NT$40,001eNT$60,000 (US$1334eUS$2000) 31 8.5
NT$60,001eNT$80,000 (US$2001eUS$2667) 4 1.1
>NT$80,001(US$2668) 4 1.1
Table 2
Descriptive statistics of measurement items.
Measurement Howard
Kenting
Red Garden
Resort
Kenting Youth
Activity Center
Items Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
Brand Image (BI)
BI1 4.12 0.65 3.65 0.70 3.99 0.75
BI2 4.09 0.63 3.86 0.70 3.72 0.80
BI3 4.05 0.62 3.92 0.69 3.68 0.78
BI4 3.71 0.84 3.12 0.90 3.21 0.90
BI5 4.06 0.68 3.57 0.73 3.76 0.73
Overall Mean 4.01 3.62 3.67
Price (P)
P1 2.86 0.86 3.29 0.79 4.47 0.70
P2 3.42 0.75 3.85 0.69 4.42 0.66
P3 3.67 0.79 3.97 0.72 4.51 0.60
P4 3.33 0.85 3.75 0.71 4.35 0.74
Overall Mean 3.32 3.72 4.44
Trust (T)
T1 4.02 0.57 3.82 0.61 4.15 0.69
T2 4.11 0.53 3.80 0.62 4.01 0.75
T3 4.08 0.51 3.82 0.64 3.97 0.68
T4 4.11 0.59 3.77 0.63 4.04 0.65
Overall Mean 4.08 3.80 4.04
Value (V)
V1 3.86 0.52 3.92 0.66 4.04 0.73
V2 3.94 0.58 3.92 0.62 3.82 0.77
V3 3.83 0.62 3.95 0.59 3.95 0.74
V4 3.98 0.60 3.90 0.64 3.78 0.82
Overall Mean 3.90 3.92 3.90
Purchase Intentions (PI)
PI1 3.89 0.59 4.10 0.63 3.92 0.70
PI2 3.62 0.67 3.95 0.69 4.19 0.69
PI3 3.74 0.64 3.75 0.76 3.83 0.84
PI4 3.68 0.66 3.88 0.70 4.06 0.73
Overall Mean 3.73 3.92 4.00
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 214
Internal consistency was assessed by construct reliability (CR).
All the CRs, shown in Table 5, exceed the threshold value of 0.7
(Hair et al., 2010) indicating good reliability. Convergent validity
was veri?ed by average variance extracted (AVE) (Fornell & Larcker,
1981; Hair et al., 2010). The AVE for each construct exceeds 0.5
(Table 5), which suggests adequate convergence (Fornell & Larcker,
1981; Hair et al., 2010). The CFA results (Table 4) also support the
convergent validity because factor loadings for all measurement
items are greater than 0.5 (Hair et al., 2010). Discriminant validity is
acceptable because the AVE for each construct exceeds the squared
correlation coef?cient between any two constructs (Fornell &
Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2010).
The evaluation of the structural model is used to examine the
hypothesizedrelationships. Inline withthe value andsigni?cance of
the path coef?cients (shown in Table 6), brand image appears to
have a signi?cant and positive impact on perceived price, trust,
value, and purchase intentions. The positive effects of brand image
on purchase intentions mediating from price and value are signi?-
cant but the mediating effect on purchase intentions via trust is not
signi?cant. The total effect of brand image on purchase intentions is
0.42 (direct effect (¼0.166) plus indirect effect (¼0.078 þ
0.176 ¼ 0.254)). Therefore, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H7 are corrobo-
rated but H6 is rejected. Perceived price has a signi?cant, positive
effect (¼0.261) on purchase intentions and it positively in?uences
purchase intentions mediating through perceived value (¼0.162),
providing a total effect of 0.423. Perceived price is also found to have
a positively impact on value. In this way, H8, H9, and H10 are sta-
tistically supported. Trust positively in?uences perceived value and
has a signi?cant, positive effect on purchase intentions mediating
through perceived value. However, the impact of trust on purchase
intentions is not signi?cant. Accordingly, H11andH13are supported
but H12 is rejected. Finally, perceived value positively in?uences
purchase intentions supporting H14.
Based on the direct path estimates, it is noted that value is the
most important predictor of purchase intentions (standardized
coef?cient ¼ 0.610). In addition, the path coef?cients of brand
image on trust (standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.679), trust on value
(standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.424), and brand image on perceived
price (standardized coef?cient ¼ 0.300) are larger in comparison
with other direct path coef?cients. In the indirect path estimates,
the outcomes indicated brand image, perceived price and trust
have a signi?cant, positive in?uence on purchase intentions
mediating through value. Therefore, value plays a pivotal, medi-
ating role on purchase intentions. In addition, brand image has a
signi?cant, positive effect on purchase intentions mediating by
perceived price.
5. Discussions and conclusion
5.1. Discussion of ?ndings
This study contributes to the literature in examining the effects
of brand image, perceived price, trust, and value on Taiwanese
online hotel booking decisions, and comparing gender differences
in these constructs. The results con?rm most of the path effects
showing that brand image positively in?uences perceived price,
trust, value, and purchase intentions. Price is found to have a pos-
itive impact on value and purchase intentions. Value has a signi?-
cant, positive effect on purchase intentions. However, although
trust positively affects value, the impact of trust on purchase in-
tentions is not signi?cant.
Brand image is a key driver positively in?uencing purchase in-
tentions. The outcome is consistent with Aghekyan-Simonian et al.
(2012) and Chen, Yeh, and Huan (2014). The improvement of brand
reputation strengthens consumers' intentions of booking. Brand
image is an important antecedent (a total effect of 0.679) in
determining trust, re?ecting that the attractive and valuable brand
increases consumers' trust of the product/service associated with
the brand. The result is concordant with Chen (2010) and Chiang
and Jang (2007). Brand image positively in?uences price and
value exhibiting a pleased and reputed brand escalates the level of
price and improves product/service value. These ?ndings are
consistent with Grewal et al. (1998) and Ryu et al. (2008). However,
the impact of brand image on purchase intentions mediating from
trust is not signi?cant. Perceived price is a key factor positively
in?uencing purchase intentions indicating that an acceptable and
appropriate price enhances consumers' booking intentions. The
result is consistent with Chiang and Jang (2007) and Faryabi,
Sadeghzadeh, and Saed (2012). The signi?cant, positive effect of
price on value shows that a reasonable price improves consumers'
perceived value, which is compatible with Lee (2012) and Yoon
et al. (2014). Value is the most important determinant of pur-
chase intentions with a total effect of 0.610 showing that if the hotel
offers customers satisfactory value, they are more likely to book the
hotel. This result is consistent with the studies of Oh (2000), Chiang
and Jang (2007), and Kim et al. (2013). The impact of trust on
purchase intentions is surprisingly not signi?cant, demonstrating
that trust is not a predictor directly in?uencing Taiwanese online
hotel booking decisions. The outcome is different with previous
studies (Everard & Galletta, 2006; Ling et al., 2011; Mansour et al.,
2014). One possible reason to explain this is that the three levels of
hotels used in this study are well-known and have operated in
Kenting for many years. Consumers know what to expect from
these three hotels and feel they are reliable. Therefore, trust might
already exist among consumers before they book the hotel and it is
not a factor directly affecting Taiwanese booking decisions. How-
ever, trust has a positive, indirect effect on purchase intentions
through the mediator of value. Improving the trust relationship
with consumers enhances consumers' perceived value which will
eventually strengthen their purchase intentions.
Table 3
Test of gender differences.
Measurement Males Females P-Value
Items Mean Mean
Brand Image (BI)
BI1 3.88 3.75 0.116
BI2 3.87 3.87 0.996
BI3 3.91 3.88 0.672
BI4 3.43 3.08 0.000
*
BI5 3.82 3.59 0.004
*
Price (P)
P1 3.68 3.28 0.000
*
P2 4.02 3.79 0.004
*
P3 4.16 3.92 0.003
*
P4 3.93 3.69 0.006
*
Trust (T)
T1 4.00 3.86 0.033
*
T2 3.96 3.82 0.025
*
T3 3.98 3.83 0.027
*
T4 4.01 3.79 0.001
*
Value (V)
V1 4.01 3.87 0.045
*
V2 3.96 3.93 0.607
V3 3.98 3.91 0.350
V4 4.03 3.78 0.000
*
Purchase Intentions (PI)
PI1 4.04 4.02 0.699
PI2 4.01 3.89 0.129
PI3 3.85 3.70 0.062
PI4 3.91 3.86 0.527
Note: *p < 0.05.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 215
In terms of the overall mean of the ?ve constructs, Taiwanese
tend to believe the hotel price is affordable, the hotel brand is
attractive, the hotel is trustworthy, and the hotel will offer good
value for the price. After reviewing the hotel websites, the likeli-
hood of booking by Taiwanese is high. In comparison with the
Howard Beach Resort Kenting and the Red Garden Resort, the
perceived price is most favorable and the booking intention is
highest for the Kenting Youth Activity Center. This is not surprising
because the majority of the respondents have income levels from
low to medium and they are generally price sensitive. For those
facing budget constraints, the Kenting Youth Activity Center pro-
vides a low rate with satisfactory value and reliable brand image,
resulting in relatively high booking intentions. The Howard Beach
Resort Kenting is rated highest in brand image and trust showing
that this upscale luxury hotel is considered to be more reliable, is a
social status symbol, and trusted by consumers to provide consis-
tent, dependable performance. The perceived value is almost equal
among the three hotels re?ecting that consumers feel the quality
received is commensurate with the price they pay.
In comparison with females, males had higher ratings for price
and trust, re?ecting the reality that female consumers inTaiwan are
relatively price sensitive and concerned about reliability. Males also
show a relatively high rating in recognizing the hotel brand
Table 4
Con?rmatory factor analysis results.
Constructs and items Factor loading
Brand Image (BI)
BI1: the hotel brand is reliable 0.755
BI2: the hotel brand is attractive 0.877
BI3: the hotel brand is pleasing 0.846
BI4: the hotel brand is a social status symbol 0.652
BI5: the hotel brand has a good reputation 0.820
Price (P)
P1: the price listed by this hotel is inexpensive 0.770
P2: the hotel price is reasonable 0.885
P3: the hotel price is affordable 0.802
P4: the hotel price is appropriate 0.807
Trust (T)
T1: what the hotel says about its product/service is true 0.802
T2: if the hotel makes a claim about its product/service, it is true 0.908
T3: I feel I know what to expect from the hotel 0.884
T4: I believe this hotel would be reliable 0.866
Value (V)
V1: the hotel offers good value for the price 0.815
V2: the hotel provides me satis?ed value 0.861
V3: it is worth to book the hotel 0.869
V4: the overall expected value of staying at this hotel is high 0.717
Purchase intentions (PI)
PI1: after reviewing the hotel website, the likelihood of booking this hotel is high 0.746
PI2: if I am going to book the hotel, I would consider booking this hotel at the price shown 0.795
PI3: the probability that I would consider booking this hotel is high 0.793
PI4: my willingness to book this hotel is high 0.815
Table 5
Correlations (squared correlations), construct reliability, and AVE.
BI P T V PI
BI 1
P 0.271
*
(0.073) 1
T 0.672
*
(0.452) 0.406
*
(0.165) 1
V 0.635
*
(0.403) 0.499
*
(0.249) 0.706
*
(0.498) 1
PI 0.585
*
(0.342) 0.600
*
(0.360) 0.584
*
(0.341) 0.802
*
(0.643) 1
CR 0.894 0.889 0.923 0.886 0.864
AVE 0.630 0.667 0.749 0.662 0.615
Note: *p < 0.001; BI, brand image; P, price; T, trust; V, value; PI, purchase intention;
CR, construct reliability; AVE, average variance extracted.
Table 6
Path results of structural model.
Hypotheses Paths Standardized coef?cient P-Value
Direct Paths
H1 Brand Image Perceived Price 0.300 0.000
*
H2 Brand Image Trust 0.679 0.000
*
H3 Brand Image Value 0.289 0.000
*
H4 Brand Image Purchase Intentions 0.166 0.000
*
H8 Perceived Price Value 0.260 0.000
*
H9 Perceived Price Purchase Intentions 0.261 0.000
*
H11 Trust Value 0.424 0.000
*
H12 Trust Purchase Intentions 0.061 0.342
H14 Value Purchase Intentions 0.610 0.000
*
Indirect Paths
H5 Brand Image Perceived Price Purchase Intentions 0.078 0.000
*
H6 Brand Image Trust Purchase Intentions 0.041 0.172
H7 Brand Image Value Purchase Intentions 0.176 0.000
*
H10 Perceived Price Value Purchase Intentions 0.162 0.008
*
H13 Trust Value Purchase Intentions 0.259 0.000
Note: *p < 0.01.
C.-H. Lien et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 210e218 216
reputation, the social status symbol of the brand, the value for the
price, and the expected high value. Males are more easily convinced
by good brand reputation and satisfactory value than females.
However, the differences are not signi?cant between males and
females on purchase intentions, indicating an inconsistency with
?ndings of previous studies. One possible reason is that most males
and females in the sample are young and well-educated. 86.31% of
males (145 out of 168) and 85.86% (170 out of 198) of females were
aged between 18 and 30 and are part of the Internet generation.
94.04% (158 out of 168) of males and 95.45% (189 out of 198) of
females have a bachelor or graduate degree. Therefore, males and
femalesmight have similar attitudes toward online purchasing.
Another reason is that most males and females are single. 91.07%
(153 out of 168) of males and 87.37% (173 out of 198) of females
were not married and could make online booking decision indi-
vidually, which is different from traditional Taiwanese families
where males (e.g., fathers) dominate hotel booking decisions.
5.2. Managerial implications
This study provides hoteliers a theoretical basis for the premise
that offering a reasonable/acceptable price, an attractive/reputed
brand, and supplying superior customer value will enhance con-
sumers' booking intentions. Given the current study ?ndings, four
implications are presented. First, value is a critical determinant of
purchase intentions. The hotel manager needs to understand con-
sumers' expectations and perceptions of value. To increase con-
sumers' perceived value, the hotel can consider providing
competitive rates or discounts for the booking directly through its
website (utilitarian value). To increase value, hotels should be of-
fering complete product information and the trip package online.
Additionally, improving the entertainment and visual appeal
(experiential value) by adding a friendly interface to the hotel web-
site, as well as ensuring personalization, ease of navigation, and
extrinsic cues (e.g., clear pictures of room features, the surrounding
environment, and onsite amenities) will also increase value, which
will lead to an improvement in booking intentions. Second, brand
image positively in?uences purchase intentions and has a positive
mediatingeffect onpurchase intentions throughprice andvalue. The
hotel should devote efforts to maintaining and improving its brand
image. Well-managed brand associations including the improve-
ment of functional, symbolic, and experiential bene?ts will generate
a favorable brand image. Third, price positively affects purchase in-
tentions and has a mediating effect on purchase intentions through
value. We suggest the hotel maintain a price consistent with its
classi?cation and be careful to prevent the price from exceeding
consumers' acceptable price range. It is imperative for the hotel to
research consumers' acceptable price range, especially during an
economic downtown. Fourth, although the direct effect of trust on
purchase intentions is not signi?cant, it does not mean trust is an
unimportant determinant of purchase intentions. The three hotel
brands are well-known brands and consumers have con?dence in
the hotels' website information. The continuous enhancement of
consumers' trust inthehotel makes themfeel thehotel's information
is accurate and reliable which will greatly improve their perceived
value and contribute to positive booking decisions.
5.3. Limitations and future research
There are three limitations in this research. First, our study fo-
cuses on investigating the online hotel booking in Taiwan. There-
fore, generalization of the model results might not apply to other
markets/countries. Second, although young consumers are impor-
tant online shoppers, they were over-represented in this study.
Third, except for the four antecedents of purchase intentions we
have examined, other possible determinants, such as website
quality, satisfaction, and online reviews, might be important factors
in?uencing consumers' booking intentions.
Acknowledging these limitations, for future research, we sug-
gest a cross-cultural comparison of online hotel booking to con?rm
the model effectiveness. In addition, examining the effects of online
reviews, website quality, and satisfaction on booking intentions
and balancing the representativeness of online booking customers
will generate valuable information in understanding consumers'
online hotel booking decisions.
Con?icts of interest
All contributing authors declare no con?icts of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the assistance of Dr. Ben-Chang Shia and
Ms. Wan-Ju Chien in data collection.
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