Determinants of Success in Online Travel: Examining the Effect of a Comprehensive Higher-Order Model on e-Service Quality on Loyalty and Customers’ Citizenship Behavior

This study proposes and validates a comprehensive model of the determinants of online travel company success by establishing the relationships between a properly conceptualized higher-order e-service quality construct, perceived value, and satisfaction on customer loyalty and customers’ citizenship behavior. The model was tested using structural equation modeling and data collected on 257 US travelers. Results reveal that e-service quality positively influences customers’ loyalty and citizenship behavior both directly and indirectly (through perceived value and satisfaction). Perceived value also exerts a direct positive influence on satisfaction. The results provide theoretical and practical implications by helping to demystify the relationships between the tested variables, as well as by increasing our understanding of the determinants of success in online travel websites.