Technological innovations in online travel agencies: How chatbots and blockchain influence tourists' impulse buying behavior

This study investigates the mechanisms through which perceived chatbot interaction quality and blockchain affordances drive tourists' impulse buying behavior in online travel agencies (OTAs). Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, we propose and empirically test a model in which these two technological stimuli influence impulse buying both directly and indirectly through three psychological mediators: fear of missing out (FoMO), trust, and curiosity. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed data from 388 university students and recent graduates in tourism-related disciplines in Iran who regularly use OTAs. Results reveal that both perceived chatbot interaction quality (β = 0.423, p < 0.001) and blockchain affordances (β = 0.569, p < 0.001) exert strong direct effects on impulse buying while also significantly stimulating FoMO, trust, and curiosity. FoMO (β = 0.549) and trust (β = 0.432) emerge as the strongest mediators, whereas curiosity affects impulse buying directly but does not significantly mediate through trust. The model explains 52.7 % of the variance in impulse buying behavior. Theoretically, the study extends the S-O-R framework by integrating two emerging technologies and multiple psychological pathways in a tourism context. Practically, it offers actionable guidelines for OTAs to design chatbot interactions and blockchain-enabled features that amplify urgency, credibility, and engagement to stimulate spontaneous bookings.