Tourism and hospitality service providers have been seeking ways to engage customers in the value creation process to deliver personalized experiences. Such practices have been facilitated by the rapid development of information communication technology. Extant research on online customer engagement focuses mostly on computer-based platforms. Mobile instant messaging (IM) has rarely been explored despite its substantial potential for firm–customer interactions. On the basis of service–dominant logic and computer-mediated communication theories, this study examines customers’ perceived co-creation experience facilitated by mobile IM. It empirically tests the influencing factors and effects of such co-creation experience. The findings extend the theoretical framework of value co-creation to a context mediated by mobile IM. Managerial suggestions are provided for tourism and hospitality organizations.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
AslanzadehM.KeatingB. W. (2014). Inter-channel effects in multichannel travel services: Moderating role of social presence and need for human interaction. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55, 265-276.
3.
AyehJ. K. (2013). Analysing the factors affecting online travellers’ attitude and intention to use consumer-generated media for travel planning (Doctoral dissertation). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://ira.lib.polyu.edu.hk/bitstream/10397/6163/2/b26160316_ir.pdf
4.
BallD.CoelhoP. S.VilaresM. J. (2006). Service personalization and loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing, 20, 391-403.
5.
BaronR. S.MooreD.SandersG. S. (1978). Distraction as a source of drive in social facilitation research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 816-824.
6.
BinkhorstE.Den DekkerT. (2009). Agenda for co-creation tourism experience research. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18, 311-327.
7.
BrodieR. J.HollebeekL. D.JurićB.IlićA. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. Journal of Service Research, 14, 252-271.
8.
BuhalisD.AmarangganaA. (2015). Smart tourism destinations enhancing tourism experience through personalisation of services. In TussyadiahI.InversiniA. (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 377-389). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
9.
BuhalisD.FoersteM. (2015). SoCoMo marketing for travel and tourism: Empowering co-creation of value. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 4, 151-161.
10.
BuhalisD.LawR. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 Years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Tourism Management, 29, 609-623.
11.
BusemeyerJ. R.JonesL. E. (1983). Analysis of multiplicative combination rules when the causal variables are measured with error. Psychological Bulletin, 93, 549-562.
12.
CarlsonJ. R.ZmudR. W. (1999). Channel expansion theory and the experiential nature of media richness perceptions. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 153-170.
13.
ChathothP.AltinayL.HarringtonR. J.OkumusF.ChanE. S. (2013). Co-production versus co-creation: A process based continuum in the hotel service context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 32, 11-20.
14.
ChathothP. K.UngsonG. R.HarringtonR. J.ChanE. S. (2016). Co-creation and higher order customer engagement in hospitality and tourism services: A critical review. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28, 222-245.
15.
ChellappaR. K.SinR. G. (2005). Personalization versus privacy: An empirical examination of the online consumer’s dilemma. Information Technology and Management, 6, 181-202.
16.
ChenX.MaJ.JinJ.FoshP. (2013). Information privacy, gender differences, and intrinsic motivation in the workplace. International Journal of Information Management, 33, 917-926.
17.
Chen WangL.-C.MorganW. R. (2008). Student perceptions of using instant messaging software to facilitate synchronous online class interaction in a graduate teacher education course. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 25, 15-21.
18.
ChungN.HanH.KooC. (2015). Adoption of travel information in user-generated content on social media: The moderating effect of social presence. Behaviour & Information Technology, 34, 902-919.
19.
ChurchillG. AJr. (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of marketing research, 16(1), 64-73.
20.
CohenJ.CohenP.WestS. G.AikenL. S. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the social sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
CortinaJ. M.ChenG.DunlapW. P. (2001). Testing interaction effects in LISREL: Examination and illustration of available procedures. Organizational Research Methods, 4, 324-360.
22.
CottrellN. B. (1972). Social facilitation. In McClintockC. (Ed.), Experimental social psychology (pp. 185-236). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
23.
CulnanM. J.MarkusM. L. (1987). Information technologies. In JablinF. M.PutnamL. L.RobertsK. H.PorterL. W. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational communication: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 420-443). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
24.
DaftR. L.LengelR. H. (1984). Information richness: A new approach to manager behavior and organization design. Research on Organizational Behavior, 6, 191-233.
25.
DaftR. L.LengelR. H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32, 554-571.
26.
DennisA. R.KinneyS. T. (1998). Testing media richness theory in the new media: The effects of cues, feedback, and task equivocality. Information Systems Research, 9, 256-274.
27.
DijkmansC.KerkhofP.BeukeboomC. J. (2015). A stage to engage: Social media use and corporate reputation. Tourism Management, 47, 58-67.
28.
FongL. H. N.LamL. W.LawR. (2017). How locus of control shapes intention to reuse mobile apps for making hotel reservations: Evidence from Chinese consumers. Tourism Management, 61, 331-342.
29.
FornellC.LarckerD. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 328-388.
30.
FulkJ.SteinfieldC. W.SchmitzJ.PowerJ. G. (1987). A social information processing model of media use in organizations. Communication Research, 14, 529-552.
31.
GartonL.WellmanB. (1995). Social impacts of electronic mail in organizations: A review of the research literature. Annals of the International Communication Association, 18, 434-453.
32.
GavanJ. F. (2008). Death to Dichotomizing. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 5-8.
33.
GeenR. G.GangeJ. J. (1977). Drive theory of social facilitation: Twelve years of theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 1267-1288.
34.
GefenD.StraubD. W. (2003). Managing user trust in B2C e-Services. E-Service Journal, 2(2), 7-24.
35.
HarriganP.EversU.MilesM.DalyT. (2017). Customer engagement with tourism social media brands. Tourism Management, 59, 597-609.
36.
HolmbeckG. N. (1997). Toward terminological, conceptual, and statistical clarity in the study of mediators and moderators: Examples from the child-clinical and pediatric psychology literatures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 599-610.
37.
HoyleR. H.SmithG. T. (1994). Formulating clinical research hypotheses as structural equation models: A conceptual overview. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 429-440.
JaakkolaE.AlexanderM. (2014). The role of customer engagement behavior in value co-creation: A service system perspective. Journal of Service Research, 17, 247-261.
40.
JaccardJ.WanC. K.TurrisiR. (1990). The detection and interpretation of interaction effects between continuous variables in multiple regression. Multivariate behavioral research, 25(4), 467-478.
41.
JonassenD. H.KwonH. (2001). Communication patterns in computer mediated versus face-to-face group problem solving. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 35-51.
42.
KennyD. A.JuddC. M. (1984). Estimating the nonlinear and interactive effects of latent variables. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 201-210.
43.
KooC.WatiY.JungJ. J. (2011). Examination of how social aspects moderate the relationship between task characteristics and usage of social communication technologies (SCTs) in organizations. International Journal of Information Management, 31, 445-459.
44.
LamsfusC.WangD.Alzua-SorzabalA.XiangZ. (2014). Going mobile defining context for on-the-go travelers. Journal of Travel Research, 54, 691-701.
45.
LawR.BuhalisD.CobanogluC. (2014). Progress on information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26, 727-750.
46.
LeeS.JeongM. (2012). Effects of e-servicescape on consumers’ flow experiences. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 3, 47-59.
47.
LengelR. H.DaftR. L. (1984). An exploratory analysis of the relationship between media richness and managerial information processing. College Station: Texas A&M University.
48.
LeiS. S. I.PrattS.WangD. (2017). Factors influencing customer engagement with branded content in the social network sites of integrated resorts. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22, 316-328.
49.
LiC.CuiG.PengL. (2017). The signaling effect of management response in engaging customers: A study of the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 62, 42-53.
50.
LightP.LightV. (1999). Analysing asynchronous learning interactions: Computer-mediated communication in a conventional undergraduate setting. In LittletonK.LightP. (Eds.), Learning with computers: Analysing productive interaction (pp. 162-178). London, England: Routledge.
51.
MathisE. F.KimH. L.UysalM.SirgyJ. M.PrebensenN. K. (2016). The effect of co-creation experience on outcome variable. Annals of Tourism Research, 57, 62-75.
52.
McKeenJ. D.GuimaraesT.WetherbeJ. C. (1994). The relationship between user participation and user satisfaction: An investigation of four contingency factors. MIS Quarterly, 18, 427-451.
53.
MorosanC. (2015). An empirical analysis of intentions to cocreate value in hotels using mobile devices. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 42, 528-562.
54.
MorosanC.DeFrancoA. (2016). Co-creating value in hotels using mobile devices: A conceptual model with empirical validation. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 52, 131-142.
55.
MunarA. M.JacobsenJ. K. S. (2014). Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. Tourism Management, 43, 46-54.
56.
NeuhoferB.BuhalisD.LadkinA. (2015). Smart technologies for personalized experiences: A case study in the hospitality domain. Electronic Markets, 25, 243-254.
57.
OgaraS. O.KohC. E.PrybutokV. R. (2014). Investigating factors affecting social presence and user satisfaction with mobile instant messaging. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 453-459.
58.
OstromA. L.BitnerM. J.BrownS. W.BurkhardK. A.GoulM.Smith-DanielsV.. . . RabinovichE. (2010). Moving forward and making a difference: Research priorities for the science of service. Journal of Service Research, 13, 4-36.
59.
ParkS.-Y.AllenJ. P. (2013). Responding to online reviews problem solving and engagement in hotels. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54, 64-73.
60.
PicotA.KlingenbergH.KranzleH.-P. (1982). Office technology: A report on attitudes and channel selection from field studies in Germany. Annals of the International Communication Association, 6, 674-693.
61.
PingR. A.Jr. (1995). A parsimonious estimating technique for interaction and quadratic latent variables. Journal of Marketing Research, 32, 336-347.
62.
PrahaladC. K.RamaswamyV. (2004a). Co-creating unique value with customers. Strategy & Leadership, 32(3), 4-9.
63.
PrahaladC. K.RamaswamyV. (2004b). Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(3), 5-14.
64.
RanjanK. R.ReadS. (2016). Value co-creation: Concept and measurement. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44, 290-315.
SandersG. S.BaronR. S. (1975). The motivating effects of distraction on task performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 956-963.
67.
SchmalleggerD.CarsonD. (2008). Blogs in tourism: Changing approaches to information exchange. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14, 99-110.
68.
SheerV. C.ChenL. (2004). Improving media richness theory: A study of interaction goals, message valence, and task complexity in manager-subordinate communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 18, 76-93.
69.
ShortJ.WilliamsE.ChristieB. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. New York, NY: John Wiley.
70.
SoK. K. F.KingC.SparksB. (2014). Customer engagement with tourism brands: Scale development and validation. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 38, 304-329.
71.
StrausS. G. (1996). Getting a clue the effects of communication media and information distribution on participation and performance in computer-mediated and face-to-face groups. Small Group Research, 27, 115-142.
TrevinoL. K.LengelR. H.DaftR. L. (1987). Media symbolism, media richness, and media choice in organizations: A symbolic interactionist perspective. Communication Research, 14, 553-574.
74.
TsaiW.-H.ChouW.-C.LaiC.-W. (2010). An effective evaluation model and improvement analysis for national park websites: A case study of Taiwan. Tourism Management, 31, 936-952.
Van DoornJ.LemonK. N.MittalV.NassS.PickD.PirnerP.VerhoefP. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13, 253-266.
77.
VargoS. L.LuschR. F. (2004). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68, 1-17.
78.
VargoS. L.LuschR. F. (2008). Service–dominant logic: Continuing the evolution. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36, 1-10.
79.
VargoS. L.LuschR. F.AkakaM. A. (2010). Advancing service science with service-dominant logic: Clarifications and conceptual development. In MaglioP. P.KieliszewskiJ. A.SpohrerJ. C. (Eds.), Handbook of service science (pp. 133-156). New York, NY: Springer.
80.
WaltherJ. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23, 3-43.
81.
WangD.FesenmaierD. R. (2013). Transforming the travel experience: The use of smartphones for travel. In CantoniL.ZhengX. (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2013 (pp. 58-69). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
82.
WangD.XiangZ.FesenmaierD. R. (2014). Adapting to the mobile world: A model of smartphone use. Annals of Tourism Research, 48, 11-26.
83.
WangW.HsiehJ. P.-A.SongB. (2012). Understanding user satisfaction with instant messaging: An empirical survey study. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 28, 153-162.
84.
WeiW.MiaoL.HuangZ. J. (2013). Customer engagement behaviors and hotel responses. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 33, 316-330.
85.
YeQ.LawR.GuB. (2009). The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 180-182.
86.
YeS.YingT.ZhouL.WangT. (2019). Enhancing customer trust in peer-to-peer accommodation: A “soft” strategy via social presence. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 79, 1-10.
87.
ZhangT.KandampullyJ.BilgihanA. (2015). Motivations for customer engagement in online co-innovation communities (OCCs): A conceptual framework. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 6, 311-328.
88.
ZhouZ.WuJ. P.ZhangQ.XuS. (2013). Transforming visitors into members in online brand communities: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 66, 2438-2443.
