Virtual travel community members’ stickiness behaviour: How and when it develops

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate simultaneously the influence of relational and personal factors on virtual travel community (VTC) members’ stickiness behavior. Thus, this study adds to limited research on the drivers and boundary conditions of VTC members’ stickiness behavior which is crucial for building thriving communities. With the increasingly fierce competition in the online travel market, enhancing VTCs site stickiness becomes timely and more important to avoid consumers switching easily to competitive websites. 431 online survey responses were obtained from the Where Are You Now (WAYN) VTC and analyzed using SEM. Results show trust plays a stronger role than commitment in strengthening members’ site stickiness. Contrary to conventional wisdom, site stickiness is stronger for male travelers and is weaker for high-income travelers but is not affected by age. The results contribute to SOR theory by shedding more light on how VTC members’ stickiness behavior develops and when it is stronger/weaker for a specific travel group. The findings also provide practical insights to assist VTC operators in vitalizing and cultivating members’ site stickiness and in allocating resources adequately.