Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
2007 Annual International CHRIE Conference & Exposition 
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various factors contributing to the success of an online shopping venue, there still remains work to be done (Bigne, 
Aldas-Manzano, Kuster, & Vila, 2002; Millán & Esteban, 2004; Wong & Kwong, 2004; Rodríguez, San Martín, & 
Collado, 2006; Sánchez, Callarisa, Rodríguez, & Moliner, 2006). For instance, Heeller, Okechuku, and Reid (1979) 
and Wilkie and Pessemier (1972) have recommended a multi-attribute approach in examining consumer preferences 
such as individual quality or value dimensions and attributes rather than on an overall quality perspective. Other 
research has found that customers tend to select the alternative that is at the top of a hierarchy of products or service 
providers based on the perceived importance of the product or service attributes (Mackenzie, 1986). In some cases, 
consumers form a shopping plan and purchase specific products based on an evaluation of the expected benefits to 
be derived in respect to the resources spent (e.g., time, energy and money). In addition, the relative importance of 
attributes varies across consumers as each person brings their own criteria to bear in the evaluation. 
As an alternative method to deal with fiercer competition and latent and spurious customers, customer 
retention and the application of customer loyalty programs continue to remain hot issues for Internet commerce 
companies (Reichfeld & Schefter, 2000). Hospitality suppliers and channel members such as hotel companies and 
travel agencies have developed new, or re-positioned current, loyalty programs to encourage repeat purchase and 
customer loyalty. In most cases travel suppliers have provided some sort of incentive such as points or rebates 
redeemable for specific travel volume.
Previous research suggested that an effective loyalty program can encourage 
customers to change purchase decisions and increase repeated purchasing (Dowling & Uncles, 1997; Sharp & Sharp, 
1997; Bolton, Kannan, & Bramlett, 2000; Uncles, Dowling, & Hammond, 2003; Lewis, 2004). However, loyalty 
program promotions represent just one short-term strategic technique for increasing customer retention. Loyalty 
program use in terms of customer characteristics has been empirically investigated in the services marketing 
literature and shown to have an important influence on the post-purchase behaviors of online shoppers (Dowling & 
Uncles, 1997; Sharp & Sharp, 1997). Consumers’ post-purchase behaviors may vary according to the relative 
importance of product attributes. Furthermore, research related to technology-based retail and services formats 
indicates that an individual’s loyalty program use toward a specific website is useful in predicting their willingness 
to purchase in the future (Boulding, Staelin, Kalra, & Zeithaml, 1993; O'Brien & Jones, 1995; Dowling & Uncles, 
1997; Sharp and Sharp, 1997; Lewis, 2004). In this sense, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the 
importance of online travel product attributes to online traveler’s post-purchase behaviors and examine the 
moderating role of loyalty program use with online travel intermediaries.