Kijung Choi

Mobile applications (apps) critically affect travelers’ decision-making and shape their experiences. Grounded in the expectancy value approach, this study examines the relationships among expectation confirmation (usefulness, ubiquity, ease of use, incentives, and enjoyment), privacy protection, security, satisfaction, and trust, and how these factors influence travel app users’ intention to continue using the app. Phase One of the study analyzed data from 509 survey respondents via structural equation modeling. The findings show that expectation confirmation, security, satisfaction, and trust influence travelers’ intention to continue using the travel app, whereas privacy protection exerts no significant effects. Travel app users’ level of technology proficiency moderates the effect of perceived security and satisfaction on the intention to continue use. In Phase Two, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the key findings from Phase One. This study contributes to the literature by examining expectation confirmation, perceived values of privacy protection, and security of travel app users in a single model to explain individuals’ satisfaction, trust, and continued use intention. The study findings also offer strategic implications for travel app developers as well as hospitality and tourism service providers and marketers on how to deliver a high-quality experience, enhance satisfaction and trust, and increase continued use intention among travel app users.

Recreational cyclists are pertinent but rarely studied leisure and tourism segment. Recreational cycling has traditionally been considered as a ‘masculine stereotyped’ sport. The purpose of the research is to better understand a gendered consumer view of recreational cycling and to possibly promote recreational cycling to women and men in countries like South Africa with keen interests of recreational cycling in the form of sport tourism. This research employs a content analysis of social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a research method. Specifically, the gendered nature of recreational cycling is focused upon. In total, 2,504 posts from 1,598 unique authors from South Africa are analysed. As a result, this research shows that in the South African context male cyclists tend to like to attend the specialised event and race for their health and fitness while female cyclists seem to find more enjoyable and family-friendly (children focused) cycling. The results also confirm the paradox that women are generally presented in more family oriented roles, while men are typically shown as more independent in the media. Managerial implications and future research are also presented.

This study investigated how residents’ empowerment influences their engagement in the sustainability of the convention industry in their community, specifically, their citizenship behavior (CB) toward convention visitors and support for convention development in their community. Additionally, the current study examined the moderator of a convention center’s innovativeness. The sample used for data analysis was 415 residents from Seoul and Busan, South Korea. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that residents’ empowerment enhances their participation in CB toward visitors and support. The multi-group comparison analysis suggested that a convention center’s innovativeness moderates the effect of residents’ empowerment on their CB toward visitors but not on convention development support. These results highlight the important role of empowering residents in convention host communities in psychological, sociological, and political ways in promoting community engagement ...

Purpose - This study undertakes a systematic review of the literature to gain insight into existing studies on hospitality in social media and provide an update on current trends and themes in scholarship. Design - This study employs the systematic literature review to identify, evaluate, and synthesize the existing literature. Methodology - A total of 165 papers published between 2010–2020 were examined using content analysis and Leximancer. Approach - This review uses a hybrid review structure that incorporates structured reviews and narrative elements supported by Leximancer analysis. Findings - The review highlights the theories and methods used, research fields and perspectives, and key research topics in the hospitality industry, showing a lack of engagement with theories, the use of a dominant theoretical approach (eWOM), and the use of quantitative research methods primarily to analyze content data. Changes in research trends are evident to keep pace with increasing social m...

In response to the rapid and forced transition to e-learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study aims to explore the factors underlying students’ e-learning achievement. This study proposes a theoretical framework based on literature to assess the role of students’ e-learning readiness, grit, and characteristics in explaining their perceived e-learning achievement. The empirical data of 196 higher education students were collected via an online survey. Using structural equation modeling and a multigroup analysis, the findings indicated that students’ self-directed learning, learner control, motivation for learning, and online communication self-efficacy from the e-learning readiness scale, as well as the perseverance of effort from grit scale, have significantly impacted their perception on e-learning achievement. The results also highlighted significant differences between first year and higher year students in a continued effort to achieve learning, and learner control to ach...

The growth in smartphones and mobile connectivity has seen a corresponding increase in mobile applications (apps). One area of growth has been travel apps, which enable people to plan travel, make bookings, or access information. The tourism industry has invested considerable resources and funds into travel apps that aim to improve the traveller experience. However, for their investments to be profitable, the industry must ensure that after the initial adoption, travel apps are continuously used as intended and are recommended by travellers to others. Thus, building on the expectationconfirmation model developed for information systems (Bhattacherjee, 2001b), this study developed and tested a conceptual framework to strengthen the understanding of travel app use by examining travellers' post-adoption behavioural intentions. This study used a sequential mixed methods approach consisting of two stages: qualitative and quantitative. The first stage of the study employed in-depth in...

This study examines the factors that influence the continued use intention of mobile apps designed for travel-related purposes. Interviews with 22 individuals provided data for developing a conceptual model of travel app continued use intention. The model draws on the expectation confirmation model framework, as well as interviews, to illustrate the relationship between functional value, hedonic value, satisfaction, and trust, and to discuss the link between moderators of familiarity, travel purposes, travel app types, and technology proficiency as predictors on continued use. The study’s results establish an in-depth understanding of continued use for travel apps.

This study assesses the role of value and trust in shaping travelers’ recommendation intentions toward travel apps. Based on structural equation modelling of questionnaire data, the study concludes that utilitarian and hedonic values affect users’ trust, which subsequently leads to intention to recommend travel apps. Results also demonstrate the different impacts of utilitarian and hedonic values on user trust and recommendation intention between information searching apps (e.g., TripAdvisor app) and booking apps (e.g., Booking.com app). This research provides a framework that captures how travelers form their recommendation intention through values and trust gained from mobile app use experiences. It also suggests that travel app providers focus on utilitarian and hedonic values rather than monetary values in building user trust.

Recreational cyclists are pertinent but rarely studied leisure and tourism segment. Recreational cycling has traditionally been considered as a ‘masculine stereotyped’ sport. The purpose of the research is to better understand a gendered consumer view of recreational cycling and to possibly promote recreational cycling to women and men in countries like South Africa with keen interests of recreational cycling in the form of sport tourism. This research employs a content analysis of social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a research method. Specifically, the gendered nature of recreational cycling is focused upon. In total, 2,504 posts from 1,598 unique authors from South Africa are analysed. As a result, this research shows that in the South African context male cyclists tend to like to attend the specialised event and race for their health and fitness while female cyclists seem to find more enjoyable and family-friendly (children focused) cycling. The results also ...

Mobile applications (apps) critically affect travelers’ decision-making and shape their experiences. Grounded in the expectancy value approach, this study examines the relationships among expectation confirmation (usefulness, ubiquity, ease of use, incentives, and enjoyment), privacy protection, security, satisfaction, and trust, and how these factors influence travel app users’ intention to continue using the app. Phase One of the study analyzed data from 509 survey respondents via structural equation modeling. The findings show that expectation confirmation, security, satisfaction, and trust influence travelers’ intention to continue using the travel app, whereas privacy protection exerts no significant effects. Travel app users’ level of technology proficiency moderates the effect of perceived security and satisfaction on the intention to continue use. In Phase Two, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the key findings from Phase One. This study contributes to the...